A Sad Day In Sports As We Learn That Not Even The Iditarod Is Safe From Doping Scandals
I remember growing up and idolizing great sled dogs like Balto. Balto was a legend. And not even just the Kevin Bacon version of Balto from the movie, even though both that movie and Kevin Bacon kick ass. But the real Balto as well. Balto didn’t dominate the Seward-to-Nome trail because he was all hopped up on steroids and eating PEDs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Balto dominated that trail and saved all those people for the love of the game. Because Balto had the heart, the grit, and the determination to get the job done. Balto was essentially a hockey player but in pup form. He wasn’t motivated by self gain. He just wanted to do whatever it took to get his team the win, and for him that was running fast as fuck for 127 hours.
Now a days all anybody cares about is making it on the highlights package the next morning. All these mushers care about is making the most money they possibly can. Long gone are the days of running the Iditarod with honor and integrity. All they run for these days is the fame and fortune and women that come with being the Iditarod champion. It’s a damn shame. It’s like who do you even look up to anymore? You have millions of kids growing up in America who view Dallas Seavey as a hero. Then this comes out and you realize you’ve been putting this cheater on a pedestal. Is that the kind of guy we want the youth of our nation looking up to? For sure not.
It’s just a shame. For the longest time I thought the Iditarod was the last true display of good, clean, athletic excellence. But it was all merely a mirage. We have been duped. Time to boycott the Iditarod until further notice.