Friday, August 24, 2012

Lance Armstrong: Doper?

Apologies for the brevity: I'm juggling a lot of stuff today, so not a whole lot of time to write here. But I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention the news that's stunned the sports world: Lance Armstrong is being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)  after he decided to stop fighting allegations that he had doped his way to the podium.

This isn't just about sports. In fact, the little trinkets and trophies ultimately mean nothing. It's about an icon who battled back from life threatening illness and became a hero to cancer patients, families and communities everywhere. If we can't believe in people like Lance, who can we believe in?

I shudder to think that a child in a hospital bed somewhere might feel that she's lost her hero. I shudder to think of her family, trying to explain the unexplainable, to a child who needs all the heroes she can get.

4 comments:

CorvusCorax12 said...

It is sad...i'm not much for putting human beings on a pedestal. We all have balance sheets, the good and the bad, and unfortunately sometimes one or two bad things can outweigh all the good. Not sure if I make sense here :)

Kalei's Best Friend said...

And if he is a doper, I shudder to think how he has to live w/what he has done.. being found out.. what about his family? and his conscience .. the rest of us can learn to deal with it.. Heroes are human, first and foremost, they aren't God and I sometimes wonder if God is infallible... Humans are full of flaws, we just choose which flaws are acceptable.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

@Corvus: I agree w/you.. I don't agree w/putting people on pedestals.. what a responsibility it is for them to uphold that!.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Just saw Piers Morgan's interview w/ a gal w/last name of Brennen.. Can't remember the affiliation she has...(sorry, senior moment).. Looks like he (Armstrong) has been condemmed by this person.. Guilty as charged by Ms. Brennen... My major newspaper this morning did not say that he was guilty, just that he had given up the fight... To be honest, since it supposedly has been proven that he has cheated, I doubt if he cheated for the sake of cheating.. to me, ( not making excuses) the stress that was probably put upon him to WIN..to 'DO IT FOR YOUR COUNTRY' crap... sorry, but this may be the case. Pressure is put upon anyone who competes against other countries/teams... I am sure China, Great B. as well as others may imply the same... Its amazing how greed, exposure, is so damn important nowadays... You would think just sheer merit would suffice... or am I naive?