Big Brown wins the first two legs of the Triple Crown, and people wonder how much he benefited from his monthly injection of Winstrol.

Terrell Owens gets NFL probation for missing a drug test, and people wonder whether he knew he was going to flunk it.

Every week, doubt is cast on another sporting achievement, and I wonder why we continue the charade of outrage.

Let me be clear: Using performance-enhancing drugs to succeed in sports is wrong. It is (or should be soon, for horse racing) against the rules and the law. It sends a horrible message to kids who will do whatever it takes to fulfill their dreams.

But guess what?

We live in a society consumed by performance-enhancing drugs, and that culture isn't going anywhere.

Your kid slams two Red Bulls every day to stay awake during class.

Your overweight neighbor finally gave in to those late-night informercials and started taking Lipozene.

Your single buddy sucks down Muscle Milk and creatine to give him confidence when he approaches a woman at a bar.

Enhancing performance isn't all about hitting 500-foot homers and running over defenders at the goal line.

In April, New England Patriots offensive lineman Nick Kaczur was busted with unprescribed OxyContin, a painkiller. In a forthcoming memoir, former Carolina Panther Jason Peter admits taking 80 pain and sleeping pills in a day.

You can argue such abuse is performance-diminishing, not performance-enhancing. But that's the way they coped with the pain and pressure of their lives, the same way your secretary pops double doses of Wellbutrin and Effexor to handle taking your orders 40 hours a week.

Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world, and don't tell me you didn't wake up with a cup of coffee this morning. I'm on my third cup as I write this. That's not healthy, but it's better than landing face-first on my keyboard at 3 p.m.

Most of us are on one performance-enhancing drug or another. People will do what's needed to get ahead — or just to keep up.

There's a big difference between legal and illegal, use and abuse, and athletes rightfully are held to a high standard.

But why do we feel the need to act disturbed and offended with each revelation?

The shock value is long gone. Yet, people shake their heads and wonder what's wrong with athletes, as if we're all that much better.

Maybe it's worth taking a moment away from the debate about how our athletes' drugs affect society to think about how our drug society affects athletes.

Tom Pelissero is assistant sports editor of the Press-Gazette. E-mail him at tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com