Mark McGwire Steroids Admission: Big Mac Did What He Needed to Do. Again.

It's over now. McGwire came clean, and in my book he's forgiven. We can't honestly expect these athletes to go back in time and not take steroids. All we can ask for is for them to be honest and, if we're lucky, for them to apologize.

The funny thing though, is that we aren't entitled to that. They get paid to play, we pay to watch. As fans we generally feel some sense of entitlement because prices are higher and money is tighter. That is understandable, but it is still not our right to get answers and apologies. Fans, which is short for fanatic in some if not all instances, take it more seriously than athletes.

For Mark McGwire to stand up and admit he took steroids, to apologize for taking steroids, and say he was wrong for taking steroids is more than we could have hoped for. For fans to snub him for this is absurd. What more do you want him to do? Say that he should be stricken from every record? Absolutely not. 

Yes he was wrong for taking steroids, but so were the pitchers staring him down on the mound. You can say steroids are an unfair advantage and that's true, but when everyone's taking them the playing field is level again. Those that weren't taking them weren't performing on that high a level every game. 

Instead of calling McGwire a cheater, or labeling the entire era cheaters, why don't we just say they were all, or at least an incredibly high percentage were, on the juice and the steroids cancelled out the steroids, and they were just harming their bodies but giving us better games to watch? 

That may be wrong, but it's the truth. During the McGwire/Sosa race, you watched a game or two, or more.

Instead of screaming how they tarnished the game, say they changed the game and even though it wasn't as ethical as possible, the only people they hurt were themselves. If you approve or disapprove is irrelevant, it isn't your place to judge, it's your place to watch the games and be a fan. If you don't want to do that, don't do it.

McGwire came clean. McGwire is a bigger man than most, he's a better man, and he's forgiven!