Prie0065 wrote:
Regardless of whether or not you believe Armstrong cheated, doped, whatever....the man has achieved great things. I guarantee, even those that dismiss Armstrong as a cheat...still have in some way been inspired by his races, epic moments, and other achievements. Love him or hate him, cheat or not...Armstrong was good for the sports we all love. This forum is made up of many who picked up a road bike for the first time because they caught a glimpse of Lance on Sportscenter, watched for countless hours on versus or OLN, or their Sunday newspaper and thaught to themselves...wow this is either a great sport..looks like fun...or that simply riding on a long country road or up and over a mountain pass takes you to a place that few others get to experience.
Its sad that we seem to be moving into a period of time when fact no longer exists...a single person's opinion can now eradicate a lifetime of achievement. We see it in politics, we saw it at Penn State, and we see a variety of it here in this case. Direct evidence, fact, substantial findings, etc...the things that make up reality....are now secondary to personal belief, superstition, vendetta or the like.....
Yes, we swim, bike, run, exercise...because we like it, it makes us feel good.....but deep down there is a competitive fire that burns in all of us....its why you train harder when you have an event on the calendar......its why you toe the line......Many of us took that first step because of Athletes and heros like Lance Armstrong.
I can't wait to hopefully meet him, shake his hand, and give it a good race.
I did my first triathlon well before I'd ever heard of Lance Armstrong, so he didn't inspire me to pick up my bike. I did enjoy watching his TdF victories on OLN, but I did so honestly believing at the time that he was clean. I trusted the drug-tests were hard to beat and that a guy who had recovered from cancer wouldn't be stupid enough to dope. My bad.
So insofar as he was ever my hero (way too strong a word), he has certainly fallen now. As a fund-raiser for cancer causes, maybe he can still be a hero, but not as an elite athlete (and I don't single him out here, any dope cheats are included).
As for your reference to Penn State, that's just silly. Joe P guy covered up a heinous crime against a child. Are you saying this is not true but rather a single person's opinion? If Joe P still inspires you, what can I say...
And you really believe that LA is innocent and it's just one person's opinion that has led to a lifetime ban? Sheesh.