Description: We're extremely anxious about the disappearance of heroes.

Question: Mo Rocca on Sports and Steroids

Transcript: Every time I hear about it, I think back to when George Bush in his State of the Union a few years ago mentioned steroids in sports as a major issue, and he was mocked for it.  And maybe he deserved to be mocked for it, but obviously he has an internal __________ that’s pretty . . . that’s pretty darn accurate.  Like he . . . I guess he knew that a sports crazy America would really be riveted to this.  I mean so it’s really brought in . . .  My bet is that it’s bringing in big numbers, and that the hearings themselves are gonna generate a lot of profit. I think there’s a lot of anxiety about the . . . I think there’s a lot of anxiety about the . . . I think there’s a lot of anxiety about the disappearance of heroes.  And you know since 9/11 it has felt as if institutions and heroes are crumbling all around us – the FBI; the CIA; big business with Enron; the Catholic Church with the sex scandals; now sports with the steroids scandal.  I mean you know I visit a lot of college campuses.  And I haven’t taken any polls, but it’s very . . . The good thing I see is that . . . that kids seem to have taken all this in, and it’s made them not cynical, but very skeptical.  And it’s why I believe it when I hear that there’s a lot of more . . . a lot more volunteerism happening; small organizations where people are devoting their time; where they can see their payback; where they can see the effect of their work more quickly and transparently.  You know this has been a very bad decade for institutions . . . for big institutions and for the heroes that sit on top of them.

Recorded on: 2/14/08