I listened to an interview with film-maker Daniel Gordon who is in Toronto for TIFF with his new documentary 9.79. http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/979/trailerThat was the extraordinary time recorded by Canadian Ben Johnson in the 100 metre dash at the Seoul Olympics of 1988. Many of us can recall cheering wildly as Johnson defeated a shocked looking Carl Lewis, the arrogant American runner. Of course, what seemed to be too good to be true was. Johnson was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs and Lewis was the recipient.
Not only was Johnson shamed, so was Canada. There was a soul-searching inquiry where cheaters were revealed and blame accepted, at least in this country. But not elsewhere, even though it is likely that virtually everyone in that race, including Lewis, was "juiced." Lewis actually tested positive at several times in his career but always managed to avoid censure.
This film is timely because nearly a quarter of a century later athletes were stripped of medals or sent home from the London Olympics this summer. Cyclist extraordinaire Lance Armstrong had his seven Tour de France wins revoked and was banned from competitive racing (the latter hardly a punishment.) A couple of high profile baseball players were suspended for drug use during the summer, and another superstar acquitted but still under a cloud of suspicion.
There is an old adage that "cheaters never prosper. Well, apparently they do, or at least attempt to profit from cheating. We can only surmise that many cheaters get away with their hijinks. Unfortunately this all undermines the legitimate accomplishments of the majority.
I wonder what is worse, the athletes who cheat, or the culture that idolizes the very best, at any cost. Being an athletic winner can bring considerable fame and fortune. We tend to turn a blind eye to those who break the rules in order to perpetuate the image of the superstar.
One of the Ten Commandments prohibits idolatry. Surely we need to revisit this commandment and ask whether willingly collude in creating idols who will do anything to be the best.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
It is disheartening to see athlete after athlete being found to be a cheater. I don't feel I idolize any athletes or teams(although the Pittsburgh Steelers come close!).
ReplyDeleteI remember the Ben Johnson situation well. I was spending the year in England, and the days leading up to the 100 m final, I was doing a lot of boasting in my office about how Ben Johnson would win the gold for Canada. For them, it was all about their runner, Lynford Christie. Well, you can how my coworkers got back at me after Ben was tested positive!
I'd argue that you have to be a "cheater" to be on the same playing field (so to speak) in professional level sports. How do you compete when so many are doing it? Your skills wouldn't be up to par at all. Not that I condone it, I think it's just the way these days.
ReplyDeleteGo on YouTube and look for the film "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" by Chris Bell. It covers the ins and outs of steroids and performance enhancement from the 1970s, through to Ah-huld, Hulk Hogan et al in the 80s, and onto the recent baseball scandals. In one interesting sequence, he interviews a group of concert musicians who take beta blockers before concerts in order to conquer their nerves. He asks the interesting question of why this isn't considered as cheating by most, but how performance enhancement in sports is.
ReplyDeleteIt's such an interesting film.
What's scary about Seoul is that Carl Lewis actually tested positive for a banned substance BEFORE the Games! The American Olympic committee found a way to explain the substance away as an "herbal remedy."