I still remember those days back in 1998 and 1999 (I was 11 and my brother was 9) when we first became totally enthralled and consumed by the world of sports. Every moment we watched a game, a match, a competition, there were endless dreams that filled our heads and inspiration that filled our hearts. Anything was possible. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa obliterated a nearly 40 year old home run record with awe-inspiring power and big smiles. The Yankees won multiple World Series as if they didn’t know anything else was possible. Tiger Woods burst onto the golf scene as not only a man of a different background, but as the first young, engaging and exciting player to watch on Tour. Even in a sport we still didn’t quite understand, we watched Lance Armstrong bring new spotlight to the world of cycling as his triumph against cancer captivated sports fans across the globe. Seeing all that would make you believe that you could accomplish anything. That nothing could stand in your way forever. It was the beauty of sports – bringing people together, instilling belief and motivating/inspiring change and success. But all of that rests upon a very fragile foundation. A foundation of trust.
One Mitchell Report, a Biogenesis article, a car crash in Florida, a World Doping Agency investigation and countless other indictments, suspensions and inquiries later and we’re left with shattered pieces of what we once believed. How can anyone, as a sports fan, reliably trust an athlete these days? Rumors used to be media-promoted hearsay that rarely amounted to anything substantial or even real. But now rumors are often the closest thing we as fans have (or will ever have) as facts. Who knows exactly what Lance Armstrong did to win all those Tour De Frances? Or what Ryan Braun took to win the MVP? However, this broken trust runs even deeper than that. Not only do we need to be wary of every rumor, every hint of foul play, but we can’t even trust the words of our own sports stars. Public speeches with heartfelt stories and confident proclamations of innocence used to be (and should be) viewed as a tough, yet respectful gesture by our sports stars to strengthen our trust and belief in them. But now? Now, we have no idea how to see between the lines, read behind the stoic looks and interpret the real truth even though the words indicate something different. Ryan Braun may be the most recent, but there have been an unfortunately high number of stars in the last few years that have publicly lied about their past. LIED to everyone. LIED about CHEATING.
And, after all this, where are we left as sports fans? Confused, ashamed, embarrassed, regretful, vengeful? Regardless of the feeling, we’re all definitely scarred. No longer can we believe and be inspired like we were as kids. Now we believe with caveats, motivate with asterisks and dream with caution. We see amazing feats or glorious triumphs and can’t help but let that poisonous thought cross our mind: “did this only occur because someone cheated?” It not only degrades achievement in the eyes of the beholder, but it unfortunately takes away from any athlete who has legally and legitimately achieved something great. Instead of joy, support and celebration, they get interrogation and investigation. But who could blame us (fans, media)?
Whether it was ever their fault or not, athletes of yesterday have obliterated that foundation of trust such that athletes of today (and in the future) need to live up to a higher standard. They have to work twice as hard and be twice as transparent to even start to rebuild that foundation. Confident words of innocence are no longer accepted. Regular test results that have to “tell” the truth (for now) are required. Pristine criminal records, past, present and future are required (I’m looking at you Aaron Hernandez and Oscar Pistorius). On-time arrival to every practice and every game, even in college are required (cough…Johnny Manziel…cough). Now the spotlight shines brighter and in more places, which means a lot more money to gain, but also a lot less to hide. I’m not saying we as fans or the media need to further intrude into the personal lives of sports stars. I’m actually vehemently against that type of invasion of privacy. However, I am saying that sports stars of today and tomorrow will need to be voluntarily more open and more transparent about their skills, their training and their innocence than ever before. Good or bad, they’ll need to work harder than anyone before them to achieve the same level of trust and belief. And when they do, my brother and I (and all of our sports brethren) will be here to greet them, celebrate them and believe in them as they once again inspire us to be great.
——————————–
Dan Reaves
Thanks for checking out “The Drive.” Come back weekly for more articles on sports’ critical role in society, more cases analyzing the sports landscape and more quotes, pictures, people or moments that we hope can provide inspiration or motivation in your life. You can also follow us on Twitter (@TheDriveSports) or on Facebook (The Drive)!
The Drive 
I achieve accept simply because true along with the ideas you’ve offered for one’s post. They are really very convincing allowing it to certainly get the job done. Still, the posts are quite quick for newbies. Could one please extend them some from when? Thank you in the post.
I think if a person think blind side is rcaist maybe they should look more deeply into their own soul because they may find that it is they who are truly rcaist. I have worked for years with the boys that get lost in the shuffle of todays world and can tell you that racism only exist in the minds of individuals and one thing is true if a Christian family adopts an orphened child and raises that child why would you say it is rcaist? A child is a child and the color barrier should not exist and if you a African American sees a white child in the terrible straights that young man was in and don’t lend a helping hand than my friend it isn’t the movie that is rcaist it is you personally. If that hurts maybe it will get you to rethink your own prejudice and chang your view. Christ didn’t come to save the healthy He came to save the sick and downtrodden, He came to save the lost and unloved, the prisoner and the Junky, the Jew and the Gentile. I do not see anything in the Bible taught by Jesus as rcaist and the story of the good Sameritan is an example of doing away with racial distinctions. At it’s core than true Christianity is in fact Color blind and true Christians don’t see in Black and White but through the lenses of Jesus like Him they see a lost enslaved person who needs a helping hand and not the back of the hand that young man was being dealt before they did what Christ told them to do help the lost and needy which is something the secular world is fast forgetting in their rush to please self without Jesus there is no true happiness hollywood shows us when we see infadelity, drug addiction, suicide money does not bring happiness it does not get rid of pain and inthe end it can destroy. Racism is a sad fact in some individuals be they red, yellow, black, or white and it is destructive to the individual who hold them more so than to the object of their bigotry, and predjudice.[]
Es una actualidad que finalmente cada varón tendrá que afrontar la eficacia sexual que disminuye. Puede ambos tomar esto o puede seleccionar para hacer alguna cosa de ello. Si decide que no quiere recostarse sólo y permitir que el tiempo sólo tome su peaje en su valor sexual, entonces es importante decidir los enfoques apropiados para adquirir atrás la capacidad de producir erecciones robustas y duraderas. La selección inicial que tiene que hacer consiste en si usar medicación de la prescripción o hierbas. Viagra es el más extendido, y un detalle de los motivos por qué muchos hombres adultos deciden no usarlo es que tiene una selección enorme de resultados del lado. Éstos pueden la variedad de dificultades de la visión a problemas y hasta ataques cardíacos coronarios. La utilización de hierbas para realzar la función sexual es una ruta mucho más segura. Varias de estas hierbas son que se ha utilizado durante miles de varios años. Han sido eficaces, pero durante la mayor parte de ese tiempo sólo se han usado en su poseerás. La mercancía de realce masculina que hizo los resultados finales más finos es que combina todas las hierbas de todos alrededor del planeta que han revelado efectos optimistas en el potencial sexual masculino. Sin duda hay sobre el simple hecho que la intensificación del movimiento de la sangre al pene es un elemento muy crucial en una solución de realce douleur. Hay varias sustancias diferentes que ocurren obviamente que incrementarán el flujo sanguíneo y permitirán que usted consiga erecciones más muy fácilmente. Ginkgo Biloba es algo que se ha utilizado una eternidad para realzar la circulación. Dejará a la circulación de la sangre al pene más fácilmente. El ginseng es la hierba más común en el mundo, y con el objetivo bueno. No sólo ayudará con la circulación y ofrece un aumento en la circulación de la sangre a los órganos sexuales pero también se reconoce para suministrar la energía adicional. Esto pasa en el práctico cuando viene al rendimiento global sexual. Una otra planta que se ha utilizado para números innumerables de mucho tiempo, pero resulta ser cada vez más popular es algo llamó el extracto de la hoja de Epimedium. La mayor parte de individuos lo saben por su más nombre común, Mala hierba de la Cabra Córnea. Es expresamente importante ya que aumenta los niveles de la testosterona en el físico, ayudará a aumentar el flujo sanguíneo al pene y relaja el músculo fácil en los órganos sexuales. Hay bayas que tienen propiedades b
Okay I’m convinced. Let’s put it to action.
Deadly accurate answer. You’ve hit the bullseye!