Tv rights, technology , PEDs, the " Perfect Storm"?

[Darryl Webster]

Ever since tv rights in sports became the no1 revenue source for sport governing bodies the conditions for PED use have been perfect.
Armchair viewers , fed superlatives, bigger , faster stronger want a spectacle, tv companies , in competition with other tv companies want to deliver. Governing bodies , in competition with other sports want to deliver. Commentators want to deliver and keep there jobs. They deliver.
Team sponsors want there names on tv, they want the product delivered.
Technology wants to deliver, technology sells. Technology delivers.
PEDS are no longer, as they often were pre mid 80,s psudo science, now they work and work extremely well.
Bio passports are designed like " top fuel" specs , not to stop doping but stop deaths, which are bad pr. Doctors deliver those fuel specs.
The press , not wanting to be denied access, not wanting to lose advertisers mostly plays the game and delivers.
Finaly the athletes themselves, faced with two choices , give up there childhood dreams and go make a living doing something else or accept, at best , that they compete at a lower level and make, at best , an ordinary income or retire completely .
Across the board from F1 to running , from football to tenniss the combination of technology and PEDS has took sports to levels unimaginable 30 years ago.
There are many fingers in this very big pie , every one of em with a vested interest in keeping quite as to the true level of PED use.
It is, the Perfect Storm and mostly were all complicit.
Discuss?

 

[Benotti69]

Ever since tv rights in sports became the no1 revenue source for sport governing bodies the conditions for PED use have been perfect.
Armchair viewers , fed superlatives, bigger , faster stronger want a spectacle, tv companies , in competition with other tv companies want to deliver. Governing bodies , in competition with other sports want to deliver. Commentators want to deliver and keep there jobs. They deliver.
Team sponsors want there names on tv, they want the product delivered.
Technology wants to deliver, technology sells. Technology delivers.
PEDS are no longer, as they often were pre mid 80,s psudo science, now they work and work extremely well.
Bio passports are designed like " top fuel" specs , not to stop doping but stop deaths, which are bad pr. Doctors deliver those fuel specs.
The press , not wanting to be denied access, not wanting to lose advertisers mostly plays the game and delivers.
Finaly the athletes themselves, faced with two choices , give up there childhood dreams and go make a living doing something else or accept, at best , that they compete at a lower level and make, at best , an ordinary income or retire completely .
Across the board from F1 to running , from football to tenniss the combination of technology and PEDS has took sports to levels unimaginable 30 years ago.
There are many fingers in this very big pie , every one of em with a vested interest in keeping quite as to the true level of PED use.
It is, the Perfect Storm and mostly were all complicit.
Discuss?

What's to discuss. i fully agree.

I try very hard not to put my hard earned in their pots.

 

[RichWalk]

Moral ambiguity, finacial & media backed result agendas, a competitive edge gained via technology all makes sense especially if you are in business or politics.

Sport is and should reflect the best attributes of our society, that its reached such lows does involve us all, even if its just at a level of apathy. With media such as this, so immediate it still surprises me so few care or attempt to find out whats really going on, then again capitalism still heavily relies on dumbing down the masses!

Until changes at the top of sport, hopefully backed up by a more informed grassroots response, actually take a stance and demand to see 'real competition' I can only see what you describe as getting worse.

One small glimmer of hope is Sky entering the fray, when I meet up with guys who mountain bike/bmx/road race, to a man they all cringe at the mention of Sky. Could it be the spin is finally being seen through?? Lets hope so!

 

[Willy_Voet]

Pretty broad strokes, but when viewed from afar, I don't disagree.

This may reflect society's moral ambiguity/relativism/apathy, but once you have kids who (hopefully) are physically active and playing on youth teams, you take a much more critical view of the situation (or at least I do).

As a personal side note: I have a 6 year old who likes swimming and does Friday 'club' races. In 10 years I expect her to be beating gold-medal males simply through hard work and dedication.

 

[gjdavis60]

Sport is and should reflect the best attributes of our society, that its reached such lows does involve us all, even if its just at a level of apathy. With media such as this, so immediate it still surprises me so few care or attempt to find out whats really going on, then again capitalism still heavily relies on dumbing down the masses!

Perhaps sport still does reflect those noble sentiments that you allude to, but professional sports do not. Professional sports are nothing more than show business; they are entertainment products designed first and foremost to captivate the attention of the masses in order to sell soap.

The focus of professional sports is not the athletes, it is the viewers. The target market is not other athletes or even insiders or cognoscenti; and especially not "purists". The target market - the golden goose of any entertainment production - is average people who don't know much about the sport, but can be drawn in by the spectacle. For these viewers the subtleties go unnoticed. These people respond only to big, obvious gestures like bunch sprints, or one celebrity dueling it out on a mountainside with another celebrity ... or home runs or touchdowns or fights or fiery crashes. You get the picture. All pro sports alter their product to make it more appealing. All pro sports fabricate a mythology to establish an air of tradition, credibility, purity and integrity. Successful ones put it all together to attract enough audience to keep the sport financially viable as an entertainment product.

Ironically, if cycling were kept "pure" (whatever that means), only a small number of us would ever have become exposed to it.

 

[blackcat]

Ever since tv rights in sports became the no1 revenue source for sport governing bodies the conditions for PED use have been perfect.
Armchair viewers , fed superlatives, bigger , faster stronger want a spectacle, tv companies , in competition with other tv companies want to deliver. Governing bodies , in competition with other sports want to deliver. Commentators want to deliver and keep there jobs. They deliver.
Team sponsors want there names on tv, they want the product delivered.
Technology wants to deliver, technology sells. Technology delivers.
PEDS are no longer, as they often were pre mid 80,s psudo science, now they work and work extremely well.
Bio passports are designed like " top fuel" specs , not to stop doping but stop deaths, which are bad pr. Doctors deliver those fuel specs.
The press , not wanting to be denied access, not wanting to lose advertisers mostly plays the game and delivers.
Finaly the athletes themselves, faced with two choices , give up there childhood dreams and go make a living doing something else or accept, at best , that they compete at a lower level and make, at best , an ordinary income or retire completely .
Across the board from F1 to running , from football to tenniss the combination of technology and PEDS has took sports to levels unimaginable 30 years ago.
There are many fingers in this very big pie , every one of em with a vested interest in keeping quite as to the true level of PED use.
It is, the Perfect Storm and mostly were all complicit.
Discuss?

http://espn.go.com/olympics/swimmin...amp-alexander-dale-oen-norway-dies-arizona-26

STOCKHOLM -- Alexander Dale Oen stood on top of a world championship podium less than a year ago, wiping away tears as the Norwegian national anthem played in triumph, just three days after his country was rocked by a massacre by a right-wing extremist.

The swimmer became a symbol of resilience and resurgence in Norway with that victory, the country's first swimming world title at a time when it was in desperate need of something to cheer for.

'Oen Was A Role Model'
The swimming community is special and unique; it's definitely a close-knit group. No matter where in the world you come from, we all support, encourage and cheer for each other, without exception. Swimming is an isolating sport, one that requires a lot of sacrifices in the interest of becoming the best. It has to be one of the most physically demanding sports possible. Because of this, swimmers are like a family of one.

Alexander Dale Oen exemplified a champion: Not only did he win the 100-meter breaststroke last summer at the world championships, swimming a "textile world-record" (the fastest time every swum without the aid of a buoyant suit) and defeating one of the most competitive heats in history, but he did so only three days after the devastating attack that killed 77 people in his home country. Oen was someone that every single person in the swimming community respected, and we will continue to remember him as an example of courage and strength, and as a role model. As a fellow breaststroker, I will remember him and his strength throughout the length of my career.

-- Jessica Hardy is the world-record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke. You can read more from her here.

On Tuesday, Norway was in mourning after Dale Oen died suddenly from cardiac arrest during a pre-Olympic training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 26.

 

[cyclestationgiuseppe]

@ The OP DW-

This is the best post I have ever read, and I wholeheartedly agree.

I grew up (under my Dad's exuberance) a fan of just about every sport I ever watched. Today at age 46, I am a total cynic of everything "sporting". Our society has turned all sports into World Wrestling (fake wrestling). The fix is in and we are all just spectators as the Gladiators are fed to the Lions....and yet we still cheer! So much for the theory of evolution!

Can I (with your approval) somewhat plagiarize your post?

 

[RichWalk]

Ironically, if cycling were kept "pure" (whatever that means), only a small number of us would ever have become exposed to it.

Very sad but valid point, thanks for your reply unfortunately I agree with it!

 

[Darryl Webster]

@ The OP DW-

This is the best post I have ever read, and I wholeheartedly agree.

I grew up (under my Dad's exuberance) a fan of just about every sport I ever watched. Today at age 46, I am a total cynic of everything "sporting". Our society has turned all sports into World Wrestling (fake wrestling). The fix is in and we are all just spectators as the Gladiators are fed to the Lions....and yet we still cheer! So much for the theory of evolution!

Can I (with your approval) somewhat plagiarize your post?

Thanks for the compliment , feal free to alter as you see fit

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Ever since tv rights in sports became the no1 revenue source for sport governing bodies the conditions for PED use have been perfect.
Armchair viewers , fed superlatives, bigger , faster stronger want a spectacle, tv companies , in competition with other tv companies want to deliver. Governing bodies , in competition with other sports want to deliver. Commentators want to deliver and keep there jobs. They deliver.
Team sponsors want there names on tv, they want the product delivered.
Technology wants to deliver, technology sells. Technology delivers.
PEDS are no longer, as they often were pre mid 80,s psudo science, now they work and work extremely well.
Bio passports are designed like " top fuel" specs , not to stop doping but stop deaths, which are bad pr. Doctors deliver those fuel specs.
The press , not wanting to be denied access, not wanting to lose advertisers mostly plays the game and delivers.
Finaly the athletes themselves, faced with two choices , give up there childhood dreams and go make a living doing something else or accept, at best , that they compete at a lower level and make, at best , an ordinary income or retire completely .
Across the board from F1 to running , from football to tenniss the combination of technology and PEDS has took sports to levels unimaginable 30 years ago.
There are many fingers in this very big pie , every one of em with a vested interest in keeping quite as to the true level of PED use.
It is, the Perfect Storm and mostly were all complicit.
Discuss?

Reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Kretch]

The following movie is a great overview on this topic: http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/

 

[Potomac]

If only they would just stop showing races on TV, then we could all enjoy cycling.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

If only they would just stop showing races on TV, then we could all enjoy cycling.

Agreed, the Tour de France wasn‘t started by television, it was started by a newspaper to outcompete the other newspapers for reader attention. So, without a sliver of a doubt, as should be clear as day, obviously, competition among newspapers is the purest form of competition in the history of the human race. Anyone who disagrees is a disgrace to the sport of cycling and its tradition. Do you think Alfredo Binda would approve of the current media coverage? Well, I don‘t know, but that is besides the point because the point is that I don‘t want to see people and therefore, the only possible resolve is to end the custom of races on the connected tubes with wheels being available on a machine so definitely against the human intellect, as it displays pictures at such a speed that thoroughly analyzing each one of them, one of the great powers of the human brain, becomes a task that, if not impossible, is at least of herculean difficulty.