OK, I know I'm gonna get roasted here, but as everyone else is offering their opinion of Lance Armstrong and his misdeeds after watching him on Oprah last night, I'll offer mine, too: *Yaaaaaaaaaawn*
He's made a lot of money from his job as a professional bicycle rider, but not a penny of it was from me. I'm told in many parts of the world (Europe 'cause it's so congested, and Asia where until now it was all they could afford) riding a bicycle is a big deal. It's how many people get to work. I get it. (If I lived in an area where everything I needed was just a short bike ride away I'd ride one too, but I don't.)
I can see why people "over there" might be enamored with Lance Armstrong and bicycle riding. That's why it's called the Tour de FRANCE. But just as I doubt they're too impressed with our World Series or Super Bowl, I'm not into their bicycle riding events or icons*.
Like most people my age I had a bike when I was a kid, but I never thought of riding it as a future career, and I outgrew it. To me riding a bicycle is about as relevant today as roller skating or jumping up and down on a pogo stick. If anyone feels it necessary to get doped up in order to be the best pogo stick jumper in the world, well, I feel very sorry for them. I'll be enthralled by their career and their personal life....umm....never.
Mhew....That's my take on the Lance Armstrong "scandal". :)
Happy weekend!
S
* I don't think I'm alone. Lance was born in the Dallas suburb of Plano, yet I don't recall ever seeing a sign that said, "Welcome to Plano, Texas, the birthplace of Lance Armstrong!"
I don't know how to ride a bike so I certainly never cared. I just don't understand why he's confessing now. They didn't really have anything on him, just the word of a bunch of other probably doped-up cheaters. Was his conscience bothering him or as some have speculated does he think this will allow him to compete again, despite that he's in his 40s (right?) and has never won a race clean.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, maybe now Oprah can get Barry Bonds to confess to what pretty much everyone has known for a decade or more.
Between Lance Armstrong, doping in baseball, and Manti Te'O's "Catfish" story it really shows the pathetic state of sports "journalism." There are probably junior high kids who could do a better job than these people at uncovering the truth.
Contrary to PT the only thing they didn't have on Lance was his confession. He was tested and he failed and everyone who ever held a handlebar witnessed his doping , including his whole "team". He confessed on Oprah's typical rehersed "interview" in order to reverse a lifetime ban on cycling competitions. The truth is in order to win the TDF you had to cheat, because EVERYONE was cheating and everyone knew it. That is the story Lance should have told, instead he tried to lie for 10 years to protect an image that made him worth over 100 million dollars whild he left his wife who supported him through cancer and went on to screw only stars and the people who idolized him.
ReplyDeleteBTW Scott, I am 100% with you, I do not get the big deal..He rode a friggin bike. After football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track and field, tennis. golf and bowling, the field of athletes left to ride a bike is pretty watered down!
Only the surrendering French could get excited about a bike rider.
end rant!
I couldn't agree more. If there's anything more predictable than a scandal, it's the same celebrity doing a mea culpa a few weeks later on in a public forum.
ReplyDeleteI really don't care all that much about the performance-enhancement furor. Babe Ruth apparently liked his whiskey big time, yet we're not about to take him out of the hall of fame because of it. Pretty sure I could take all the steroids in the world and never approach Barry Bonds.
Nobody ever earned 100 million dollars on a pogo stick. Lance is a cheat who used his money and the courts to destroy the lives of people who told the truth. His foundation may have done some good but what about all the kids out there taking steroids to compete in sports. Many of them have died. Goodby Lance, and good riddance. I'll never forgive you for proving the French right!
ReplyDeleteGood points Steve. But, correct me if I'm wrong...didn't his fame and fortune originate in Europe? He was nothing in the US until he won the TdF for a reason. This isn't bicycle racing country. Europe is "football", speed skating, cycling, etc, things that mean very little here. He has a chance to do some good by telling kids what NOT to do, but I wouldn't ever say he can "redeem" himself by telling the truth. I think he's past that. As fare as I'm concerned he can just fade away. See, I've already forgotten about him. ;)
Deleteyes, bycicling is big in Europe because it's an easy, cheap way to get around. The TdF has been a big thing for ages, starting as a round trip through France (that's how it got it's name), spreading out as it got more popular. When it's on, some TV channels bring nothing but that! BORING!!! It is SO boring, yet it has it's fans (as every sport seems to have). We had a number of successful German bikers who also got banned because of drug useage. *sigh* it's their own fault!
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