Viva Viagra?

Sooner rather than later, we could see an NFL player barred from playing the game for having an erection lasting longer than four hours.

Adderall has landed two Seattle Seahawks in hot water, but perhaps the newest drug of choice for NFL athletes, Viagra, could help them play better on the field and between the sheets.

In a sportingnews.com article, Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall said that he has heard of NFL players taking Viagra to help them get an edge on game day. Granted that Marshall let on this little golden nugget of information because he was asked about Adderall, but now Viagra is in the news again. Now the debate regarding whether or not the little blue pill should be illegal in professional sports is on like Donkey Kong.

Naturally, your curiosity has been piqued. Since the average age of an NFL player is 27, it would be hard pressed to think that these guys are taking Viagra for its scientifically generated purpose: helping old men across America re-awaken their own one eyed wonder weasels for a strained go around while their partner wonders whether or not their bottle rocket will pop off mid-launch.

Now that you have that image burned into your brains, there actually is scientific evidence that suggests that this is completely possible. An article published by magicbluepill.com said that Viagra dilates blood vessels and forcing the body to pump more blood through the lungs and get more oxygen to the muscles.

The New York Daily News also reported that Viagra can counteract the impotence created by testosterone injections and other performance-enhancing drugs.

The burning question is whether or not the NFL has banned or should look into banning Viagra. To date, the World Anti-Doping Agency has not barred the little blue pill from being used because the effects of the drug at sea-level have not yielded the same results as high altitude usage. Although in an interesting plot twist, the WADA has banned ExtenZe because it contains the steroid Dehydropiandrosterone.

This is fantastic marketing for the NFL while the drug is still in play. Slogans like “Viagra: Because anything that lasts longer than four hours is a sporting event,” or “Viagra: The male enhancement drug all our players are using,” or “Need to get up on game day? The NFL does with Viagra,” or “Viagra: Helping NFL players get third and long,” and finally “In a game of inches, Viagra gives you the edge on Sundays.”

The possibilities for these slogans are nearly endless.  

If the NFL actually does go out of its way to ban the old man mast rising drug they will be able to hide behind the notion that Viagra could be used in a PED cocktail and would use it to beat drug testing.

Well that and every player doped up on Viagra would make fumble pile ups incredibly awkward. And it could re-define the “illegal contact” penalty.

But other than those reasons, NFL players will be saying viva Viagra unless it gets banned. Or they suffer from the side effects, whichever comes first.