In a time when the world needs heroes, I don’t understand the witch hunt that’s been perpetrated against Lance Armstrong, the seven-time victor of the Tour de France and inspiration to millions.
I’ll be quite honest; I don’t fully understand the charges against Armstrong, but from what I can gather, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has accused the cyclist of using performance-enhancing drugs in 2009 and 2010. Armstrong, who fought his way through cancer and back onto his bicycle in 1996, had become a symbol to the world of what people can achieve with hard work and dedication.
Despite testicular and brain cancer, he was able to not just compete, but win. It was a modern-day fairy tale with Armstrong serving as central figure.
The thing with Armstrong is, he didn’t just win, he did it with a smile. And he became the poster child for success-despite-hardship. Lance Armstrong was a living motivational poster — just add poster.
It truly makes me wonder why the USADA seems to have tried so hard and gone out of its way to try to discredit him and strip him of the titles he had won. Do they not like fairy tales? Are they jealous? Or is there just a curmudgeon in charge who wants to see the mighty fall?
I’m not about to endorse cheating. I think athletes who juice their bodies in order to game the system should be barred from their sports. It’s akin to chief financial officers caught with their hand in the cookie jar. If you can’t follow such a basic tenet of your career, you should obviously have a new career.
So am I saying that Armstrong is innocent? No, actually I’m not. Truth is, I have no idea. He has said he’s innocent. But I wasn’t there and I don’t know the science of it. So I’m actually going to assume that he’s guilty.
Even assuming he is guilty, I think the USADA should have left him alone — for the sake of his image and for the sake of what his image has meant to millions of people.
If Lance Armstrong was doping and cheated his way into seven victories in the Tour de France, that surely affected the world of cycling and potentially cheated his fellow competitors. There are potentially seven people who could have titles that don’t because of his blood doping. For those seven people, his potential cheating is a life-altering event and assuming they now get their titles, this is vindication.
But are those seven people’s vindication worth the effect it may have on the — literally — millions of people who had looked up to Armstrong?
Could it be that those who were convinced that they could do anything now believe that it was all a lie? Could it be that in bringing down Armstrong, really the USADA has upset cancer survivors around the world? Could it be that in “winning,” the USADA has made losers of not only Armstrong but everyone who was a fan of his?
And if any of those are true, was it really worth it?
Scott Leffler can ride his bike with no handlebars. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Can't beat a weekend of food, folks and fun
Amongst my many varied likes are tasty food, cold beer and cute brunettes. Not necessarily in that order.
So you can only begin to imagine my delight when I was granted a weekend jam-packed with all three.
This past weekend, I was honored to be able to serve as a judge for the pierogi contest at Buffalo's Dozynki festival on Saturday. I was also fortunate enough to judge appetizers at The Taste of Lockport on Sunday.
The weekend began normally enough - waiting for my girlfriend to get out of the bathroom. (Seriously, girls, what do you do in there and why does it take so long? Every man in America is dying to know).
Then we packed up the kids and headed to North Tonawanda for the Thunder on the Niagara jet boat races, which I knew would be a real treat for my girlfriend — who probably took 1,000 pictures of the boats— and her son — because what six year old boy doesn't want to watch jet boats race?
After we got our fill of jet boats (and the kids got their fill of PB&J), we headed to the heart of Buffalo for the Dozynki Harvest Festival at Corpus Christi Church where I saw some old friends, did some 12-ounce curls, and feasted on pierogi in an incredibly wide variety of flavors from standard sauerkraut to cheeseburger (with all the fixings). I was one of 20 judges for the pierogi contest and while it was certainly fun, in honesty, it wasn’t easy because there was not a single bad pierogi amongst the offerings. In all honestly, some were simply more awesome than others.
My favorite pierogi of the day a beef on weck created by Brian Marek. Sadly, our table didn’t get a chance to try the top vote getter in the non-traditional category, a reuben pierogi. But I had a reuben pierogi last year and can understand why it would win.
After pierogi, we bowled at the Corpus Christi Club across the street from the church. I won, of course, (with a measly 120) but Heather and the kids did great, too. Then we trekked back to Lockport to rest up for day two of my great Western New York eat-a-thon.
Sunday had been planned out for months. I took the night off work so I could spend it serving as Heather’s tag-along, carrying coffee, protecting her from her adoring fans and whatever other odd jobs I’d be given. Heather is, among other things, co-president of the Lockport Business Association, which oversees the Taste of Lockport.
However, early last week I secured a spot as a judge in the appetizer category of the Taste, a role I’ve served in a few times since the Taste began just over a decade ago. So what had been planned as a day of me following my girlfriend around became another day of hard labor, forcing down delicious goodies.
As was the case the day before, I can honestly say that there wasn’t a single poor offering put in front of me as a judge. There were some offerings, however, that were more spectacular than others. My personal favorite was a meatball on a stick from Middleport’s Alternative Grounds Caffe.
After the judging, there was some walking, more eating, and of course, washing all those tasty morsels down with cold beer. It was such a hard day.
Between Dozynki and the Taste, I ran into far too many people to even begin to name drop without leaving people out and offending, so I won’t. But it’s always nice to get out and see people — especially those I haven’t seen in a year or more.
Sadly, I missed the Erie County Fair this year — one of my favorite annual pilgrimages — but with so many other things going on, I barely missed it.
Scott Leffler is a professional food taster and an amateur columnist — at least in some people's eyes. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler where he can name drop at will.
So you can only begin to imagine my delight when I was granted a weekend jam-packed with all three.
This past weekend, I was honored to be able to serve as a judge for the pierogi contest at Buffalo's Dozynki festival on Saturday. I was also fortunate enough to judge appetizers at The Taste of Lockport on Sunday.
The weekend began normally enough - waiting for my girlfriend to get out of the bathroom. (Seriously, girls, what do you do in there and why does it take so long? Every man in America is dying to know).
Then we packed up the kids and headed to North Tonawanda for the Thunder on the Niagara jet boat races, which I knew would be a real treat for my girlfriend — who probably took 1,000 pictures of the boats— and her son — because what six year old boy doesn't want to watch jet boats race?
After we got our fill of jet boats (and the kids got their fill of PB&J), we headed to the heart of Buffalo for the Dozynki Harvest Festival at Corpus Christi Church where I saw some old friends, did some 12-ounce curls, and feasted on pierogi in an incredibly wide variety of flavors from standard sauerkraut to cheeseburger (with all the fixings). I was one of 20 judges for the pierogi contest and while it was certainly fun, in honesty, it wasn’t easy because there was not a single bad pierogi amongst the offerings. In all honestly, some were simply more awesome than others.
My favorite pierogi of the day a beef on weck created by Brian Marek. Sadly, our table didn’t get a chance to try the top vote getter in the non-traditional category, a reuben pierogi. But I had a reuben pierogi last year and can understand why it would win.
After pierogi, we bowled at the Corpus Christi Club across the street from the church. I won, of course, (with a measly 120) but Heather and the kids did great, too. Then we trekked back to Lockport to rest up for day two of my great Western New York eat-a-thon.
Sunday had been planned out for months. I took the night off work so I could spend it serving as Heather’s tag-along, carrying coffee, protecting her from her adoring fans and whatever other odd jobs I’d be given. Heather is, among other things, co-president of the Lockport Business Association, which oversees the Taste of Lockport.
However, early last week I secured a spot as a judge in the appetizer category of the Taste, a role I’ve served in a few times since the Taste began just over a decade ago. So what had been planned as a day of me following my girlfriend around became another day of hard labor, forcing down delicious goodies.
As was the case the day before, I can honestly say that there wasn’t a single poor offering put in front of me as a judge. There were some offerings, however, that were more spectacular than others. My personal favorite was a meatball on a stick from Middleport’s Alternative Grounds Caffe.
After the judging, there was some walking, more eating, and of course, washing all those tasty morsels down with cold beer. It was such a hard day.
Between Dozynki and the Taste, I ran into far too many people to even begin to name drop without leaving people out and offending, so I won’t. But it’s always nice to get out and see people — especially those I haven’t seen in a year or more.
Sadly, I missed the Erie County Fair this year — one of my favorite annual pilgrimages — but with so many other things going on, I barely missed it.
Scott Leffler is a professional food taster and an amateur columnist — at least in some people's eyes. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler where he can name drop at will.
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