Lance Armstrong Fiasco Exposes Ugly Underbelly of Sports! (accuse, Canada, how much)

[E. Perry McNeil]

Note: this article is an expression of the author's opinion, with no claim of any factual basis. Please accept it in the spirit offered.


What a travesty it would be for Lance Armstrong to have his medals stripped! Yet, this is a REAL prospect pursuant to which way the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) rules on the matter.

I confess my ignorance in not knowing if the following is a spoof:

Lance Armstrong Wants To Tell Nation Something But Nation Has To Promise Not To Get Mad | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

No matter, it appears to encapsulate the question of whether-or-not he did (what he is accused of) in a nutshell.

From all of the pieces which I have read over the years - magazine articles, excerpts from books, etc - there appears to be a certain narrative which could be woven around this whole question of cheating in sports.

It appears to be universal that sports champions - those who strive to approach the limits of human endurance - provide an outlet - a type of catharsis - for the spectating majority to achieve some type of vicarious release of pent-up energy from living mundane, ordinary lives. We posit super-human abilities on our athletic champions!

What with these super-humans' being exalted to the status of demi-gods, is there any wonder that the "...spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" internal struggle yields to the desire not to disappoint, no matter WHAT measures have to be taken?

Ironically, it could conceivably be argued that the decision to 'cheat' could be based on an unselfish motive to not fail the expectations, hopes and dreams of all of those who have sacrificed their lives for the advancement the athlete in question, whether that 'someone(s) be an actual supportive human family or the nation in general whom the athlete represents!

This is not to say that there might not be merely a purely selfish motive at play for the athlete in question to win at ANY cost? Who can forget the jaundiced eyes of Canada's Ben Johnson as he bested Carl Lewis, only to be busted shortly afterwards! For some people, the desire to win at any cost apparently is so great that it takes getting busted TWICE (as in Johnson's case) to realize how 'addicted' one is!

No sport appears to be immune from the urge of certain of its participates to get an edge - Marion Jones in Track and Field, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sousa, Barry Bonds (with an asterisk) in baseball (with Roger Clemens' having successfully been granted 'exoneration'), - with the list extended ad infinitum!

We, the cheering spectators as WELL as the governing sports bodies, along with the sports sponsors are just as much to blame as the athletes themselves! There is so much pressure exerted into the contests by 'all of the above' that it's no wonder the cheating demon rears its ugly head!

Who can forget the exciting duel between McGuire and Sousa to be crowned 'Home Run King', which might have saved baseball from oblivion? We all cheered them on (along with the league owners, sponsors and governing bodies) without giving a thought to how increasingly they (i.e., McGuire and Sousa) were morphing into 'incredible hulks'! Meanwhile, baseball took in MILLIONS!

So it was with cycling, specifically, the Tour de France. From everything which I've read about it, the pressures from sponsors for the teams to be 'competitive' was so great - think MILLIONS of dollars' being poured into this pinnacle of cycling race - that ANYTHING which might give a 'leg up' (pardon the pun!) was rampant! Blood-doping (extracting red blood cells from one's body, allowing the body to replenish them, then adding the extracted cells back to yield greater oxigen-carrying capacity), steroids, HGH (human growth hormone) and anything else deemed 'helpful' was used.

As the story goes, the pressure to be competitive was so great that the American team (including Lance) met as a group and came to the consensus that they HAD NO CHOICE but to 'do as the Romans do when in Rome' in order to retain their sponsors! Basically, they made a pact to 'cheat' (just as everyone ELSE was doing) or lose their sponsors!

Therefore, with there being a level playing field to BEGIN with, it would be HEARTLESS to deny Lance his due for exerting an iron will along with a maniacal focus on training - taking his body to the LIMITS of human endurance - in order to win seven straight Tours de France! Very few feats in the pantheon of sports rivals his accomplishment - think Bjorn Borg's (if I Spelled that right?) winning five straight Wimbledons, etc.

If you MUST put an asterisk by the name of Lance Armstrong* in the record books, so be it! However, in the name of all that is fair and decent, I implore the 'powers that be' to REFRAIN from stripping him of his medals; for, no party's hands are clean concerning this matter!

[KUchief25]

Frenchies still mad a guy from the US kept winning their race. lol

They tried to frame him so many times it's neither here nor there anymore.

[GTOlover]

anabolic steroids would not be much use unless the goal is to heal faster from a injury so he would not be taking amounts to gain 20-25 pounds of solid muscle in 6 weeks since he was going for endurance over brute strength and size which work against him...


But all sports have issues with Steroids and HGH and Rx Painkillers

[GTOlover]

I can answer the NHL has players on steroids and sudafed, methylhexaneamine and
smelling salts etc. are common in the sport also.

Steroids increase lean mass, endurance, and both short and long term recovery.
Also, not all steroids are created equal. Some may really increase mass (Anadrol), while some may help endurance and strength more (Anavar).
Fact is, there are many aspects of athletic performance for a hockey player that steroids could augment. It also should be noted that they increase fat burning capabilties as well.

Some attributes include:
- Strength: People may not realize, but it is dramatic how much stronger steroids can make you. I'm talking 50-70 pounds of a bench press, maybe 100 pounds for a squat. This leads to increased leg strength, which is very important for hockey, and increased upper body strength - (shots, powering to the net etc)
- Mass: People say "ohhh it makes you bulky". Many steroids with a clean diet should not have many water retention and should decrease fat, some times drastically. What happens when a hockey player loses 10 pounds of fat and gains 15 pounds of muscle? He is heavier, but his athletic performance will not be hindered because he is leaner. He will be MUCH harder to knock off the puck.
- Speed: Steroids improve leg strength, which means increased speed. Perfect example is runners - cough "Ben Johnson".
- Endurance: Steroids can also improve endurance. Hockey players can log more minutes.
- Wear and Tear: Steroids drastically improve your ability to heal from injuries (muscular ones)
- Explosiveness: Steroids can help athletes reach top speeds more quickly.
- Aggression - Maybe a competitive edge
- Shot Power - This would be a combined effect from increased strength and an increase in mass.

HGH - which is not an anabolic
- This can increase your bodies ability to regenerate ligaments and soft tissue. This will work synergistically with the anabolics to recover from injury
- Bone density - will be harder to break a bone.

Imean take the stanley cup playoffs and all the hits and injuries they rack up and you can see why it would be widespread to get a edge to win..also look how small the players in the NHL get before the Olympics and how fast they gain size back after in the NHL.

[Speleothem]

Armstrong was tested countless times and always passed.
His performance was also always consistent.
What's the statute of limitations on this silly crap?

[KUchief25]

Athletes will always try and get an edge. It is in their blood. Winning isn't everything it's the only thing and all. Pitchers still throw spitballs and folks steal signs in baseball. Look at the Pat's using hidden video surveillance or the saints and their bounties put out. Been going on forever. I honestly don't know how those cycling guys ride that far that many days in a row myself. Crazy. Ass must hurt like a sob after sitting on that seat for a couple weeks straight.

[pknopp]

It's the Onion. It's a spoof.

[KUchief25]

Yeah but it's still a topic.

[DiogenesofJackson]

This is a good discussion to have about athletics in society. For too long people have been blinded by the myth that athletics builds character and instills integrity in its participants. Actually, as evidenced by all the sports scandals dating back 100 years now, no this is a myth. Athletics destroys character and inhibits integrity.

Here's my personal experience with athletics. When I was a youth playing playground football in the sixth and seventh grade, my coaches routinely instructed me to cheat at the game--to hold in a way in which the officials couldn't see it. "If the refs can't see it, then it's not a penalty!" my coaches barked to me and my teammates. By high school DBs were instructed to interfere with a receiver if the ball was going to get caught. While coaches didn't encourage steroid use, winning at all costs was encouraged and expected. This sentiment was implied "hey, if you can get an advantage on the other team, then do it, rules be damned!"

It's no surprise to me that the New Orleans Saints had a bounty program. I remember high school coaches telling me to hurt players on the other team. "Take 'em out!" they'd scream. "If you can't beat 'em, then you have to make them leave the game!" In other words, play dirty and hurt them.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

This is a good discussion to have about athletics in society. For too long people have been blinded by the myth that athletics builds character and instills integrity in its participants. Actually, as evidenced by all the sports scandals dating back 100 years now, no this is a myth. Athletics destroys character and inhibits integrity.

Here's my personal experience with athletics. When I was a youth playing playground football in the sixth and seventh grade, my coaches routinely instructed me to cheat at the game--to hold in a way in which the officials couldn't see it. "If the refs can't see it, then it's not a penalty!" my coaches barked to me and my teammates. By high school DBs were instructed to interfere with a receiver if the ball was going to get caught. While coaches didn't encourage steroid use, winning at all costs was encouraged and expected. This sentiment was implied "hey, if you can get an advantage on the other team, then do it, rules be damned!"

It's no surprise to me that the New Orleans Saints had a bounty program. I remember high school coaches telling me to hurt players on the other team. "Take 'em out!" they'd scream. "If you can't beat 'em, then you have to make them leave the game!" In other words, play dirty and hurt them.

I played Rugby right through school (they started us at age 9). I can never recall being told to cheat, asked to cheat, encouraged to cheat. In fact, if any of our players got thrown out of a game by the ref., there was an extra punishment from the school. We played hard but we played fair and the same was true of our opponents.