Bob Lobel: Has Cheating Become Acceptable?

Email to a friend Permalink

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bob Lobel, GoLocalWorcester Sports Contributor

Bob Lobel, GoLocalWorcester Sports Contributor

It's late in the afternoon and I'm in a cab, driving down the Champs Elysee in Paris, looking directly at the Arc de Triomphe. It must have looked much the same to Lance Armstrong during his first Tour de France victory.

And the second, and the third, and so on, and so on.

Cheaters get what they want so often, that I sometimes they believe they think they are invincible. Can you hear me Bernie Madoff?

What did Armstrong actually hope to achieve anyway? He probably doesn't know, because we are in such an era of cheaters. It has become accepted to just win, or better yet, perform at a level above what was once good enough.

How about it Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez?

Paris has been the conclusion of a trip that has crossed two things off my bucket list after I saw the Patriots play in Wembley Stadium in London. All this after it had been tough enough for me to get out to Foxboro this year.

This, plus a Chunnel ride to Paris with my wife who speaks a little French and has dragged me to art galleries after I dragged her to a football game across the pond. Fair is fair, I suppose.

I must admit, the highlight of the trip for me, other than Gronkowski's first spike, was our dinner cruise down the Seine River. Hence this picture of a full moon over the Eiffel Tower. It is the same full moon, of course, that helped weather patterns wreak havoc on the east coast of the U.S. How could something so beautiful on one coast be so unrelenting on the other?

On a similar note, how could an All American hero end up a disgraced pariah so quickly?

Enough of this negativity. I have seen the Patriots win in England, I have seen the Eiffel Tower sparkle, and I can now actually remember caring about the National Hockey League.

Au Revoir from Paris!