First, I would suggest reading this post by Lauren Fleshman. She says it better than I ever could.
A Letter to Lance Armstrong: A Fellow Pro Athlete's Plea
Then you should come watch our JV and Varsity Boys Basketball Games today vs. Francis Parker. JV starts at 4:30 pm and Varsity starts at 6 pm. Why? Because these games will mean something.
The biggest problem to me about the issue of performance enhancing drugs is that they destroy the meaning of accomplishment in sport.
Occasionally I like to watch the WWE. People who know my wife are surprised to hear that she and I once attended a Pro Wrestling Match at the Philadelphia Spectrum in which the highlight was the Undertaker in a Body Bag Match and we had a good time. It was highly entertaining. And surprisingly a lot of folks in the audience believed what was going on. But it was FAKE. It was drama but it was not true physical accomplishment. It was equivalent to going to a really good movie. Nothing wrong with that but it's not real. It is an escape from reality.
Tonight in our gym, I guarantee you you will see something REAL. Real physical effort and an outcome that will be decided due to talent, practice, coordination and teamwork. And it is going to mean something significant to the players, coaches, fans of both teams.
This is the beauty of High School sports. It is REAL. Unlike Lance's Seven Tour De France victories that to me now were just a beautiful way to see the remarkable French countryside.
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