Doping humor
The one great thing about performance-enhancing drugs in sports is that they often give rise to great humor. The Eastern European steroid-machine of the 1980s gave rise to a SNL skit, "The All-Steroid Olympics," which is one of the all-time funniest. Now, the exposing of the U.S. track team's current steroid machine gave rise to the following passage (taken from today's NYT, in a story by Jere Longman):
MODAFINIL This stimulant is used clinically to enhance wakefulness and alertness in those who suffer from narcolepsy, a disorder marked by chronic daytime sleepiness. Modafinil, which is classified as a mild stimulant in sports doping, received attention last summer when [Kelli] White tested positive for it at the world track and field championships in Paris. Six other American athletes have since admitted using modafinil.
"We had the sleepiest track team," Catlin said. "What is cute and funny in a sick way is that narcolepsy is an extremely rare disease. For a doctor to see one case in a lifetime is a lot, let alone to have two members of a relay team."
