The negative "addicted" is almost never applied to activities that are culturally deemed healthy or good-for-you, and yet addictions they are. Example: the professional cyclist Marco Pantani.
Aug 31, 2022·edited Aug 31, 2022Liked by Matt Zamudio
I don't think Pantani's "passion" or "addiction" killed him. It was the destruction of his identity, his integrity, his sense of himself and personal mythology -- which we all create -- that were obliterated when he was scandalized and banned from the pro ranks.
The fact is nothing ever prevented Marco from riding a bike--if that indeed was his addiction--at any time in his life. What he was denied was participation in, and the validation of, elite competition; a fixture in his life responsible for his legend, his vocation, his purpose and his aspirations since childhood. You want to destroy someone? That's how to do it. It's a lot to lose and many, not just former pro-athletes, even though they go on in life, never fully recover from being so unmoored. We're not just talking about one-dimensional "addiction" here.
Are professional athletes unbalanced? Yup. I'd almost say pathology is a prerequisite for the monomania of their pursuits. To invest an arbitrary feat, say, crossing the finish line milliseconds ahead of an opponent while on a bicycle or foot, with such overblown significance takes a sustained and crazy level campaign of unbalancing. Athletes are not alone in cultivating such derangements but they and their relentless "focus"--perhaps self absorption is a more fitting term--are the most conspicuous and glorified.
Ask 10 people on the street what their take is on the demise of Pantani and I'll bet you'll meet with blank stares. His "eternal", "legendary", "unforgettable" performances are ephemera: largely forgotten or unknown. The "addiction" precipitating his exploits isn't what killed Marco it was his lack of wisdom, perspective and, perhaps, support, in realizing the nature of his legacy and his reckoning. When it all quickly turned to dust, when he was confronted with a life-altering crisis compelling introspection, he crumbled. He couldn't envision himself apart from a pursuit that, even in an ideal narrative, must have always ended (though on his own terms). He conflated the value of his calling with the value of his life. That's not passion, that's delusion. Or tragedy.
And that truly is sad and heartbreaking. Marco could've been riding his bike now, just as addicted, just as passionate, and certainly more balanced.
I don't think Pantani's "passion" or "addiction" killed him. It was the destruction of his identity, his integrity, his sense of himself and personal mythology -- which we all create -- that were obliterated when he was scandalized and banned from the pro ranks.
The fact is nothing ever prevented Marco from riding a bike--if that indeed was his addiction--at any time in his life. What he was denied was participation in, and the validation of, elite competition; a fixture in his life responsible for his legend, his vocation, his purpose and his aspirations since childhood. You want to destroy someone? That's how to do it. It's a lot to lose and many, not just former pro-athletes, even though they go on in life, never fully recover from being so unmoored. We're not just talking about one-dimensional "addiction" here.
Are professional athletes unbalanced? Yup. I'd almost say pathology is a prerequisite for the monomania of their pursuits. To invest an arbitrary feat, say, crossing the finish line milliseconds ahead of an opponent while on a bicycle or foot, with such overblown significance takes a sustained and crazy level campaign of unbalancing. Athletes are not alone in cultivating such derangements but they and their relentless "focus"--perhaps self absorption is a more fitting term--are the most conspicuous and glorified.
Ask 10 people on the street what their take is on the demise of Pantani and I'll bet you'll meet with blank stares. His "eternal", "legendary", "unforgettable" performances are ephemera: largely forgotten or unknown. The "addiction" precipitating his exploits isn't what killed Marco it was his lack of wisdom, perspective and, perhaps, support, in realizing the nature of his legacy and his reckoning. When it all quickly turned to dust, when he was confronted with a life-altering crisis compelling introspection, he crumbled. He couldn't envision himself apart from a pursuit that, even in an ideal narrative, must have always ended (though on his own terms). He conflated the value of his calling with the value of his life. That's not passion, that's delusion. Or tragedy.
And that truly is sad and heartbreaking. Marco could've been riding his bike now, just as addicted, just as passionate, and certainly more balanced.