By Steve Lewis: We have seen and heard about it many times already on the internet, the television, and even on the radio: the biggest fight of the decade could go down the tubes over drug testing procedures!
Rather than rehash what many others have already said, allow me to touch up on the mindset of superstitious people (and believe me, there are plenty of them in professional sports), and the impact of breaking superstition.
Baseball players are perhaps the most superstitious of the lot. Just watch them with their own little routines: the number of times they have to swing the bat before they step back on the plate, the way they have to arrange and nudge their baseball caps a certain way, all the various mannerisms, refusal to change socks until a win streak is broken, good luck charms, and it goes on and on.
People from developing countries tend to be more superstitious than those from more developed nations. Such is the case with WBO Welterweight Champion, Manny Pacquiao.
Perhaps it was ingrained in him as a youth, when he was probably told of tales about falling lizards when umbrellas are opened up inside the house, or of vengeful Smurf-like dwarf beings who could curse you should you carelessly step on one of their tiny little villages. Whatever the case might be, Pacquiao is known as a superstitious individual and a creature of habit. Ask the folks at the MGM about how Pacquiao has to have the same room every time. Would it really make a difference if he were given a similar room down the hall or one floor below? Apparently for Pacquiao, it does.
Similar to the notion that having sex before a major sporting event would lead to sub-par performance (though studies indicate that this is more of an old wives’ tale), Pacquiao feels that the drawing of blood so close to a fight would weaken him.
The amount of blood needed for these tests are minimal, and will have no effect on a person’s PHYSICAL state…and I do emphasize the word “physical.” Someone who has a superstitious disposition, however, will be more affected MENTALLY if forced to break superstition.
Now I do not consider myself a superstitious type. However, I can recall the many times I have refused to move from a particular spot on the couch or scolded someone about moving from where they were standing at when my beloved football team was playing, as if the team’s fate rested on where I sat or where my friends were positioned. And when I was younger, I thought the Lakers championship run was dependent on whether a particular aunt was watching the game on television or not. Silly, I know, but imagine how it is for the truly superstitious, who genuinely believe that the ways of nature are not always according to logic and science.
The mental impact that the Olympic-style testing could have on Pacquiao could be immense. If he believes that his vital life juices have been sucked from him and cannot perform at optimal levels, he will not be in the right frame of mind to compete. How many times have we seen a highly ranked college football team, who was favored to play for the national title, only to be upset by a defeat a game before the championships, thus sending them to a less desired bowl game against a less regarded team, who would in turn defeat this formerly regarded team because they were no longer in the right frame of mind? Was it because they were overrated and could not even defeat this less regarded opponent? No. It was due to a mental letdown of not being able to play for a national title, and instead, having to settle for a secondary bowl game.
Such could be the fate of Manny Pacquiao. But I do believe that Pacquiao has enough fortitude to still pull off an upset victory. If Pacquiao can weather through the distractions of catastrophic typhoons, the filming of movies and TV shows, and the constant courting by political sharks and leeches, he certainly can overcome blood tests.
And what of these blood tests? Manny Pacquiao’s camp had already agreed to do three blood tests: one to be done before the kick-off press conference to announce the fight, another one 30 days before the fight (no later than Feb. 13), and one right after the fight in Pacquiao’s locker room. Floyd Mayweather’s camp is concerned that not being able to randomly choose a testing date would allow Pacquiao to “play” the calendar.
To me, this would imply that you can conceivably flush out HGH’s out of your system within 30 days after injecting it, and that having it flushed out of your system (or injecting HGH only once or twice) can actually do enough good to improve your performance.
It is my understanding (albeit limited) that HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs need to be taken in longer stretches to be most effective. This is not like a can of spinach that instantaneously makes Popeye super strong after just one serving! And similarly, once it is no longer in your system (especially after a short term intake), can it really still be that advantageous for the user? It would seem like drinking a big cup of coffee three days before you actually plan to pull an all-nighter! What good would that do?
Most people see Mayweather’s ploy as exactly that…a ploy. He has placed Pacquiao in a compromising situation where it can be a lose-lose proposition for the Filipino champ. Refuse the test and be clouded with suspicion, or take the test and possibly compromise your mental state of mind.
It is like the poor schmuck at the airport shortly after the 9/11 tragedies. Airport security wanted to see whether he was hiding anything in his rectal cavity, despite having no probable cause to be suspicious in the first place. The poor schmuck says, “No way! I’m not hiding anything!” “Well then,” replied the officer, “if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn’t worry about us doing a cavity check.” Sure enough, there was nothing. But the indignity of getting probed intimately never sits well.
For Pacquiao, this is an opportunity to clear the record, and to shut the “roids” conspiracy theorists up once and for all. This is an opportunity to show that despite what hoops they make you jump through, that you will still smash through and exceed expectations. For boxing fans, we hope you relent to Mayweather’s demands.
For Mayweather, you are a very skilled boxer. So skilled in fact that your own father stated that you can defeat Pacquiao, whether he’s on steroids or not. This is an opportunity to prove what you have always claimed – that you are the best of all-time. For boxing fans, we hope you drop the unnecessary demands, and face Pacquiao.
So my Christmas wish is that we are granted a clean (again, a clean) competitive fight for the ages.
Can’t wait for the face-to-face showdowns. But don’t forget, Manny and Floyd. Don’t be making funky faces. I heard if a bad wind blows, your face could get stuck that way.
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