I can't say I was surprised to hear that Sammy Sosa was a drug user, and hearing the news that he took steroids sort of closeed the book on a great time in my childhood.

I became a Chicago Cubs fan in my living room watching them play on WGN thanks to a wonderful 13-foot satellite dish that sat in my family's back yard. I started watching the Cubbies shortly before Sammy started smashing home runs at a record pace and once he started to do so, I was one very happy teenage boy. I would cheer very happily, and maybe very innocently.

These types of sports moments in our lives are important and allow us to grow. I had many of these experiences across a variety of sports growing up. I enjoyed some of them while playing sports, but many of them came at my favorite venues and in front of the family television set. These special memories are those I remember vividly many years later.

The events in time I am talking about are those that were historic. These were moments that for me as a child were similar to that of 9/11 or Michael Jackson's recent passing. I remember exactly where I was while watching my heroes destroy records and doing things never seen before. We have very few opportunities to remember happy moments this way, and now I wonder if these moments will ever exist in sports again.

Growing up in Canada, hockey was always the sport my dad and I would enjoy together. We would go watch the Winnipeg Jets play, and I would rehash every moment of those games on the ride home, which seemed to go by in a flash whether they won or lost. The enjoyment was always the same even though I wanted them to win every game and cheered as hard as I could. The experience was great. I felt that because I played hockey, I was much like the men I would see on that shiny white sheet of ice.

I clearly remember my first hockey game. When my father handed me that Winnipeg Jets-Hartford Whalers ticket, I looked at it and read every word front and back. I might not have understood many of the rules written on the back of that ticket, but I knew I was going to the game. This experience was pure. If someone did something that had never been done before, I would be able to simply enjoy it with my father in the seat beside me.

Growing up, baseball was never as popular at home or in my community as hockey was, of course, but my love for the game was as strong as that for my favorite childhood toys. I cheered the Toronto Blue Jays in the early '90s and I remember following the rise and fall of players like Mo Vaughn and many of the Atlanta Braves throughout their historic run. I became a Cubs fan and they were involved in leading me to watch Sammy.

As Sammy and Mark McGwire made their run towards the record books, watching baseball games became a part of my nightly tradition. It became a part of my parent's nightly plans as well. I felt as though we were all enjoying something magical. They might not have found it as exciting as I did, and the home run race required even more arguing to get me to practice the piano, but I felt they wanted to see history, too. We wanted the record to be broken. I remember watching Mark hit that record-setting home run, and I remember Sammy following suit. Those were moments my family enjoyed together.

I no longer live with my parents, but it would be nice to enjoy those types of moments again. I am concerned that after finding out what we have about Sosa and McGwire that children will not have the same experience. I was too old to get that same magical feeling about Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron. I wondered at the time if this was because of my age or because of the naivety that I, along with most of North America, have lost over the drug scandal.

I will never say I am less of a fan of baseball today, then I was during the drug era. I am as big of a fan as ever. I live and die with every Cubs game, but now I care about winning and losing. When I hear that a player is chasing history when it comes to power numbers, the feeling is not the same. The connections between friends and family are not the same, I am sure.

Baseball, hockey, football, any sport is an escape. These are parts of our lives that let us dream, let us be children. The magic is disappearing. This does not mean that baseball is not great, it does not mean that we should not still cheer our favorite teams and players, but the opportunity to be caught up in a chase, and a "moment," is more difficult than it was in the past.

I am upset and confused with all that has transpired since Jose Canseco wrote his book. I still have the memories of what Sammy and Mark did, and I appreciate that. The question that has to be asked is if these memories will ever be available for future generations. Will they be recording the next record chaser on their PVRs and iPods in the way that I made sure to have a VHS tape loaded for every potential record setting game?

Time will tell, certainly. But, I hope today's children will be able to enjoy those moments that allow us to dream, to bond and to have the chance to become part of something bigger than ourselves.