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Post by robreddy on Jan 16, 2013 11:05:30 GMT -5
So LA is coming 'clean' this week.
Thats nice IMO - but honestly hearing the media (giving cycling its 15 min a fame here in America) you would think LA is the devil incarnate.
I gotta say - though I'm sad he cheated (did anyone ever think he did not - cycling is the dirtiest sport on the planet) I really don't care.
The very large majority of professional athletes are soo ego centric, self absorbed and out of touch with what is REALLY important, IMO.
LA has done amazing work in relation to cancer - a REAL problem for all of us - is LA a sh it - you bet but $500M towards fighting a horrible plague that will affect EVERY ONE OF US is way more imp than anything else.
Really - name me 5 athletes who have done like work outside sports that has helped so many.
I can name you 100 who have done nothing in a minute.
So - what do you all think about LA???
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Post by watchman on Jan 16, 2013 11:16:55 GMT -5
My one question is . In the Tour D F how far down the list starting from #1 do you have to go to find the guy who truly did not use and illegal Performance enhancing drugs. Is he #5? , is he #10? is he # 20 ? he should get an award. I wonder how far down the list he would be? just wondering
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Post by robreddy on Jan 16, 2013 11:29:25 GMT -5
Not sure Mike
But what I do know is in the 7 TdF LA won - after they vacated his win NO winner was declaired.
Why you ask - well of the 21 top 3 finnishers in those 7 TdF - 20 of those finnishers have all been proven to be dopers and had their results vacated.
That's not a good record
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Post by Jeff Uzl on Jan 16, 2013 12:08:58 GMT -5
7 TDF...enhanced or not, that is a feat in itself. Just because he used enhancements does not guarantee a win. He still trained countless hours and logged the miles.
Correct me if I'm wrong...the sport tests the athletes and he passed his tests. If a new, more accurate test comes out is it fair to retest? Gee, if that is the case, let's retest college graduates 20 years out because we have computerized tests now. If you fail, you have to give back your degree. Just imagine the outcry then!
Ultimately, I could care less what happens to him. The real sad part is the pressure Livestrong will face and the loss of revenue that was helping cancer research. But, then again, LA knew the consequences "if" he got caught.
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Post by kenb321 on Jan 16, 2013 12:21:09 GMT -5
He won 7 tours with only 1 nut. Yes, everyone else cheated but somehow he strong armed a lot of people to cover up his cheating.
The Tour of California is sponsored by the maker of EPO, AMGEN. Gimme a break.
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Post by benmiralia on Jan 16, 2013 13:43:51 GMT -5
No argument from me. Seven consecutive TDF? Half the other riders could have been on motorcycles and he would have won. Doping might have given him a significant edge over riders 20 to whatever, but against his top rivals almost none at all. He still worked harder than anyone else in the sport. Plus, it is about so much more than the man. His legacy outside cycling is what I think will define him. 20 years from now his success in cycling will be a footnote, but his work outside the sport will still be saving lives.
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Post by MattCollister on Jan 16, 2013 14:50:00 GMT -5
Random thoughts: 1) For all intents and purposes, no one in America cares what Lance Armstrong did (or didn't) achieve in bike racing. It's a weird European sport that hardly anyone cares about here. People understand vaguely that Lance is a great sports star; what they care about is that he's a great media star. He's not an athlete but a character in a fantastic story. You have to understand that before you can understand how people are responding to all of this. 2) We have a reaction to cheating in sports that stems back to some Victorian perception of "sportsmanship" and "fair play." I don't think that perception has ever been reality, even to the Victorians. 3) I think many athletes' mindset is that not getting caught means not cheating. Great athletes know the rules inside and out and push them to their limit and, often, beyond. I think this happens a lot in sports. Lance never tested positive ... 4) It bothers me less that he cheated to win bike races, than that he built this mountain of lies upon lies. Paraded the lies in peoples' faces. He should have come out a year ago. I can live with an honest apology. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIl5RxhLZ5U 5) What the hell does he tell his kids? |
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Post by philjolliff on Jan 18, 2013 13:50:37 GMT -5
I think he tells his kids that he has raised more money for cancer research than anyone in history. At the end of the day I think that is way more important than a bike race most Americans don't care about in France.
I think he probably should have come clean years ago, but it is understandable how easy it is to get caught up in the lies...
I think it is funny how ridiculed he has become in the US when our great American pasttime, baseball, was absolutely infested by performance enhancing drugs.
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Post by John JC S. on Jan 21, 2013 22:09:58 GMT -5
I love the fact that he raised a plethora of money for cancer, but what about him suing and threatening people ie the media for slander? That's where I have a problem with him.
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benv
Sprint Member
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Post by benv on Jan 30, 2013 7:22:45 GMT -5
I can live with the doping use as a professional athlete but am also having a hard time about that huge mountain of lies. And what pisses me off, is that there were more lies in the Oprah interview. He confessed 80% and lied the other 20%, which to me makes it even worse. I've always been a huge fan of Lance from before he was a Tour de France contender, but I've lost a lot of respect for him.
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Post by MarkD on Feb 2, 2013 13:17:53 GMT -5
Unless he plays for the Steelers, I really don't give a sh*t ;-)
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Post by aussierob on Mar 15, 2013 14:59:24 GMT -5
I hate cheaters, but more than that, i hate people who not only cheat, but coerce others into doing the same; all the while claiming innocence while financially ruining people who dared tell the truth.
Moreover, how crappy a choice young riders cracking into the top end have to face. With postal, it's either get with the program, or give up your dream and all the years of hard work you've put in.
Lance is a dick. I'm glad he's getting his, finally.
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benv
Sprint Member
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Post by benv on Mar 15, 2013 18:22:46 GMT -5
I don't agree it was just US Postal, it was the same with Mapei, with Cofidis, with Rabobank, with T-Mobile, with Gerolsteiner, with Liberty Seguros, with CSC, etc etc etc. The only difference was Lance and his team cared about one thing and one thing only, the Tour de France, while many other teams have other objectives, such as the European classics. To me, it was a level playing field, in which any young pro was forced to make decisions at some point.
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