* !106432230 by Jackie Roe, TW Social Director*
Hey there, TWibe. If you're sweating today's news about Rafa's withdrawal from the Paris Masters, make yourself comfortable here in the Deuce Club, where distractions are always aplenty.
A belated congrats to the San Francisco Giants and their fans for that impressive World Series victory. Though I missed most of the action—life got in the way!—I was glued to the TV during the celebration. My sister and I watched the whole thing, beaming and laughing and tearing at the sight of such pure euphoria. Watching grown men jump up and down and fall all over each other never gets old—not to me, anyway. I lived vicariously through them in that moment, all the while trying to recall whether I'd ever felt that much unadulterated joy. (Maybe I have to wait for my wedding day or the birth of my child for that.)
Moving along . . .
I have two DC topics for y'all this week. The first has to do with Rochus's doping allegations, since we just can't seem to stop talking about it. Don't worry, I've put a different spin on it so as not to dredge up any of the drama from the earlier posts. Read on.
The idea was born of an exchange I had yesterday with Sherlock and Aussiemarg on Pete's Rochus post:
Sherlock: Of course, the only real answer for any of this is for the researchers on the good side to get ahead of their opponents. Which means MASSIVE amounts of money. I wish I had a cool billion lying around. :)
Me: Stupid money. And stupid lack of integrity in sport. I love that instead of counting on people to just, y'know, NOT do it, we instead need billions of dollars to resolve this.
Aussiemarg: Well I love the Tour De France. Let's face it, drugs have ruined that sport. Sad to say I now wonder who is taking drugs when the cyclists cross the final line. Pity.
Me: I guess it's not just sport though, right? People everywhere do things to get ahead, even if it's illegal or offensive or unhealthy.
Sherlock: Nope, it's pretty much everywhere. Money, sex, power, fame . . . they make us do funny things.
Me: What bad things you would or wouldn't do . . . in the next Deuce Club.
I was actually kidding when I said that (I had only planned on presenting DC topic #2 until this conversation). But after mulling it over for a minute or two, I thought it could actually generate some interesting—maybe even illuminating—dialogue on how we view ourselves and our environment. I couldn't pass it up.
Have you ever asked yourself that question? And what's "bad" anyway? Is that defined by law, social norms, your moral compass? Would you lie, cheat, steal, speed, or dope(!) if you knew you wouldn't get caught? When is the reward greater than the risk and vice versa? If you're able to relate your own experience to that of athletes, even better; maybe we'll be more forgiving of the dopers—or we'll be quicker to hang 'em. Discuss!
If you'd rather not start off your weekend with something so heavy, consider this topic instead, which has now become a DC tradition . . .
