The 'Yellow Floyd' Sports Scandal

Here we go again. Another Tour de France in the books, and another round of steroid allegations. Once again the french are claiming that the winner, who happens to be an American for the 8th straight year, tested positive for steroids. Well, not exactly. He only tested positive for an abnormally high level of testosterone after the race, but lets not get technical about little details like that. After all, its only a bicycle race.
If he did in fact use an illegal substance that effected his performance in that now famous 17th stage, then he should certainy be stripped of his title and banned from competition forever. If he did not use anything to alter his performance, than he simply put on a miraculous display of athleticism, determination, and... ok, he simple pedaled faster than everyone else that day.
I am not really trying to poke fun at the sport of cycling. The Tour de France is a brutal month long event where most of the time is spent going uphill. Its hell and I certainly would not be able to do it.
But this all becomes really silly when you consider this as another of the great scandals in sports history. But it does reflect a trend of big scandals erupting from insignificant sports.
The previous cycling scandal will rage for years. People will continue to debate whether or not Lance Armstrong cheated.
Figure skating has had more than its share of headline making scandals. The Tanya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident. The Olympic Scoring scandal. The Second Olympic Scoring scandal. The Johhny Wier sexuality controversy.
Track & Field is nothing but scandals involving doping accusations. Ben Johnson alone accounts for more than most other sports ever see.
Golf has controversy and scandal. Women golfers competing in men's events. Women and minorities being barred from certain courses.
Soccer is filled with scandal. This year's World Cup had many drug related issues, with entire teams and their coaching staffs coming under fire. Italy won the world cup despite the fact that over half the team was under investigation for match fixing back in thier home country. The Zidane headbutt has found a home in pop-culture now.
Chess has seen a few scandals over the years, although its hard to imagine what could possibly happen during a chess match. Competitors are now tested for drugs prior to international competition for some silly reason.
Why do these silly little sports seem to have so many scandals? Because the contestants are desperate to get their 15 minutes of fame. Even if they are the best in their sport, they will never be a household name.. until they are involved in a scandal. If Landis had not been accused of doping, his name would already be out of the headlines. Nobody would remember Tanya Harding if she had not hired a hitman to injur her rival.
The heads of these sports organizations claim they hate scandals. I am sure they never want to see cheating in thier sport. But they secretly love it because it gives people a reason to talk about a sport that they would otherwise ignore. And lets admit the truth here: We never pay attention to these events until there is a controversy.
These controversies do not help these sports enter the mainstream or become more popular. Viewership increases after such things happen, just like more people look at the side of a road when there is a wreck. Its a freak show and we just watch and hope all hell breaks loose on live television.
These things will never rank with the true historical sports scandals. Floyd Landis will never be compared to the Chicago 'black sox' who threw the world series. He will never be compared to Barry Bonds and his steroid scandal. His situation will not be compared to the Mike Tyson rape conviction or the Kobe Bryant rape allegations. He will never be remembered in the same light as OJ Simpson. His scandal does not shake the world like the Magic Johnson HIV announcement did. Big sports, big scandals, big story. The Floyd Landis story is just the result of a slow news week in sports.
History remembers the real scandal and all the details. The public barely remembers the name of the people involved in these scandals in minor sports.
If you want to look at a real sports scandal, then consider the Charlie Brown/Lucy situation. For decades Lucy has deliberalty pulled the footall off the tee just prior to the kick, causing her teammate to miss the kick and land painfully on his back. Where is the investigation into this?