I was thinking about this with all the Lance Armstrong stuff and I'm curious as to why we are bothered by this stuff.  It's not like sports scandals are something new.  The Chicago Black Sox players threw a World Series for a few thousand dollars (which was, BTW, a shitload of money at the time).  In 1951, 32 of the nation's top college basketball players were indicted in a massive points shaving scandal.  Baseball had its era where damn near every player was taking something.  Tonya Harding was involved in the plot to wreck Nancy Kerrigan's knee.  Salt Lake City got the Olympics the old fashioned way - they bribed Selection Committee members.  Tiger Woods spent as much time chasing women who weren't his wife as he did practicing his swing.  Spain sent a basketball team to the 2000 Paralympics and 10 of the 12 members lacked a disability.  In the words of one player, "we were told to act stupid."  Danny Almonte was the star of the 2001 Little League World Series.  It helps to be two years older than anyone else on the field.  Nelson Piquet was told to crash in a race so that Fernando Alonso could win.  Runners, of course, know about Rosie Ruiz.

So, cheating is nothing new and it crosses all sports boundaries.  No sport is exempt once large sums of money are involved.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying that cheaters shouldn't be punished when caught.  I'm just wondering why we express such outrage when it happens.

I think we feel conned when they turn around and do something like this. It's the same shock with anyone you would look up to doing something wrong.

Usually these don't bother me, but the whole way LA fought everything..tastes bad.

For me, it's because of a personal connection that I feel with the sports figure, even though I don't know them personally.  As in, it's someone that I admire for the hard work that they are able to achieve.  And then when they betray that trust, it bothers me, again, even though I've never met them, don't know them, and are a complete stranger, it still bothers and angers me.  Now, having said that, there are thousands of no names that do the same thing, and since I don't have a connection with them, I couldn't care less.

It really doesn't get to me that much.  I don't really think much about it because I'm not directly affected by it.

However, I'm a Baltimore Ravens fan, and it really chaps my ass that I get totally harassed on Facebook by my friends (I live in an area heavily populated by Steelers fans) and all anyone can say is OHHHHHH RAY LEWIS THE MURDERER when 1) it's not about Ray Lewis' personal life, it's abut THE GAME, and 2) these people don't even know the facts of the case.  Which point to him being totally not guilty of murder.

I hate cheats.

I hate cheats who prosper even more.

That's true in sports and all other walks of life.

I'm not sure if "bother" is the right word in my case.

To me, sports are entertainment.  They don't produce a tangible product.  I pay to be entertained.  By that same logic, athletes are entertainers.  Unlike Hollywood, the athletes are not playing a character.  They are the character.  So, while I don't care, or to take it a step further, don't want to know about the personal life of movie stars, an athletes actions are part of the entertainment.  Just to clarify, I don't like to know too much about actors and actresses, because I want to believe and enjoy their characters on the screen without bias.

In sports, just like in the movies, you have villains and good guys.  You have both sides of the coin, and it does add to the drama of sports.  Like I said, the athletes are the characters that entertain us.  If my favorite shortstop gets a DUI, it interferes with the next game or episode if you will.  You can't separate the two.  Steroid use, off the field issues, sex scandals, all effect the performance we see during the next competitive endeavor.  Yes, even Tiger Woods.

Last week, someone asked why everybody cares so much about Manti Te'o and his imaginary girlfriend.  My response was, "Why did we care when we thought she was real and passed away on the same day as his grandmother?".  We didn't know if he was going to play.  Then, we were all inspired that he played a great game in spite of the sorrow.  Now, we wonder if he's not only NOT the mentally tough individual that we thought he was, we're wondering if we'd want such a gullible guy leading our favorite NFL team.  Oh, and it's entertaining.  It's like finding out that Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are the same guy in Fight Club.  What an amazing twist!?

It's that simple.

Awood was faster than me in his post with much the same thought.

 

Sports in its purest form is entertainment.  And why do we spend time or money on entertainment -- to take us out of reality and into an imaginary place where one can drift/dream or just vacilate.  Thus we cross the line from a physical attachment to an emotional attachment.  We get invested in the outcome in the desire to stimulate our own endorphines, or in the case of my area (Philadelphia), cry in our misery.

 

Its that emotional attachment that then tends to bother us.  Ever wish that the person who was ahead of you in your 5k race tripped and you passed them; or their shoe came untied; ever wish that the smart student in school was sick the day of your big exam so that you had a better chance of finishing first or number 1?  It is such silly emotional thoughts that express our innate desire to be ahead, do something positive, be a winner/leader.

 

I have become less invested in sports as I age, as the need for exceptionalism is satisfied moreso by family and myself.  Scandals bother us on a moral basis, challenging our inner beliefs to seek the truth and remain faithful to our core values.  Yes money corrupts, and I judge not those who cheat, I try to use these moments to teach integrity to my kids.

LOL!  Except in 2008.  

But I think the emotional attachment comes from people who look to these athletes for inspiration.  Didn't you ever want to be (insert famous baseball player's name here) when you grew up?  Or something of the sort?  Even as adults, we look up to certain athletes.  Look how excited people get when they are running the same race as Meb Keflezighi (or whoever else).  It's not always just about the entertainment.

 

LOL!  Except in 2008.  

 

But I think the emotional attachment comes from people who look to these athletes for inspiration.  Didn't you ever want to be (insert famous baseball player's name here) when you grew up?  Or something of the sort?  Even as adults, we look up to certain athletes.  Look how excited people get when they are running the same race as Meb Keflezighi (or whoever else).  It's not always just about the entertainment.

I met elite athletes as a youngster, and realized that I could never be that obsessed.  Seriously, hang out with an Olympic wrestler for a couple of days.  Watch them workout, compete and eat.  Ask them about the mythical off season, which doesn't exist.  So, I guess when I was really young I wanted to be those guys, but then I realized the other side of the coin is sacrifice.  The level of sacrifice is beyond what I was willing to give to a sport without any guarantees.  I got to the top of one sport and that was powerlifting.  Why?  Because there's a limit to how much time you can lift weights and benefit from it.  It worked with my schedule.