There’s been a lot of talk about cycling and steroids this week…what with Tyler Hamilton’s 60 minute display and his being from Marblehead. Now, I wear a beard and have a penis, so I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the sport. However, the issue and this particular instance both hit close to home for me so I should give my final ruling.
I once heard a good baseball playing friend of mine comment on Barry Bonds: “who cares how much he juiced, he still has to have a ton of skill to hit the ball.”
Yeah, fine. Tons of skill. But what about the guy with tons of skill that didn’t juice? And what if we are talking about just making it to the majors and not being a superstar? Then, the guy with no juice gets fucked by a cheating p.o.s. End of story.
Hey, everyone screws up. Sometimes all those sissy emotions like greed, jealousy, lust etc get the best of us and we make the wrong decision. All of us (please bear this in mind when I make sweet sweet love to your wife, Jerk). But going on sixty minutes and pointing fingers to stay out of jail does not make amends. Explaining the long and arduous road that led to your poor judgement does not make amends. Be a man, come clean, and eat your stinkin’ crow. Then, when your done with your time, give the people you’ve fucked a chance to tell you whether you’ve made amends.
My buddy that’s a pro cyclist was watching the 60 minute thing this past weekend; watching his training partner come clean; realizing, I think, the extent to which he just grabbed ankle. He said, whether it be joking or not, “I should have doped. That was the difference.” Well, guess what? No, you shouldn’t have. There, now you know. You may be a delicate version of Reggie Dunlop to local cyclists instead of some huge star with endorsements coming out ya arse, but you can say “I was there. I rode with the best. I was on the doorstep to cycling immortality. And I didn’t cheat.” Then you can go back to your boring, perfect life and not look back with regret.
A friend of mine (and the inspiration for this foolish site) also makes a great point: why are the American people paying for FBI investigations and jail time for athletes that cheat? A good read over on Nanepashemet (links on the sidebar).
Doug Maxfield, life coach. Business cards soon to come.
This picture? Off topic. But athletic none the less.
