I'm putting two of Ed’s posts together into one irrefutable fact: cycling is way better than baseball. On the first angle of doping.
Cycling’s position on doping, to me and nearly everyone, is unknown because it is a fringe sport and the only reason ESPN picks up stories about it is if it includes Lance Armstrong. Yet, the 100th running of the TdF has been a resounding success, and one that features a winner who embraced the questions about doping and stands for the new cleanliness of the sport having never been accused of or tested for doping. See coverage HERE. People want to continue to point to the Lance Armstrong era as what is wrong with cycling. This time period is absolutely no different than the McGwire/Canseco/Sosa era. But fortunately for us cycling fans the sport has moved on, and baseball is still stuck in the quagmire.
The commissioner of baseball recently stated in conjunction with all star festivities (hold on, that’s coming) that the sport has cleaner than it has ever been. Really? Have you heard of Biogenesis? Ryan Braun, the equivalent of the TdF champion, got off on a technicality last year for doping and is part of as many as 25 players that will be suspended for doping at some point this year! Among the names: Alex Rodriguez who has already admitted to doping once. Word on the street Miguel Cabrera is on that list too, the first triple crown winner since the Yaz in the 70s. The great historians and flag bearers of baseball have come out and said they will not vote anyone from this era into the Hall of Fame. Selig calls steroids a "societal problem", not a baseball problem. Who is sticking their head in the sand?
Now on to the All Star game angle. We agree that the spectacle of an all star game is only acceptable if there is no gimmick (home field advantage in the world series for example) that makes it appear to be a relevant game. The idea of an all star game isn’t really applicable to cycling, although the last day of the TdF does feature casual riding and the ceremonial champagne for the winner-to-be. But then you get into Paris and all hell breaks loose. It confused Sheila as we watched the finale last night. She asked if that guy already had the champagne and is going to win, why is everyone racing so hard? You see, until the last second of the race it is meaningful to someone. And if it is meaningful to one rider on each team it is meaningful for every rider on every team. In addition to the yellow jersey, there are a variety of other winners including stage winners. So the TdF ends with 3 guys going 50 MPH on the cobblestones of Paris separates by less than the diameter of a bike wheel. Awesome, right down to the last inch of a 2,053 mile bike race. A celebration of the sport, yet competitive for every single second.
To sum it up succinctly and to demonstrate the clear superiority of cycling as a sport, when was the last time any of us picked up a glove and participated in our national sport? When was the last time we got on a bicycle and participated in France’s national sport? We have all been inspired to participate in RAGBRAI, but have any of us played in a recreational baseball or softball league in the last decade?
The French may be assholes (thank you Jim Carrey), but they got this one right!
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