If taking steroids would make you better at footbag...

[delakong]

I'm with Jared.

If I could do a drug that in small doses improved the strength of my legs, and built my muscles faster, I would probably enjoy the sport more and get better at a much faster rate. I'd never be Vasek, even with the drugs, but I'd plateau at a higher, more fun to play level.

That about sums it up for me. I enjoy the rush of getting the trick I've been trying as much as anybody. But the only reason I learn it is to have another nifty trick under my belt. I would never compete, even if I got good enough without this pill. The pill would just make me enjoy the game more. I liked the "god mode" comparison. GTA is fun as hell without cheating, but isn't having all the guns all the time, instead of having to go all the way to the store and buying them, ten times better?

[sniikeri]

No.

I wouldn't like to die at my 40's to a heart attack with small testicles. More blueberry soup and sweat, that's what the Finns do (or at least say they're doing.)

[ebo]

No.

I wouldn't like to die at my 40's to a heart attack with small testicles.

Ken explicitly said that the pill would have no side effects at all..rethink.

[hacksterbator]

blue berry soup? are you fucking kidding me?

as to the hypothetical, no i wouldn't even if every one else did and left me in the dust, i wouldn't. i get a much bigger rush when i school a trick for months on end and finally hit it, a opposed to thinking about a new trick and hitting it first try.

[junkyardjew]

blueberry soup is probably the best thing in the entire world. There are three things i remember most about my trip to finland (besides the dozens of hot, blond babes on every street corner) and they are:

-most of the houses i stayed in had TWO saunas

-all the bread was just the end pieces. if you bought a loaf of bread, all you got was crust.

-blueberry soup, possibly the tastiest thing in the entire world. and you can buy cans of it!

[sniikeri]

No.

I wouldn't like to die at my 40's to a heart attack with small testicles.

Ken explicitly said that the pill would have no side effects at all..rethink.

Oh damn, really should have read at least the first post. Still, I'd say no. If they were legal and everyone would have a possibility to take them, and if it was so that there'd be no side effects, I'd have to think again.
1) If everyone could get them, there were no side effects at all and they were legal, the best skills would win anyways and there'd be no use for dope. Maybe the runs would be longer but I'd respect more someone who's clean.
2) (there's no option #2 , I couldn't come up with anything)

blue berry soup? are you fucking kidding me?

No, I'm not. The Finnish athletes counted on blueberry soup for decades before all sports went hi-tech and professional. Plus it's good...

blueberry soup is probably the best thing in the entire world. There are three things i remember most about my trip to finland (besides the dozens of hot, blond babes on every street corner) and they are:---

...you heard him, Andrew.

By the way, Lt. Blueberry is one of my favorite comics.

[FootbagginBum]

Damn, I wanna get me some of that stuff...blue berry soup...who'd 'a thought...sounds awesome.

Props on thinking out loud Jared, thats the only way to come up with a true answer to a philosophical question.

Lets think about where these pills could take us; like how far past the current range of concievable tricks...

Thinking of two tricks that would be within the range of Vasek, Honza, or Jorden in the next 3 years (or me) I can picture the most difficult things being stuff like shooting ducking superfly, or fairy atomic mobius...very different adds but tricks of this nature seem to be pushing the urrent maxes of good shred without being too absurd. (these sound doable but still hard to concieve doing better than right?)

So what could they hit with the pills, there would still be some limit, right? Things like triaging triadon or furious chainsaw massacre (may be using the names wrong, but I'm picturing furious massacre with a legover on the end...so clip>op in>same in>op out>(no plant while) op out>op out>same toe) seem like they would be the hardest things concievably hit even with super speed and strength (or whatever the specific attributes are).

Seems that if a couple people took the pills and pushed their games to this level that the generation growing up right now (like my friend Evan, or Henry G and Stephen Barnes...these real impressive new guys...not to mention Clavens and Jorden) would be able to learn from them and do tricks that are beyond insane even without the drug. Maybe we should try to max out what the pre-vasek and vasek generations are hitting so as push the next generation into real pioneering. I think quad and quintuple dexes in front of enough people could get us into the olympics...

I like thinking out loud too Jared. It makes me type too much sometimes though. Keep the dicussion coming though. Both the values aspect and the potential are very interesting subjects. Even after typeing this much twice I still don't know where I stand enough to vote.

Peace
Bum

[Blackend]

I voted no. Steroids don't make you better, they just give you bigget muscles. They might increase your strength, but they don't enhance stamina or flexibility at all. In fact, if you don't stretch right when you use the 'roids (or do full reps (if you're weightlifting)), they can make your flexibility suck. The 'roids might give you some bigger muscles, but they won't necissarily make you better. This is for anabolic sterioids. Creatine and that stuff you get from GNC is a different matter because they don't give you as heavy of a dose of testosterone as anabolic 'roids do. Essentially, if you have the right training regimen, the results are the same (except you aren't at a big risk of developing some cancer or blood clot like you do with anabolic steroids). This topic reminds me of Balco and MLB/Barry Bonds.

[delakong]

I voted no. Steroids don't make you better, they just give you bigget muscles. They might increase your strength, but they don't enhance stamina or flexibility at all. In fact, if you don't stretch right when you use the 'roids (or do full reps (if you're weightlifting)), they can make your flexibility suck. The 'roids might give you some bigger muscles, but they won't necissarily make you better. This is for anabolic sterioids. Creatine and that stuff you get from GNC is a different matter because they don't give you as heavy of a dose of testosterone as anabolic 'roids do. Essentially, if you have the right training regimen, the results are the same (except you aren't at a big risk of developing some cancer or blood clot like you do with anabolic steroids). This topic reminds me of Balco and MLB/Barry Bonds.

We're not talking about actual steroids, we're talking about a fake wonder pill. There are no side effects. The only effect of this pill is quicker imrovement of your game.

[Blackend]

I still say that it wouldn't. There really isn't a difference between a "wonder pill" and steroids. Pretty soon everything is going to be divided between natural and enhanced with shit like steroids/"wonder pills."

[Jeremy]

I voted yes.

The fact is I love playing footbag probably more than anything and regardless of how good I was - I imagine myself playing as much as I can. I also believe footbag is a sport with limits that are a long way off from what we've seen currently - I think it will be a very long time before the progress of footbag (in terms of what is possible) slows. To me it actually feels like the realms of what is possible (has actually been done - not theoretically possible) is expanding faster than when I started playing.

Were I to take this magic pill then it wouldn't stop me from putting in all the time and effort I currently put in - it would just mean I've got to skip a couple of steps on the way to reaching the top of footbag (something that I don't think anybody will do ever)

I would see it as raising standards - but if lots of people were taking the pill - expectations would be a lot higher. If everybody could hit nemesis we wouldn't regard it as that hard a move - but if taking the magic pill meant I could hit sailing scorpion's tail swirl - and even with the pill nobody else could hit that then I think people would regard it as a hard move despite the drug. I also think that when I hit that for the first time I'd be completely stoked - just like I am without the pill when I hit moves that are relatively much easier.

So in my opinion taking the pill would raise standards and expectations - you'd still get the same enjoyment out of the sport and still need to put in just as much work to be regarded as a "good" player - you'd just be doing stuff of a much higher level.

I guess this might not answer Ken's question - I think in terms of how it was worded - taking a pill to get good or doing the hard work - but not doing both - I would do the hard work since thats much more rewarding, but I can't imagine not wanting to put in the work to get better than however good I am.

[SlashC]

I asked my girlfriend if she would take the pill and she said no.

[crazydwarf]

I said no because it just doesn't seem like something I would do. But then I got to thinking this magic pill can be compared to food... You eat it, it has no negative side effects (if you eat right), it makes you stronger, and it deffenatly makes you play footbag better, starving people can't footbag. Now I deffenatly eat food so is this pill any different? I still feel like it would be wrong but I can't see why, maybe I'm just ingnorent.

[delakong]

I asked my girlfriend if she would take the pill and she said no.

Me to. She said no, to. And she said she'd wouldn't respect the sport (or me) if I did. She kinda got pissy to the point that I alomost thought I had already taken the pill. I still vote unsure (leaning more towards yes).