Performance Enhancing Burgers

Each week, I dedicate some time to watching TV that isn't sports-related.  After a week's worth of scores, highlights and news, it's nice to clear my head with a few hours of mindless comedy.  One of my primary go-to's is FOX's Sunday night "Animation Domination" lineup, and with the Heat game over by 8 PM PST last night, I flipped the channel just in time for one of my new favorite shows, Bob's Burgers.  Little did I know that this week's episode would not only be dedicated to sports, but would also get me thinking about a serious and extremely topical athletics-related subject.

In short, the episode asked if cheating is ever justified.  One character argued that people went to baseball games for the same reason they went to an amusement part - namely, to be entertained.  As long as people were enjoying what they were seeing, he went on, then any sort of cheating (in this case, greasing a baseball) was acceptable, and even noble.  Bob, the show's main character, disagreed, disgusted with the thought that one of his heroes was tainted.  While it's just a TV show, the ethical sports dilemma posed by Bob's Burgers is a very real one, and is especially relevant this week given the recurring press coverage around Lance Armstrong's alleged doping.

Armstrong is perhaps the best example we have of an athlete using his power and notoriety for good.  Thanks to his cycling prowess, Armstrong has been able to raise millions of dollars for cancer research, and has become a symbol of hope and a better future.  So, how does everything shift if Armstrong's success had more to do with performance enhancing drugs than hard work and sacrifice?  Does that change the fact that he entertained millions of people with his cycling and dedicated much of his life to saving lives?  In this particular case, would the ends justify the means, even if the means were unethical and / or illegal?

I spent some time thinking about how I can put a nice little bow around this issue, and I've realized that I can't.  In fact, I'm not even sure how I feel about it.  While, as a true lover of sports, I could never turn the other cheek on cheating during competition, in Armstrong's case maybe his alleged PED use was a good thing for society as a whole.  In a weird way, I almost hope we never find out about Lance Armstrong's true doping history.  That way, the believers (like myself) can claim that he was innocent, and the haters can maintain their skepticism.  It's a win-win situation; especially for all of the people helped by the Livestrong fundraising efforts.