Alright, look, Lance. I’ll admit that you defeating testicular cancer is a great and admirable thing. That said, however, who gives a tin shit about you being able to ride a bike? I sure don’t. No one that I have asked does. I’m really getting sick and tired of you being labeled an American Hero because of your ability to navigate on your bike. I’m tired of stories about your heroism and such taking up valuable airtime on shows designed for REAL sports. I can think of NO correlation between your beating cancer and your ability to ride a bicycle for long distances. Get your smiling-ass face off of my TV, and back into the training wheels where it belongs. You are in no way, shape, or form a hero of any kind. True, you’re a cancer survivor, and I’ve expressed my admiration for that. But you are not an American Hero. You’re a cyclist. Nothing more.
Ron Borges, is that you?
Whoa, dude, settle down. He’s not labeling himself a hero; the media are doing that. He’s not a publicity-seeker; there’s a really good article on him in the July 15th New Yorker. You should read it. Plus, it’ll give you some info on exactly what it takes to be a world-class cyclist. Trust me, if anything is a “real sport”, long-haul cycling is.
On the other hand, I kind of understand; I call this “The Michael Jordan Syndrome”. Sometimes, you just get tired of hearing about the same person over and over and over again. Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters also spring to mind as examples.
I understand, I just don’t happen to agree with you about Lance Armstrong in particular.
Superdude, thank you for letting me know what you think. It’s obviously important to you that you should let us all know what you think. That’s why you posted, didn’t you? It’s also obvious that if there was the slightest chance that anyone on the planet is unaware of what you think, that you would be insanely concerned about their well being wouldn’t you. Such banevolence on your part… thanks.
As I said, your post is purely concerned about letting us know what you think and I thank you. Every traffic intersection I navigate for the rest of my life will now be done with greater aplomb, because once, on July 29th 2002 I was fortunate enough to hear what you had to say.
As to what I think about your opinions? It doesn’t matter of course. You see, unlike yourself, I’m not consumed with worrying about what other people think. But it’s an odd thing you know… you see, I competed in the Road Race at the L.A. Games in '84 - and if memory serves me right, there were 400,000 people on the 8 mile course that day lining the streets. I’m sorry I didn’t get their names for you Superdude, but I’m sure they’re some of your fellow Americans who give actually do give a tin-shit about riding a bike. Such a list of names would have answered your question. Assuming you’re prepared to admit that the Los Angeles Olympics actually took place and that they weren’t a TV fabrication.
Still, all those spectators were wrong and you’re right, aren’t you? Thank God you let me know. I would hate to have gone to my grave not knowing what you thought. All us idiots not knowing the ‘true light’ huh Superdude? Please, share with us some more where we’re all wrong and have strayed from the path of true ‘Superdude’ enlightenment?
I have a hunch more than a few of your fellow Americans would prefer that you would let someone else represent your national image other than you.
I coach a team of brest cancer survivors in Dragon Boat racing. They are remarkable people, and each and every one of them is a hero to me.
You, Superdude, are not very super in my opinion.
Hey, Dude, do you really think there’s a danger of Lance getting any extra publicity until this time next year? I mean, beyond a few talk-show appearances, he’s heading right back into his little box.
Quite frankly, if I cared much one way or another, I’d admire Lance more for winning the bike races than for beating cancer. The bike races were his accomplishment alone. The cancer, while I’m certain his attitude and cooperation helped, is much more the accomplishment of his medical team.
Sua
And ignorance raises its’s many tentacled head once again.
Winning the Tour for the fourth time, something no American has ever done, and all ABC does is put up a one-hour time-delayed, heavily edited recap of the last 7 days of the race on a summer sunday afternoon. This is too much exposure?? I wish the Super Bowl got this little hype.
The obvious reply is left as an exercise for the reader.
In the last three weeks he rode his bike over 2000 miles at an average speed of close to 30 mph. That includes going up hills that many people couldn’t even walk up in a day. He won this race four straight times. Besides that…
Fuck it. Why am I wasting my time with such an ignorant ass OP?
Haj
I don’t know that I’d call him a “hero” but to win such an event as the TdF FOUR TIMES after having a wicked case of cancer is damn inspiring.
(And didn’t his original team dump him when he got sick? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought I read that somewhere.)
Yes, the “Cofidis” team earnt some very distasteful judgement from Europe’s sporting press to be sure when they dumped Lance for falling ill. A business decision no doubt, but at the time, it was a pretty heartless decision.
However, Lance gets to have the last word. On the last day of the Tour, traditionally it’s taken very easily for the first two hours so that various congratulations and celebrations can unfold as the peloton rolls into Paris.
For the last few years, Lance has made a point of falling back to the support cars of other teams and offering thanks and handshakes to other Team Managers etc. It’s quite a tradition you see. Anyways, Lance always openly avoids the “Cofidis” team car. And EVERYONE always notices. It’s a subtle thing to be sure, but if you’re in on the joke, it’s a pretty world class “FUCK YOU!”.
Dude, do you consider any sport players heros?
Well, at least he’s not talking about his own testicles for once.
Because all know of the horrible shortage of space for sports programs.
Hmm, actually I think that Lance’s victory would been even more impressive if he hadn’t beaten his cancer.
And, in hindsight, an extremely poor decision. Perhaps the official Team Cofidis shorts should feature a footprint on their butts.
I confess that I wish he would offer to shake their hands. A victor should always be gracious.
But he’s still quite phenomenal.
I actually agree with the premise of the OP. I have a real problem with calling people who are good at sports “heros.” Like calling everyone you disagree with a “Nazi,” it devalues the term. Heroism ought to involve some sort of serious self-sacrifice on the behalf of someone else. While Armstrong’s string of victories is impressive and laudable, he’s not out there pulling people out of burning buildings or kicking down the doors of crack houses. He’s good at riding a bicycle up a mountain. Unless he’s coming down the other side with a bunch of stranded, half starved mountaineers over his handlebars, he’s not a hero.
Similarly, I don’t think surviving cancer is particularly “heroic.” I don’t mean to detract from the suffering or tremendous struggle involved in over-coming cancer, but it’s not like there was much of an alternative, is there? Self-preservation isn’t heroic, IMO.
That said, attacking Armstrong over this is just tacky. He has no control over how the media spin his sports career, or his medical history. If this whole thing bothers you so much that you just have to start a rant about it, rant about how the media over-hypes athletes, or at society for buying into it. But leave the poor sumbitch with one testicle alone.
Yes, hero may not be a good term.
How about ‘role model’??? This is a guy who has overcome some adversity. Cancer in the 'nads? That would probably slow down most of us. Hell, it kills a lot of us.
And then to go on to the absolute top of his sport. Think of the drive this guy must have. The dedication, the spirit, the hard goddam work…with none of the arrogance and attitude showd by some of our athletes.
Tha man is definitely admirable.
Yeah, “role model” is definetly applicable.