Lance Armstrong Is Like Pete Rose

I remember watching the interview with Pete Rose where he finally admitted he bet on baseball.  It was completely uneventful because everyone already knew he bet on baseball.  The evidence was overwhelming.  Various people had already rolled over on him.  The commissioner banned him from baseball for life.  His confession was only stating the obvious.  It didn't validate something the public didn't already know.

The upcoming Lance Armstrong interview will have a similar feel to it.  After years of denying he took performance enhancing drugs, wasting millions of taxpayers dollars with silly court cases, and misleading sponsors the 7 time Tour de France champion will come clean.

Much like Rose it appears Armstrong's conscience has gotten the better of him.  The pressure of living a lie and the need for atonement have forced him to admit the truth.  It will be a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and I'm sure there's a small percentage of the population that will feel sorry for him, but the majority of people will question why it took him so long to spill his guts.

The pressure to perform at a high level and protect a legacy can drive people to participate in unethical practices.  It is difficult for someone who is idolized by millions of people and paid handsomely for for their success to resist temptation when the opportunity presents itself.  I don't blame Lance Armstrong for the decisions he's made in the past.  It would be totally hypocritical of me to say I wouldn't have done the same thing in his position.  That being said there is nothing to gain from a conversation with Oprah Winfrey that simply confirms what people have been saying all along.  You gonna watch the confession?