After watching Lance Armstrong’s doping confession interview with Oprah this past week, I thought of the times in my life when sports brought me down because of performance-enhancing drugs. Thanks to drugs, I can’t watch sports the same anymore, and that’s truly sad.
I remember gluing my eyes to the television back in the day when Armstrong, a cancer survivor, went on a tear in the world of cycling, winning seven consecutive Tour de France races and launching the Livestrong Foundation to raise money for cancer.
I remember begging my dad to take me to any store in the area to purchase one of those heavily sought-after yellow Livestrong bracelets that I was convinced everyone in the world was wearing. Sure, I wanted one because I thought it would make me cooler, but I also marveled at what Armstrong did on a bike and I wanted a bracelet that would make me more like him.
To this day, I’m aware that Livestrong helps to raise money for cancer awareness, and I’m all for that. But the man behind the project, Armstrong, is a fraud and arguably the most pathological liar we’ve seen in the history of sports. I was cheering for a man who cheated to win, and that’s sad.
I also cheered for cheaters in baseball. I spent most of my childhood days in St. Louis, Missouri, cheering on my beloved St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. I rooted for Mark McGwire, who hit an incredible 70 home runs during the 1998 season.
I collected his cards, spent money to watch him cranks homers, and pretended I was him while playing wiffle ball in my backyard, all while having no clue that he was pumping steroids to garner more success. He cheated, and looking back on those days is sad because McGwire tricked me.
I did a grade school project on Barry Bonds, drew pictures of Sammy Sosa to hang on my wall, and sent a letter to the Texas Rangers requesting an autograph from Rafael Palmeiro. All three of these guys (and many more baseball players) took steroids to enhance their performances, and that honestly puts a dent in my childhood memories. All those hours in awe of cheaters.
I’m a huge fan of running, and I keep up with professional runners thanks to a few resourceful websites. Running too is tainted. If an athlete breaks a record there are many accusations saying he or she is on drugs. The Kenyans and Ethiopians, who have been dominating distance running for years now, spark controversy because people label them as cheating drug users. It’s sad, but is it true?
Who can I trust now in sports? Am I still being tricked today? Are some of the runners and baseball players posted on my bedroom walls cheating to gain success? I try to picture a world of sports without cheaters, but it’s nearly impossible with the way things have shifted.
I feel sorry too. Sorry for those athletes out there who truly work hard and put in hours to improve in their respective sport. I feel sorry because if that athlete has a breakout year or shows steady improvement, people will discredit all the hard work and credit the drugs. Even I will probably question.
I’m still a huge fan of sports, but no, I can’t trust every athlete. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is. And it’s not just cycling, baseball, and running that are tarnished; it’s multiple sports all over the world.
With increased drug testing and longer suspensions for illegal substances, it’s my hope that one day all athletes on every level will not even consider drugs and just do it the natural way. Unfortunately, I believe that day is far, far away.
For now, I’ll just wait and see who tricks me next.
-James Rogers
