Look at me, I'm Floyd Landis

I imagine Floyd has some good help crafting his statements, but I also imagine they are exactly what he wants to say, and the help is only technical. Whatever the case, they're good, and generally quite satisfying. They are so stark, unequivocal, and look-you-straight-in-the-eye, you'd think even the diehard doubters would start getting a clue. Some of the doubters are just nut-crusted Pound cake, and some are protecting their own interests, but I also fear that some are falling into the "unthinkable alternative" trap.

A concept I take from a line in the movie Awakenings - when Robin Williams asks how the experts know the "frozen" patients aren't aware, the answer is a haunting, "because, the alternative would be unthinkable." In this case the unthinkable alternative for McQuaid and his ilk is this - Floyd was right all along, he is innocent, and your actions and statements all these months, that have caused such damage to the sport, were all for nothing. And I don't mean saving face or PR problems, I mean just within themselves, in their own minds, I think they have a mental block to seeing the other side, because the enormity of the mistake in that case is too overwhelming.

Kind of like how Bush got reelected, but continuing with that comparison would be unseemly, so I'll stop there.

There's been talk recently about how belief in Floyd is about how you feel about the science, or because he seems like a nice guy. That's never been it for me. It's always been the simple fact that Floyd is Floyd. I'm not a groupie, and I don't have blind faith in anything, but what I've always felt, and what you hear time and time again from those in the know, is this - just look at him, listen to him, he is as straightforward as it gets. That's why I adore the FFF poster - it says it all - I'm not hiding, I will meet your gaze and I will not flinch. If only the other side would bother to open their eyes and look back.