America's Will to Win

         The front page of today's New York Times read, "Armstrong's Wall of Silence Fell Rider by Rider." With just a little blurb on the front page I continued to read this article about the cycling world's doping scandals and found that there was still a whole other page-- "Continued on Page 14." As more news comes out about Lance Armstrong being stripped of his titles because of doping, I really started to believe that this is all true. At first, I just kept trying to convince myself that he would never go to the extreme of doping to win, but now the U.S. Anti-doping Agency has the proof to back it up. After all, he has been a role model for so many all over the world-- the man who battled cancer and fulfilled his dream of cycling with numerous Tour de France medals!

Landis Floyd and Lance Armstrong pictured together while
they were still friendly with each other. 

          The article introduces one of Armstrong's ex-teammates Floyd Landis "who was among the first to reveal the culture of doping." Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for failing a drug test. I then went on to read that when a rider joins a team, he may have no idea what is going on on the inside. In the case of the U.S. Postal Team, riders found themselves caught up with their team mates in doping, but not one of them could tell anyone, not even their families. When Floyd Landis first told a journalist of this, he was then asked, "Have you told your mother?" He responded that he had not yet and made a comparison to the Mafia, "When you're in the Mafia and you get caught and go to jail, you keep your mouth shut, and the organization takes care of your family. In cycling, you're expected to keep your mouth shut when you test positive , but you become an outcast. Everyone just turns their back on you." Is this risk really worth the win?
          Armstrong recently stepped down as the chairman of his cancer foundation and lost nearly all of his endorsements-- did he think that he would never get caught? So many athletes have gone to extremes in using drugs to enhance their performance, thinking they will never get caught, but again... what ends up happening?... they get caught. Is our will to win enough to succumb to cheating and lying? Will cheaters prevail as winners? Is our will to win enough to manipulate our bodies? Is it for the fame and money or the pride of winning?