http://tinyurl.com/a4a8sl2 – click here to read full Dan Wetzel article

I was deeply saddened by the first night of the Oprah/Armstrong debacle.  The Dan Wetzel article above really spells out that this is a ruthless, arrogant bully, totally uncaring and unfeeling.  Dan expresses what I feel better than I could.

I always suspected that Lance cheated but I felt that he was to some extent forced to.  If he could actually win the Tour after his return from cancer it, would be one of the greatest stories in sports and would have given a lot of people hope that they could also recover from the disease.  And of course, after one victory the pressure to show it wasn’t just a fluke would be even greater. And as the Foundation started to flourish the pressure was greater still.  In other words, I felt that his possible cheating was primarily for the benefit of others, not Lance.

I could understand that and hoped that this would be his explanation, because it matched my expectations.  No way!  There was not even a hint of nobility in his cheating and arrogance.  He simply wanted to win for the money and the fame and to hell with anyone who tried to get in his way.

I’m not watching tonight.  I already feel that I have seen too much.  Shark Tank is on and those folks will seem a lot less predatory than Lance.

But in a way, aren’t we all to blame for Lance?  We cheer the champions but never take a very close look at how they got there or their character.  I suspect that most really successful people are a lot like Lance, ruthless, arrogant, anything to win.  Maybe that’s why they accomplish more than most of us; maybe that’s what it takes to win.

If this is true, than character is a major impediment to success.  Maybe that’s why we almost never see character in our elected officials who seem to be totally out for reelection and for themselves and never out for us.  Clearly the best chance Lance has for redemption is via elective office.  He’ll fit right in!

Earle Bower