As New Orleans Saints football players Deuce McAllister and Will Smith tested positive for steroids this weekend, I couldn't help but notice how little publicity it is getting. You would think two former Pro Bowl caliber players getting caught for performance enhancing drugs would be front page news like it is with baseball. But as I look at Yahoo's NFL home page, there is not one mention of the incident.
Baseball has grown weaker and weaker over the years since suspicions and accusations of home run sluggers like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa for taking steroids. But football is stronger than ever, despite evidence than steroids are just as prevalent in football as they are in baseball.
So why does baseball get all of the negative publicity? First, baseball is America's pastime, and with its rich history, all of its records are considered sacred. Breaking records in baseball is almost as big as winning the World Series. Every time a pitcher reaches 300 wins or a slugger hits 500 home runs, it's top news. But in football, records are just a footnote. The media pays attention when football records are broken, but not nearly to the degree as they do in baseball. So when Barry Bonds breaks the all-time home run record on steroids, people are going to be offended.
Also football is big money for everybody, including the media. If SportsCenter starts talking about Shawn Meriman (Pro Bowl linebacker) who tested positive for steroids last year, then maybe Joe Six Pack won't wake up and watch Sunday NFL Countdown for four hours.
In conlusion, steroids are bad for business, just ask baseball who is having record low ratings for the World Series this year.
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