Lance Armstrong

[MsSassyBaskets]

The way I see it, he was a professional athlete, which by definition meant that he was probably doing something untoward. I don't know why everyone had such high opinions and expectations of him. Our cultural idolization and idealization of athletes baffles me.

[weeniegeniewife]

Our cultural idolization and idealization of athletes baffles me.

Word.

[SuzySunshine]

Our cultural idolization and idealization of athletes baffles me.

Agreed! If an athlete does good things with his wealth I'm happy to point that out to my kids but otherwise they're just people who happen to be gifted athletically.

[Cinderella]

Lance Armstrong admitted to Oprah in his interview that he started using performance enhancing drugs in the mid-90's prior to him getting cancer that metastasized to his lungs and brain. He'd been competing and had already won several sports events before the seven Tour de Lance's. Pun intended.

[SoonerTexan]

His take on it was quite interesting. He basically said that in the world of professional biking every athlete is doing some sort of performance-enhancing supplement or strategy.

That's true. DH said he doesn't even know if they will reward many of the #1 spots to other victors in the Tour because you have to go WAYYY down the list to find someone that was not already known to be doping.

This is to say... It's not all black and white. Apparently the difference for Mr. Armstrong is he p***ed off the wrong people and got turned in. Most of this is politics - you keep the right people happy and they don't turn you in for what everyone you are competing against is also doing.

I disagree. The dude wasn't using aspirin. He was blood doping, among other things. It was an open secret in cycling that pretty much anybody who was good was doping in some way, shape, or form and that is finally starting to change because of crackdowns like this. It really made the sport a bit of a joke. Lance certainly isn't the first, he was just the biggest fish.

[diggitydot]

Many very high-level athletes have some sort of sophisticated doping regimen. DH does sports medicine with USA Weightlifting and he can pretty much point out which athletes are using or have recently used PEDs. It's obvious. These athletes quit their doping just prior to the testing window so their tests are "clean".

The stories DH can tell about PED use and various intrigues in international sports are really eye opening.

[Deebs]

I think the worst part with Lance was that he WENT AFTER people who knew and completely devastated their lives. I wish this would be a wake up call about our country's priorities, hero worship of people who are SO FAR from anything I want my kids to admire, but it won't.

[MsSassyBaskets]

I wish this would be a wake up call about our country's priorities, hero worship of people who are SO FAR from anything I want my kids to admire, but it won't.

ITA. The fact that "everyone is doing it" doesn't make it LESS bad that Lance did, it just makes it so incredibly clear to me that we shouldn't be supporting the whole venture. Lance et al. aren't appropriate representatives of our country on the world stage, they aren't appropriate role models for young athletes, and they don't deserve our adoration. Pull their sponsorships. Stop watching. Let them fade away. "If MsSassyBaskets ruled the world..."

[SoonerTexan]

Hey, I'm sure Europe is absolutely giddy over this news

[diggitydot]

Most ALL sports have issues with doping, not just the ones popular in the US. USADA is one of the most thorough anti-doping agencies in the world and people still get past them all the time.

[SoonerTexan]

. What I AM saying is that the people who knew about Armstrong doping were doing it themselves and HAD to know many others who were doing the same. Except...Only Lance Armstrong gets turned in

He wasn't the only one. Just the only one we really care about in the US because he was such a big fish. They weren't ignoring the competition--he was just harder to catch.

Floyd Landis, Michael Rassmussen, Alberto Contador...there are tons.

[spotty_dog]

DH pointed out that Lance's behavior is probably psychopathic, and while he may go through the motions he will likely never empathize with those he has hurt along the way. My observation was that the big public apology sounded like a 12-step program.

I've been kind of prosaic about the whole scandal. I mean, could *you* take a sample of a few pints of your own blood, concentrate the RBCs, re-inject them, and then go ride your bike for 23 days averaging 25 miles per hour and climbing the equivalent of 8.5 Mount Everests? Could you even finish? How about if you took a hematocrit booster instead to keep your blood carrying extra oxygen while you rode? Would the ride become simple then? Parrying and attacking, countering and enduring? These guys are incredible athletes, and while it's disappointing that the competitive environment means that the edge given by these artificial boosts is the difference between fame and anonymity, between being a contender and dangling off the back of the pack, it also doesn't exactly make the big name dopers any less of world-class athletes.

I dunno. My son is named for a man I still think was the greatest cyclist of the 20th century. He was busted for doping with stimulants in the 70s. I just...I dunno. Cycling as a sport won't be the same for many years after these years of scandal, already the Tour is downright boring, and that's kind of a shame. I just don't know what would be any better; certainly I don't want my children to grow up thinking that enhanced performance is somehow superior to unenhanced. Bleah.

[houseelf]

Our cultural idolization and idealization of athletes baffles me.

Um, can we start an entire thread on this issue? This Lance discussion is interesting and all. IMHO he is an a** par excellence, but I think that his story is part of a much bigger cultural issue. I could make comments on everything from the near non-cancellation of the NYC marathon to the Steubbenville Rape case to every freaking high school athletic team acting like they are State Championship bound with their unreasonable practice requirements that infringe on family vacation time.

Listen, I'm an athlete and a coach. I actively encourage my kids to play multiple organized sports. My husband coaches middle school and college athletes and is a former college hockey player. With all of this being said, "IT IS JUST A GAME, PEOPLE!" We have lost sight of who we are.

/rant over. I'm sorry, but this issue keeps coming up again and again in multiple derivations and we never seem to get at the heart of the matter.

[SoonerTexan]

every freaking high school athletic team acting like they are State Championship bound with their unreasonable practice requirements that infringe on family vacation time.

My family isn't allowed to leave town for Spring Break because my sister has practice that week. It's freakin' JV Softball. Whatever.

[MsSassyBaskets]

I just made a thread here: http://www.medicalspouse.com/forums/...832#post633832