On the positive side, we know that Lance was a fierce - win at all costs competitor, goal oriented, compulsive about his training, highly focused, disciplined , aggressive and perhaps the greatest bike rider ever. We also know that he overcame testicular cancer, was a tremendous ambassador for the sport, inspirational, was a terrific role model, had top-notch sponsors and raised mega amounts of money for charities. He was the spokesman.
Now we know a more complete the picture of Lance. He is a liar, is ruthless- cut throat toward his former friends or anyone else that got in his way, is cold and calculating, neither thinking about nor concerned with the total picture or carrying about the consequences of sadistically and ruthlessly hurting so many including friends. He employs denial, rationalization, compensation as some of his defense mechanisms .He has superego deficits and difficulty feeling emotions like guilt. Now as more emerges about him he seems to have many negative , common neurotic and human frailties. However, like so many other notables (sports figures, politicians) he also shares in the same character traits- lying. One can also add cheating to his list of behaviors.
I’m afraid that his Tour de France legacy has been tarnished and likely forever. I don’t think a PR campaign of a book, a documentary or the television interviews are going to fully overcome the public’s loss of trust in him. We know that not everyone dopes in sports. However, in our sports, money, and in the culture of success complex it’s not uncommon to cheat and doping behavior has been going on for quite a while.
The public is likely partially responsible for its idol worship-looking for heroes to fawn over culture. And then the corporations, like vultures, jump in and over indulge with all their promotional carrots. It is obvious that sports, entertainment, movies and TV are big business in our economy. Even one of our TV programs “American Idol” is symptomatic and a good example of instant fame, money of our hero worshiping culture. And certainly don’t forget that his “team “facilitated and implemented a very sophisticated program of (cheating) doping .
Likely, for the rest of Lance’s life he is going to have to deal with the “shame “that he brought on himself. Will he ever resolve this psychological issue? Have we seen the real Lance? He is young and probably will be able to reconstitute an authentic self. Hopefully he’ll learn to be true to himself, to develop real friendships, give back to society and become more human. There is more to his story. I hope he is able to change.
Likely, Lance will do better than Joe Paterno the former football coach at Penn State. In his scandal, Joe’s statue was toppled; he was disgraced and was shamed. Joe obviously didn’t cope very well with the distress in his ordeal and died shortly after the scandal broke in the news.
Be prepared for documentaries, books and interviews in an attempt to restore the public Lance .Let’s see just how successful that turns out for him. Maybe his lifetime ban, in sports, will be lifted and he’ll be able to compete in triathlons. As he runs a 2:45 to 3 hour marathon coupled with his biking ability he should do very well.
The moral of the story- man is imperfect so be careful of your gods and idols. As you know, the Old Testament addressed this issue a long time ago.
On Saturday, Matt, Alpha and I completed the 23 mile Way Too Cool training run. We were joined by Farah, Diane, Randall and Chris as well. I was pleased that my Achilles held up and I was able to get in my ground time. The weather was very cold at the beginning; the trail had spots of ice but otherwise was in good condition. Alpha complained of tightness in his shoulders due to the cold. Matt and Farah just returned from India and felt the jet lag effects.
Today, we are running on the trail since moving and running are good.
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