I totally agree but I think there's something larger happening in terms of punishment and I think it is warranted.
Outside of the specifics of doping and the punishments it warrants -- Lance was always playing a bigger game. And he was winning the bigger game such that even though his Tour proceeds got divvied up his sponsorship proceeds and public adoration proceeds didn't. Hence the hundreds of millions and rock star status.
That's the game he is now losing and his punishment reflects that. Is that right? I actually do think so. On paper, no -- he doped, they doped -- the difference shouldn't be so extreme. But the extremity of reward created by Lance being Lance is the same extremity of fall he seems so shocked to be experiencing.
I will admit a certain amount of schadenfreude -- but what I'm more intrigued by is that a guy who always saw the bigger picture fails to see it now - - but that's because the the guy who always saw that big picture has to, in essence, die before the real picture can be seen - a paradox that seems to be confounding the flailing Lance - he refuses to surrender. He has to lose a lot more than he has lost to have any chance of seeing his real comeback - - and that comeback will be internal not on Oprah or in Ironman. I just don't see it happening. But the disparity in punishment is actually helpful that way.
Outside of the specifics of doping and the punishments it warrants -- Lance was always playing a bigger game. And he was winning the bigger game such that even though his Tour proceeds got divvied up his sponsorship proceeds and public adoration proceeds didn't. Hence the hundreds of millions and rock star status.
That's the game he is now losing and his punishment reflects that. Is that right? I actually do think so. On paper, no -- he doped, they doped -- the difference shouldn't be so extreme. But the extremity of reward created by Lance being Lance is the same extremity of fall he seems so shocked to be experiencing.
I will admit a certain amount of schadenfreude -- but what I'm more intrigued by is that a guy who always saw the bigger picture fails to see it now - - but that's because the the guy who always saw that big picture has to, in essence, die before the real picture can be seen - a paradox that seems to be confounding the flailing Lance - he refuses to surrender. He has to lose a lot more than he has lost to have any chance of seeing his real comeback - - and that comeback will be internal not on Oprah or in Ironman. I just don't see it happening. But the disparity in punishment is actually helpful that way.