You are a cheater

The stories were popping up like crazy on Facebook Sunday night. The walls have started to crumble down on Lance Armstrong. After all these years and all the deception it looks like the truth is finally being told by cheaters with integrity. (An oxymoron I know)

Lance Armstrong is a cheater.

I, for one, am not very surprised. Of the top 10 finishers in the seven Tours de France that Lance won it appears that 41 of those spots were occupied by people that were later caught doping.

What a bunch of cheaters in a tainted sport.

I used to race bikes. I never became pro or anything so I never did any major tours but I did do a lot of races in the late 90’s. I even did a five day stage race a couple of times. The stages were hard but I worked my way through and did OK for myself a few times. I can’t imagine what it would be like to race like that for three straight weeks with millions of dollars on the line with each pedal stroke.

That’s crazy.

So they all doped. Big deal. They are making a living cheating. So what?

So… you are a cheater too.

Really?

Yeah, you are. You see Lance Armstrong and the rest of the cheaters and liars of the murky world of professional cycling cheated to take a short cut to achieve a goal. For them the reward was millions of dollars…

(By the way, for several of the Tours de France that Lance was winning him, George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton, Frankie Andreu and Floyd Landis were riding for the United States Postal Service. Yeah, our tax dollars funding a bunch of druggies who figured that it was OK because everyone else was doing it.)

Where was I?

Oh yeah, their reward was millions of dollars. They took a shortcut to the money. Have you ever taken a shortcut? Think about it.

Who had taken a diet pill? Who has bought the ab roller? Who got the B12 shot? Who bought Herbalife? Who’s on Medfast? Who did the Atkins diet?

Do you see the point?

Lance Armstrong is just another in a long line of arrogant people with money that think the rules don’t apply to them. Think Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons! Truth is that we are all the same. We all do it.

We all cheat to win. We all take short cuts in life. It’s what our society is all about. Everyone does it.

“It’s hard to eat right….. I need gastric bypass… my kid will only eat Ramen Noodles... I don’t have time… I don’t have money… I don’t know how…” I could go on all day.

Instant gratification is the only way to go these days it seems. Everyone has an easy way to do anything and everyday will cheat to win.

It’s crazy.

Tired? Never mind getting enough sleep and eating right, have a Red Bull or a Monster.  Having trouble “coping” with life? It’s OK, get drunk. Fat? No need to “diet and exercise”, just take this pill and you’ll be OK.

Again, I could go on and on and on…

 Today I have a message. It’s a two part message; two very simple parts.

These professional athletes that cheat are losers. Our kids look up to them and we cheer them. We buy crap that has their name on it and we read their books. We applaud them and we worship them. Then they cheat and all that is taken away.

That sucks.

Roger Clemons was the best picture of my generation. He did drugs to get that way.

Barry Bonds hit more home runs that Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. He did drugs to accomplish that feat.

Lance Armstrong was the greatest ever in the sport that I love and compete in. He cheated as well.

It’s a crying shame.

Our idols failed us. But you know what? You failed yourself! You cheated as well! Not everyone but so many cheat to win in fitness. So many do diets and pills and machines to take short cuts just like the professional athletes that we demonize. We smoke, we drink, we do drugs, we use caffeine, we take pills, we drink shakes….

You hopefully get the point. In an effort to get ahead we have all cheated in some way.

It’s sad really.

In our society, and it seems the world in general, winning has become more important that the race. I wish we could all just enjoy the journey from here to there and not be so focused on what is at the end of the race that we forget to look up at the clouds or down at the flowers and really just appreciate the gift that we all have that is life on this earth.

I hope that you think about this as you go through your day today.

Me? I’d rather try my best and finish where I finish then cheat and risk the shame of being a cheater. What about you?