Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Response to Floyd and Cycling




So here's the deal: everybody wants to crucify Floyd Landis and call him a cheater. There are two things that make this different from one of the Big 3 in the states. 1) The fact that I love cycling, not just watching cycling, and 2) The reality of cycling and running.

Let's tackle #1 first: there's a difference in the love of a sport and the appreciation of an accomplishment for someone who still performs the sport. A 45 year old guy in san francisco who loves the giants, but performs no more physical activity than walking half a mile to the stadium is consumed by Barry Bonds alleged (but obvious) use of performance enhancing substances because his sporting existence is wrapped up in a very passive experience. Let's compare that to your average cyclist who is going 2-3 times a week for 50-150 miles per week. They love cycling because they get out and enjoy nature, because it releases beta-endorphines into their system and because they enjoy the social aspects of going through training with other people. Ostensibly, they love the sport (doing it) and not love the player (idol-worship) and said player's accomplishments.

Now for #2: This works in concert with the second half of point #1. If you don't know (and I understand this doesn't make it any better, but) Santa Claus isn't real, and neither are the easter bunny or the tooth fairy. Let me break it down. These guys are riding about 100 miles a day during le Tour de France. 6 days a week just grinding, and let's not forget conquering two mountain ranges in the course of 23 days. Every single one of these guys is a freak and most (if not all) are doping. Lance doped. Ask yourself if you would believe if an italian won the tour 7 times in a row. You know you'd think he was cheating too. You believe it because he's American and you want it to be true.

Until the UCI (Unione Cycling Internationale) actually steps up and tests everybody all the time, OR just say everybody can dope (I kind of like this one because it's all honest), then everything is illegitimate. There's no way of knowing when the UCI controls release of test results and all kinds of publicity; that is knowing whether somebody is clean or if it's just a better decision to let dirty guys compete. When we hold professional sport out as anything other than a business, we kid ourselves. The teams are sponsored because the sponsor wants brand recognition. Perfect example: all of the sprinters going for the green jersey. Robbie McEwen doesn't care about winning overall in the greatest test of endurance; he simply wants to keep the sponsor (Davitamon-Lotto) happy and get the branded jersey on tv all over Europe for a day.

Parents of children say things like, "What kind of message does it send to the kids?" The message it sends to me is you need to teach your kid that he can respect somebody without respecting everything they do. I would also say that you can educate your children about the kinds of athletes they should respect. I think most of us (including myself) are upset with Floyd (even though he could very well likely keep his TDF victory) because we like him and thought he was the real thing (which he could be, it's just not likely). Essentially what I'm saying is teach your kids to be smart, and tell them the truth. I grew up like this and I still enjoy my life without having fantasies all over the place in my head.

Finally, you can still admire what these guys are doing. The amount of power they put out for the duration they do is absolutely jaw-dropping. These guys really are good, and it's something special to watch. Peace

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