Better Days

I took these pictures today (November 10, 2012) at my local sporting goods store. Do you notice anything odd about the products pictured?

To me, what jumps out is the lack of "CLEARANCE 70% OFF" stickers on them. Considering recent headlines like "Lance Armstrong's stripped seven Tour de France titles will go vacant, global cycling body rules", "The Lance Armstrong doping scandal: What's next?", and "Effigy of drugs cheat Lance Armstrong is burned at the stake after being chosen as celebrity guy at bonfire party," isn't it time to consider putting Livestrong merchandise on sale? I mean, it's not like they're still trying to sell Michael Vick jerseys at dog pounds in and around Atlanta for exorbitant prices like this.

Let's face facts: $34.99 is a lot for a simple grey t-shirt. You could put God's Own Truth on the front of a grey t-shirt and I still wouldn't pay $34.99 (plus tax) for it. If instead you put a link on the t-shirt to someone who was called a "serial cheat who led the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen" by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) then I'm going to be willing to pay even less. Why would I pay extra to walk around dressed up like an ironic advertisement for disgrace?

You'll notice the Nike logo is on the Livestrong merchandise too. If I'm Nike, I'm trying to blot out any societal memory of the Lance Armstrong/Nike link ASAP. Nike should be paying retailers to burn this stuff. The company's whole image is built around the concept of training hard to be better, not consuming drugs to be better. E.g., you'll notice no one gets a syringe filled with horse testosterone stabbed into their ass in this ad spot:

That's because Livestrong isn't short for "Live strong thanks to the power of steroids!"

The best before date on the Livestrong brand was when the USADA banned Mr. Armstrong for life and stripped him of all his titles. That happened back in August. Any leftover merchandise should have been shipped to Africa with the "New England Patriots - Super Bowl XLVI Champs" hats by now. Instead, it's being hawked shamelessly at a premium.

What has happened to our nation's favourite Corporate Blood Machine when it lets itself be smeared by association like this? Just because it took the USADA 14 years to figure out Mr. Armstrong was cheating doesn't mean it should take Nike that long to react to the news. Indeed, they should have found out first; their private investigation division is probably much more well-funded than the USADA. I just don't get it.

P.S. If you need the XXL then you might only be "Living Strong" in the most figurative of senses