Listen to Ross and Burbank weekdays on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
 Ross+Burbank


AP: 795ec368-d41d-4758-8cd6-125f1c31a2af
In this July 19, 2009, file photo, Lance Armstrong crosses the finish line during the 15th stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Verbier, Switzerland. Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France during a taped interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, reversing more than a decade of denial. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)

Thank you, Lance

BY Dave Ross  on January 18, 2013 @ 5:54 am (Updated: 6:04 am - 1/18/13 )

Personally I think riding a bike to the point of exhaustion is silly.

So hearing Lance Armstrong admit that he doped? I've always assumed that athletes who excel at unnatural activities have to do unnatural things to get there.

The thing that I find unforgivable is trying to destroy people who told the truth.

What kind of person behaves that way? The kind of person who places winning above everything.

We are exposed to a lot of people like that these days, because it sells. We're Americans; we play to win, nobody remembers the second man on the moon! It was Buzz Aldrin, by the way.

Enough of our athletes have bought into this "go big or go home" culture that we can't take a man by his word anymore, we have to take him by his urine. You are only as trustworthy as your pee.

Except the doping is so sophisticated now they have to suck out your blood too. And little by little our privacy evaporates.

Armstrong was so immersed in winning that when people began accusing him, he actually had to consult a dictionary for the definition of cheating. "Getting an unfair advantage over others," it said. Since all the others were doing it too, he told himself, he was fine.

And it was OK to try to destroy his critics.

But I still say thank you, Lance. Thank you for injecting us with a megadose of reality and reminding us that sometimes it's not the best man, but the most ruthless who wins. For reminding us to pick our heroes carefully, or better yet, to choose someone you actually know - whose urine you can trust without testing it.

Dave Ross, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dave Ross is co-host of The Ross & Burbank Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 9-Noon) and never too far from the spotlight.
More Ross and Burbank

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (27)


  • Add A Comment

  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    "Pick our heroes carefully"?
    January 18, 2013 5:22 am
    This from a dope who proudly chose Obama....twice? Yea, great advise genius.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • biff137 wrote...
    Haha
    January 18, 2013 10:18 am
    thats funny..
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Phyto wrote...
    Winners and losers
    January 20, 2013 5:11 pm
    Obama is a winner, now twice for the office of President. Apparently you didn't support him, making you a loser. Now the only question will be if you are a good loser or not. Being a loser does not mean you are not a worthy person, but being a sore loser is something else. Once elected President Obama is our President and an elected President deserves all our support.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    cyclists and liberals - elitists of ego
    January 18, 2013 5:24 am
    Americans deserve second chances. But NOT after your ego and sense of superiority over all others - your very admission that you did anything wrong - is delayed years. And THEN only because you believe it is to your advantage.

    Like Pete Rose, who also admitted guilt a few years too late, there should be NO second chance for Mr. Armstrong. ................. Oh, and by the way. He probable STILL will keep enough ill gotten money to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Then there are the victims whose behavior is compelled by another's ego, like the first two posters in the comment section.....
    January 18, 2013 7:30 am
    You can almost set your watch by it. Dave Ross will post a topic like, "Lawn sprinklers selling well during drought" and the same predictable voices will find a way to convert the topic to a slam fest against Obama.

    No wonder these guys hate Obama so much. He lives in their heads, 24/7. He haunts their dreams, raises their blood pressure, and deprives them of the ability to find joy in the world. The very fact that somebody for whom they didn't personally vote was elected by a clear majority anyway controls their thoughts and compels their actions.

    They give Obama not just a victory, but the ultimate victory when they allow him to control their daily lives. What a pity. Both would probably tell you "We hate Obama because he wants to control our lives!"- but if you can't discuss any topic from any perspective except how much you hate and are disgusted by a particular politician your life is already controlled.

    And they wonder why the majority hasn't rushed to embrace their world view, attitude, or brand of reality.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    four paragraphs today Chuckles?
    January 18, 2013 8:08 am
    You must feel compelled to respond.

    In order to help you out with your amateur obsession with psychoanalyzing the critics of your political persuasion, it is not Obama that I hate. I do enjoy jabbing at the conformicrats who vote for any charlatan with a D next to their name. They are so easily disturbed by anyone not conforming to their stringent ideology. I realize that you are able keep each other in check by ridicule and intimidation, but that tactic does not work on many outside of your cult.

    I'm disappointed...I haven't been called a racist yet today. It's still early though.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GeekyMom wrote...
    And Republicans are so very different.
    January 18, 2013 8:40 am
    Open to new ideas and new ways of thinking? Not so much... The most unbending, rigid, and vicious people I have met in my life are Republicans. You can give them facts till it hurts and your are still wrong. You don't live your life according to their "standard" and you are a bad person with no redeeming qualities. I am rather flexible willing to listen to everyones ideas. But when the right wing gets on their high horse and tells me I am wrong and stupid, I wonder what it is like to live in another country. But I do try to be a live and let live person. If you aren't causing me harm or violating my personal rights I try to let it go. I know why I read these, sheer boredom, but you why do spew all this hate and just plain meanness?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    Dear Geeky
    January 18, 2013 9:38 am
    Hate and meanness? You do know what projection means don't you? Progressives are infamous for it. Have you ever read any of Dave's old posts about Sarah Palin? His obsession with her revealed his hatred for conservative women. So why do you hate women?

    How do you know that those vicious Republicans you have met (perhaps imaginary friends) are really conservatives? That doesn't make any sense. Maybe they were fake Republicans like Chris Christie or Colin Powell.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Et, tu, Chuck
    January 18, 2013 8:14 am
    Sorry YOU didn't get the first post?

    BTW, where do you see 'Obama' in my post? ... Is he SO Much the liberal/leftist that you think ALL slams against leftist egotists are directed against him personally ?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Correction, Ron. You didn't use the topic of Lance Armstrong to slam Obama
    January 18, 2013 11:15 am
    You used it to slam liberals.

    Feel better now?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Thank, Chuck
    January 18, 2013 12:07 pm
    And it was actually John Edwards I had in mind for the prototype liberal egotist. ... Funny, though, that YOU immediately associated Obama with liberal egotists. :-)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Dave
    January 18, 2013 5:27 am
    Totally agree with you on the unforgivable and disgraceful way he viscously went after and destroyed people's lives who told the truth about him. That should be enough to put him in jail.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pressman wrote...
    A Great American Hero...
    January 18, 2013 5:53 am
    He entered the competition, saw what the rules were, (everyone doping), and beat the snot out of them all at their own game- just like Americans do worldwide 24/7 !!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Pressman
    January 18, 2013 6:08 am
    Obliviously you're one of those bicyclists who dress up in tight little bike suits and pretend they're Lance Armstrong while you arrogantly bloke traffic. You're the guy that wrecks it for intelligent people who ride.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    Umm...
    January 18, 2013 6:18 am
    I don't care. I don't care about Lance Armstrong and I don't care about Mante Te'O's fake girlfriend.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Newton wrote...
    I could careless about Less Armstrong.
    January 18, 2013 6:20 am
    Must denounce one self before intering the occult world. He thinks he's fooling people "I'm so honest". Lance is fooling only himself as if people are unaware.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Lately, I've come to realize that confession can be a weakness
    January 18, 2013 7:44 am
    There are times when confession can be selfish. This might be one of them.

    Take the hypothetical case of a guy who once spent the night with a hooker on a business trip but has otherwise been faithful to his wife. His wife has no idea that her husband was ever unfaithful, it isn't something he has done repeatedly, and she takes great joy in her illusion that her man has always been true to her.

    The guy's conscience grinds, and grinds, and grinds on him. He's carrying around all sorts of baggage resulting from his indiscretion. It bothers him, a lot, maybe several times a day. He feels like he's constantly "lying" to his wife, simply by remaining silent about something he did years ago.

    One day the guy can't take it any more. He takes his wife aside and does the "great confession". Wow, amazing! *He* feels better already. His conscience is clear. Yeah, but it has been cleared at the *expense* of his wife, who might even say she forgives him but who will *never* really trust him again and will in the end feel as badly hurt by the years of "betrayal" as by the moment of infidelity itself.

    I have less respect than I used to for people who confess to "clear their conscience" so they can begin to feel better. All it really seems to do is to transfer the hurt and the pain to somebody else. There's something to be said for living with your dirty little secrets, even when they torment you. In most cases, those dirty little secrets are the result of a very bad choice. If that screws up the life of the person who made the choice- that's as it should be. Why spread the pain around?

    Lance Armstrong? I have almost no respect for a guy who claimed to be a super athlete only because drugs permitted an elite level of performance. I have even less respect for a guy who then wants to clear his guilty conscience, that he earned and deserves, by burdening everybody else with his problem.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    It's what you progressives do everyday Chuckles
    January 18, 2013 8:12 am
    burden everybody else with your problems.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    ??? Psst, Paul....this is not a political topic
    January 18, 2013 11:19 am
    You really are compelled to view the world all day, every day, through the lens of political anger, aren't you?

    What a shame (for you).

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GloScot wrote...
    False Idols
    January 18, 2013 9:08 am
    Lance Armstrong is just another false idol that many people now feel foolish for having worshiped. And it's our fault for setting up people like this -- the cancer survivor who defied all odds to win. Who wouldn't want to support that? We also have worshiped others who ended up betraying us. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire come to mind. I lost all respect for Armstrong when he dumped his wife. That after she stood by him in his darkest days. For me, he was just a fool with money and trophies. His success meant nothing. We all should just see this story as a warning to all of us. Worldly gain is fleeting and is not worth selling your soul.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ACD wrote...
    thank you lance
    January 18, 2013 12:31 pm
    Well said. Hope you disregard the previous comment from Paul, he must be feeling a little hormonal what with the inauguration right around the corner. :)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }