Well, the guy has a point. I rode my bike pretty far today and it wasn't THAT hard.

I went and shot hoops yesterday -- it wasn't that hard.

I stroked it yesterday, it WAS hard.

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"ah-hem...the time is yours."

These articles are all sad, obvious trolls, but the thing that's most interesting about them is how much they expose the authors as unprofessional in their job. These guys are professional sports writers, and they evidently don't feel the need to educate themselves to even a minimal degree about one of the world's premier sporting events before writing about it. It doesn't make me mad, but I think it's slightly pathetic, professionally speaking.

But I bet they all have funny Hawaiian shirts!

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

well i guess i'll just do what I'm about to criticize but i'll just state the obvious.

CONTROVERSY...

The fact i just read the whole article and that all of you are amused by it makes for good journalism. Of course a real journalist would shoot me in the head but right now the papers publisher is congratulating him on writing an article that got his little local paper nation wide attention..... he'll appologize later on and a few hundred people will make sure they read his column over and over to make sure he doesnt make the same "mistake" again.

and regarding the other points... yes, americans should stop calling every darn championship the "World series" or "World championships" because its an insult to every hard working team and athlete around the world. the US good their but kicked in the olympics and in the actual "FIBA Basketball world championship". same with baseball over and hockey. its not that the world is better than the US its just that every country has a strong team out there today and everyone has to respect that. the same way the international community is starting to respect US soccer.

Cycling is a real sport and takes a lot of talent the same way track events do and ball sports do. its not as entertaining to watch to someone who doesnt understand the amount of talent and effort that it takes to get as good as the pros.....

i love soccer but i understand why some people dont get it... any one can kick a ball, but try to kick the ball within a foot from the sidepost from 30 yards away...

CONTROVERSY...

Yeah, controversy is easy and it gets ratings, but it doesn't get respect. Not from me, anyway.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Well the fact of the matter is every sports has it's own unique attractions, most of which are only fully appreciated by the true enthusiast. People into darts would tell you how their sports is so much better.

It's kind of lame that this guy as a 'sports journalist' doesn't seem to be aware of this simple basic fact. He should know not to compare NFL and NBA to TdF in an apples compare to oranges kind of thing. Very unprofessional. And he obviously doesn't know what it is to really ride a road bicycle otherwise he wouldn't be saying things like he does ie it not being a team sport and second guessing how gruelling it is etc. I reckon force the guy to do just one century 100 miler or even a simple 100km and he'll be singing a different tune.

One exception to the unique factor is the most wold's most popular sport. It is the most simple and most lacks profound uniqueness. ie soccer which any idiot or idiotess can understand hence it's mass appeal. It's most avid fans come from countries with the lowest education standards or the lower classes in developed countries like the soccer hooligans in the UK. In general I like all sports but soccer is my most unfavourite and I try to avoid it to no avail cuz where I come from nearly everyone is happy to stoop to mediocraty. Majority of these individuals of course being couch athletes.

Jim Rome has respected and stood up for Lance for years. I too was initially surprised by Rome's ability to look past the major sports to a non-American mainstream sport and to speak up about it. Gave me new respect for someone I though would come off like the journalist who wrote the crappy piece at the beginning of this thread.

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______________________________
Have you hugged Your Mom today?

That writer must somehow have french origins to write something like this against Armstrong :-)

ha-ha ...that's funny.

"One exception to the unique factor is the most wold's most popular sport. It is the most simple and most lacks profound uniqueness. ie soccer which any idiot or idiotess can understand hence it's mass appeal. It's most avid fans come from countries with the lowest education standards or the lower classes in developed countries like the soccer hooligans in the UK. In general I like all sports but soccer is my most unfavourite and I try to avoid it to no avail cuz where I come from nearly everyone is happy to stoop to mediocraty. Majority of these individuals of course being couch athletes. "

just in case you were serious with that comment... you are aware that the US has one of the worst educational systems in the world right(high school level. in college level they actually surpass most)? you can lookup data on international literacy levels and education and prove it. Its also the fatest country in the world so their amusement with sports like golf and baseball doesnt surprise me. except for indoor football where players actually play defense and offense(thats actually pretty cool). i really have little respect for a sport where players sit outtside the court for most of it....
soccer takes a lot more work to master(play gracefully, i'm not talking playing at a Joe Montana level or Maradona) than baseball or american football. i've played all of them and i can throw a ball and catch it quite easily. i can ride a bike quite well and i get faster everyday. unless you tell me that you can actually play soccer (not just kick a ball) please dont insult the most popular sport in the world. its popular because 22 kids can have fun with one ball and in most countries due to economic hardship thats all theyve got. I went to and upper class school in Uruguay to which Diego Forlan attended growing up and he was rich and well educated before becoming Spains lead scorer.
american football's most avid fans are fat uneducated slobs who coulnt throw or catch a ball for anything,but i wouldnt generalize their fanbase or insult the sport because of that, or did i?

in defense of cycling fans. most cycling fans own a bike and ride it. that also the reason they are misunderstood....

You mean the USAs literacy is worse than say Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Vietnam ,Myanmar, Indonesia etc where soccer rules ...quite literally?

Well I played a lot of Rugby Union from school to University and the Armed Forces, and it's my opinion almost any rugby player can play a simple game of me kick to you and you kick to me without any special training. Put a good soccer player amongst club level Rugby game and he'll get creamed, probably sent out in a stretcher.

In fact I have never had soccer training, but even at my age I play around with my neighbourhood kids for fun on the weekends. These kids play for their high schools and I hold up pretty well. I play for the fun of mixing with the young'uns, but for sure am no way near worshiping the stupid game like so many do. In fact riding my bike pretty well, like keeping up with the fast groups on our usual varied terrain rides has required a helluva lot more effort and training just not to get dropped.

You know soccer is just like Aussie rules football in OZ it's always in your face. If you're not a fan it gets really tiresome. Some of the Classic bike races supposed to show on TV get's wiped off because some stupid sucker match goes into overtime. At work in the newspapers on the tele it's always sucker ..sucker ..soccer. And for the life of me I can't understand why someone like David Beckham should command the kind of income just cuz he can kick a bendy ball. ..big deal.

Like I said I like nearly all sports ..but sucker soccer ...hmmm. Well if you so enjoy it, good for you Dude ..go for it, go soccer crazy ..life's too short.

To each his own. But as a soccer fan and player I HAVE to respond to 2 things.....

[quote]It is the most simple and most lacks profound uniqueness. ie soccer which any idiot or idiotess can understand hence it's mass appeal.[/quote]

1. Have you EVER tried to explain the offsides rule to a newbie?!?!?! Methinks not. =)


2. Your jab about soccer followers/hooligans being poor and less intelligent is illogical at best and racist as worst. Soccer is popular worldwide because the Brits exported it at the height of their empire. Baseball is so popular in Japan, Korea, and latin America because we (americans) exported it during occupation as well. All sports have their hooligans. Ohio State fans are prime examples. ;P

perhaps because they have player from all over the world.



on the same note. why is the baseball championship that is limited to select north american teams called the world series?

"1. Have you EVER tried to explain the offsides rule to a newbie?!?!?! Methinks not. =) "

Well soccer isn't the only game to have offside ruling. And yes, that is the most simple complicated rule in soceer. Where I come from the fans even the old Grannies who never went to school can understand it.

Soccer has widespread hooliganism unlike any other sport. As for the racism accusation I'm not going to attempt to explain it away, because it seems in the internett discussions there are always people so ever ready to jump on something to accuse someone else of being racist. All I can do is promise you I am definitely not racist. Believe it or not, that's entirely up to you Dude.

To you as to the ignorant masses (borrow a phrase out of the terrorists' religion) soccer may be the best sports surpassing even nookie. To me it's just one big time soccer sucker for many to stoop to mediocrity, to embrace the sport simply because of it's simpleton mass appeal.

As we agree to each his own.

"I didn't think so. That's why it's peculiar that they try to pass off the event as a team sport. Again, I don't think so. How many dates have George Hincapie and Sheryl Crow been on lately? Did Levi Leipheimer make a cameo on "Dodgeball?" Do the other riders on the so-called team get to wear the yellow jersey? "

How is any of that relevant?

This guy is lame. he is trying to get a rise out of people. Or he hates anything that the hordes follow and he has to make himself look cool by making it look bad.

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beyourownsuperhero

Maybe he's a soccer fan. -:)