"Daaaarrrr. Duuuuurrrr. I wanna be in the Special Olympics."
Original air date: 3/24/2004
As the Special Olympics are coming up, Jimmy goes through intensive training to win, even resorting to steroids. Meanwhile, Cartman hits a new low by training to fake mental retardation to get into the Special Olympics.
Up The Down Steroid contains examples of:
- Adults Are Useless:
- Ms. Cartman is manipulated once again by her son, this time into signing him up for the Special Olympics.
- Yes, Timmy is non-verbal, but Mr. Mackey can't figure out the very obvious pantomime that Jimmy is using steroids.
- Age-Inappropriate Dress: Jimmy's girlfriend, Nancy, wears a crop top and a belly button ring despite being no older than 10.
- Artistic License – Sports: Jimmy is competing in the Special Olympics, even though those are for intellectually handicapped people. Physically handicapped people compete in the Paralympics. Jimmy, aside from his stutter, seems to be physically handicapped more than mentally handicapped.
- Blatant Lies:
- Cartman telling the boys he faked his handicap to get Jimmy to confess. The silent looks show they don't buy it and he leaves in anger when they don't.
- Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi being referred to as baseball "legends". Legendary steroid users is more accurate.
- Didn't Think This Through: Cartman fails to realize three things that are wrong with his plan. The first being that he didn't think of what his "disability" would be, so when the official asks, he and Liane are at a loss for words and nearly blow the whole ruse. The second being that he wouldn't be able to compete with the other kids since he is unathletic and out of shape. The third being that Jimmy and Timmy would see him at the event and reveal to everyone that he isn't really handicapped.
- Domestic Abuse: Jimmy, in a fit of roid rage, verbally berates and physically assaults his girlfriend Nancy for expressing concern over his behavior and then subsequently breaking up with him.
- Drugs Are Bad: We see how steroids negatively affect Jimmy's life, like using them to cheat in the Special Olympics and having a roid rage episode where he beats up his girlfriend and then his mother. Jimmy delivers a speech at the end of the episodes about how athletes who use steroids are "big fat pussies". The camera zooms into notorious steroid users Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi as he delivers the speech as a Take That! against them.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: These days, Nathan is best known as a Butt-Monkey and Sitcom Arch-Nemesis for Jimmy who's usually teamed up with Mimsy. He doesn't exhibit any of those traits in this episode, instead just being a shady dealer who gives Jimmy steroids. This characterization wouldn't come up again until "Basic Cable", 15 years later.
- Easily Forgiven: Nancy, Jimmy's girlfriend, seems to forgive him for the verbal and physical abuse her boyfriend gave her days ago, smiling when he confesses how his substance abuse made him hurt his loved ones.
- Epic Fail: Cartman is so ridiculously unfit that he places dead last in every event.
- Everyone Has Standards: While she concedes to Cartman's whims yet again, his mother thinks that Cartman pretending to be handicapped and signing him up for the Special Olympics is crossing a line.
- Foreshadowing: When Kyle tries to get Cartman to back out of competing by appealing to his soul, Cartman turns the tables by bringing up The Passion of the Christ and how it's the Jews who are doomed to hell. Guess what the next episode covers...
- Handicapped Badass: Cartman's competition turns out to be this, much to his detriment.
- Hypocrite: Jimmy gets mad at Cartman for cheating despite cheating himself; thankfully, Timmy calling Jimmy out on this is what gets Jimmy to come clean.
- Karma Houdini:
- Cartman not only gets away with faking a mental handicap, but gets to keep his voucher for Shakey's even though Jimmy revealed to everyone Cartman was faking it. On the other hand, he does get deeply, deeply humiliated.
- While Jimmy admits that he cheated and used steroids, he's never shown answering for the abuse he heaped on both his girlfriend and mother.
- In a case of Early-Installment Weirdness, Nathan has nothing happen to him for his steroid dealing.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Played for Drama. Jimmy is normally friendly and respectful, but after taking the steroids, he becomes aggressive towards his girlfriend and then his mother when the she tried to intervene.
- Kyle finds Cartman's plan to be so horrible that he attempts to have a heart-to-heart with him to make him reconsider, believing that he will go to hell for his actions. Unlike most of their interactions, Kyle sounds genuinely concerned for Cartman.
- Outclassed at the Gym: Cartman pretends to have a mental disability in order to participate in the special olympics. However, he is so out-of-shape that the other contestants effortlessly beat him in all competitions. He is infuriated to come in last place, though his mood improves when he is given a consolation award of 50 dollars.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title comes from the book Up the Down Staircase.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Jimmy comes clean about using his steroids, the camera focuses on Giambi, Bonds, and McGwire, implying his speech about how people who do steroids are pussies is meant as this trope towards them.
- Take That!:
- Notorious cheaters Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi are called "big fat pussies" for taking steroids.
- Part of Cartman's training to successfully act like he is retarded is watching Kid Rock.
- Tears of Remorse: Jimmy has these in the hallway after senselessly assaulting his girlfriend and mother.
- True Companions:
- Timmy goes to every length he can to stop Jimmy from taking steroids.
- Believe it or not, Kyle was actually this towards Cartman when he shows genuine concern that Cartman will go to Hell for his plan. He even calls himself Cartman's friend.
- Underestimating Badassery: Cartman thinks that he can beat every mentally and physically-disabled participant in the Special Olympics easily on account of being neither (in his own mind anyway). Turns out that's not the case at all, and he ends up coming in last place in every event.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Cartman responds to Kyle's genuine concern he'll go to Hell by making an anti-Semitic comment, telling Kyle he'll go to Hell, and pretending he's worried about Kyle going to Hell.
