Marco Pantani was a loved cyclist. He had the ability to gain the adoration of many loyal fans. Pantani was not just a superstar, he had athletic results. In 1998 he won both the Tour de France and Giro D'Italia; the worlds two most gruiling bike races. In particular, Pantani was known for his ability to climb. His record climb up the dreaded l'Alpe d'Huez, is still famous. Pantani was an inspiration to many people and to many cyclists. Pantani was a loved man.
In 1999 Pantani was kicked out of the Giro because of doping allegations.
The pressure of his lifestyle became too much for The Pirate. He began to change. He stopped performing on his bike. He became anti-social. On February 15, 2004, Pantani was found dead in his Italian hotel room. It was determined his death was caused by a cocaine overdose.
It is unfortunate that the gallivanting cheating cyclists in this day and age do not realize the effects that their cheating has. It hurts more than their human bodies. It hurts their fans who look up to them. It hurts cyclists who aren't cheating and can't physically beat someone who's body is pumped with synthetic winning juice. It hurts the image of cycling. More than all of these aspects, it corrupts their personal souls. It is a tragedy that a cyclist, a human, with so much potential in life and in his sport, would resort to cheating. This cheating ultimately caused the end of his life.
Every cyclist knows the name Marco Pantani. Every cheating cyclist knows that name. They know his story and his tragic death, yet they still go down the same dark path. If not for the purity of the sport, don't you wish people would stop hurting their bodies for the preservation of their human spirit? Is it that these cyclists want a climb of the Giro dedicated to their name? Or would they rather finish a Giro knowing they were honest and clean. Turning a blind eye to Pantani's story is like saying he died in vain. May his legacy live on and teach us all how to live better lives.
Click here to watch a beautiful YouTube tribute to The Pirate.
Pantani image courtesy of this blog.
1 comment:
There seems to be view of morality that is prevalent in sports. This view holds that rules are amoral and only have imperative force as penalties in the game. For example, it’s not wrong to foul in basketball but if you do foul you will lose possession, give the other team free-throws, etc… This view becomes problematic when it is generalized. One implication of this view is that if you can commit a penalty with out it being called then there is no consequence and hence no penalty or foul. In other words, it is only cheating if you get caught. You see this view expressed in the form of phony flops on the basketball court, in underwater fouls in water polo, and arguing with referees among other places. Is it possible that athletes who often have this view of morality ingrained in them on the court/field/trail have commuted it to other areas of the sport (such as taking performance enhancing drugs) as well?
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