"Lance Bashing" really brings me down..

[BiggJawn]

Today's meme seems to be "Well, he dumped his wife and kids..."

So? How many of US are still with the first person we bumped uglies with?

Honestly, I think some people like to do it just because they think it makes them seem "worldly", sort of like the reason they drink that burnt shit Starbucks sells and claim to like it....

Like we have enough Heros in this world that we can just piss on 'em for fun?

Yeah, what's Hillary done for me today? Besides try to sell me down the DLC river.

[derby378]

1. Hey, I'm not judging...

Lance almost died from testicular cancer. It even infiltrated his brain. Some couples, for whatever reason, just cannot survive the ordeal of going through something like that. In that case, it's really nobody's fault.

[LostinVA]

30. They weren't together when he went through that

He and Kristin got together towards the end of his ordeal. His mother and friends mainly helped him through it. And he and Sheryl Crow didn't start dating until AFTER he and Kristin's marriage were over. One thing I've read is that she became very, very religious, and he isn't. Just an FYI. lance isn't a dog!

[WeRQ4U]

2. First of all, he didn't "dump" his wife and kids.

I don't have a site or anything but I remember his wife stating that she too was impressed with how long they actually lasted with his training and schedule. That must have been ridiculous.

What some need to realize is that sometimes shit just doesn't work out. People need to just deal with it. This santimonious garbage about marriage has got to stop. A long and sucessful marriage is not some moral dipstick. Sometimes even good people fail at it.

[derby378]

4. As an aside...

...any chance you could reformat that picture? It's messing with the right margins.

[BiggJawn]

16. I know that. You know that.

But the naysayers don't know that. just easier to jump on the bandwagon.

[WeRQ4U]

34. Yep, and it's so lame.

[sniffa]

3. fuck off

i drink starbucks, and it's deLicious.

[BiggJawn]

43. Yeah, and some actually LIKE Lutefisk, soo....

Gotta be one on every crowd....:evilgrin:

Can't help it if I like a coffee that whispers my name in the morning Vs. ripping my head off and shitting down my neck....

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Yawn....

:boring: he's soooooo last year, and the year before that, and the year before that....


Give me Miguel Indurain any day, not some corn-fed 'murikan. :puke:

[name not needed]

15. Why the hell does it matter if he's American or not?

:shrug:

[bicentennial_baby]

17. It doesn't...

I just prefer Indurain, and have for years...long before the hype.

Never liked Armstrong, glad he survived cancer, but I couldn't give a crap about him otherwise.

[Texasgal]

6. Gee...

His marriage didn't work out.... big fucking deal!

Funny how these naysayers don't mention the HUGE fucking charity he started....One of the largest and most successful cancer charity's in the United States. Ummm..HELLO!



:eyes:

[RummyTheDummy]

7. The family thing doesn't bother me

But right now I think he's suffering from some major overexposure. Enough already. It's just cycling.

[stopbush]

8. It's just cycling? To me, it's just basketball - the most boring

excuse for a sport on the planet.

Different strokes.

[BiggJawn]

14. Or "it's just Baseball" or it's "Just NFL Football"...

Or the most useless sport of all "It's just HOCKEY"...

Hey, we didn't EVEN have a Hockey Season this past year, and the Sun still rose in the East, and Dumbya is still a moronic asshole...

I love Cycling.
I gotta tell ya, as a twice-divocred old fat sick man, I stand more of a chance of reaching a level of enjoyable proficiency with 2 wheels than i ever will with some ball or puck...

[RummyTheDummy]

23. To each their own

Congrats on staying healthy though. It's good to see people active no matter what sport they choose.

[RummyTheDummy]

21. Completely agree on hoops

Very, very boring. Like you said, different strokes.

[Texasgal]

19. IT's *just* cycling?

Hmmm... Le' Tour de France is one of the largest sporting events worldwide.

Too bad us Americans can only focus on the sports *we* think reign.... like the big fat overexposed superbowl.

Open up your horizons a little bit, you may see beyond the blinders.

[RummyTheDummy]

22. To each their own

I actually enjoy quite a few sports. However country club sports like golf and tennis aren't part of the equation. Neither is cycling. Get over yourself. To each their own.

[Texasgal]

24. Get over myself?

okay.... I think cycling is a very ineterseting sport, I think that a man who has beaten cancer and who has won 7 tours and has started one of the biggest cancer charities in the United States, deserves some fucking RECOGNITION.

Yeah... to each their own. :eyes:

[RummyTheDummy]

25. How much of it did you watch?

And have you always been "interested" in it say, 15 years ago, before Lance? I doubt it. You don't think he's gotten recogntition? I guess you haven't been paying attention.

[Texasgal]

26. No...

I haven't always been interested in cycling, Lance made me very interested in the sport when he won his first tour. What's the big deal? Cycling has gotten bigger and appealed to more masses because of him!

And yeah... I've been seeing the coverage on him, I've been paying attention.... And I think it's WELL DESERVED.

Any other USELESS questions?

On edit: I did happen to catch alot of the Tour... here in Austin they play the coverage in almost every bar and sporting shop!

[RummyTheDummy]

27. So surly

Lance deserves the admiration. He's a fantatsic athlete. But he's also got a pretty good team behind him that gets no recognition. None of the Johnny Come Lately fans, such as yourself, talk about them -- at all.

[Texasgal]

28. Sure he's got a great Team!

They are all amazing athletes as well.... but none of them won the tour, and none of them beat cancer and started an amazing charity!

I am just dumbfounded.... I just don't understand why people are so down on Lance...why? He's not a God or anything, but is it just so bothersome to some people that he is getting some media attention?

[RummyTheDummy]

29. Never said I was down on the guy

I would never think about bashing the guy and his accomplishments. The family stuff is his business. Like I said, he's a great athlete who deserves to ride off into the sunset as a winner and a survivor. And he is. But some of us who enjoy other sports would like to move on with our lives, if that's okay. Baseball pennant races are heating up. NFL camps are starting and on and on.

There is no argument to be made that he hasn't gotten the attention he deserves from the media and general populace. Sportscenter (on ESPN) has led off their broadcast almost every night with Tour coverage. My local paper, deep in football country, put his win on their front page. Not sports. The front page of the paper. It's been that way all over the country. His cup runneth over in that dept.

[BiggJawn]

45. I've been around.

Nelson Vails, Mark Gorski, the Stetinas, Connie Paraskevin, Eddy, Lemond, John Marino, Lon Haldeman, and yes, even Bernard Hinault...

Those names go back, what, 20, 25 years?

Ya know? the day I see as many sloppy-fat Bubbas wearing Fassa Bortolo shirts and Trek hats and doing Bob Roll impressions as they do Cubs shirts, Yankees hats and Keith jackson impressions is the day I'll agree that cycling has gone as mainstream as the rest of US pro sports.

Until then, I got no beef with a daily "Lance Moment"

[skygazer]

9. Certainly it's a stupid reason to bash anyone

Having been twice divorced, I'm the last person to fling stones at someone whose marriage didn't work out. And since I wasn't privy to the details (and I assume no one else here was either), I'll mind my own business.

[SKKY]

10. With all the crap athlete's out there beating their wives (Jason Kidd)...

...Trying to Kill them (Ray Carruth), or just being plain assholes (Allen Iverson, Kenny Rogers, Roger Clemens, Ray Lewis, etc), I think Lance is one we can look up to. If you're bashing Lance, you're just drinking "Haterade" in my opinion.

[mnmoderatedem]

18. very well said

moreover, it apppears he's retiring in large part to spend more time with his kids, and appears to be a dedicated father. He's more than earned the admiration.

And if overexposure is getting on people's nerves, uh, hello? When's the last time somebody complained about Tiger Woods? So golf is a game Americans identify with more than cycling, so cramming Tiger Woods down our throats is OK?

[RummyTheDummy]

41. I complain about Woods all the time

And how golf is boring on TV. They're both overexposed.

[hfojvt]

20. Haterade, mmmm, it provides the extra bitterness and bile

that your body loses in a major tantrum. :argh: :beer:

So why am I looking up to him again? Because he's Jonas Salk or Ali or Eugene Debs or Bonhoeffer or Andy S? Because winning a grueling race over and over and over again is an immeasurable benefit to all of humanity?

[Champ]

35. Explain Iverson

Or Ray Lewis

[SKKY]

38. Here you go. Nice role models, huh? I wonder why Lewis would plea...

...bargin if he was innocent and clean?

Iverson:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/080497/spo_iverson.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/news/2002/07/09/iverson_arrest_ap/

Ray Lewis:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/2000/06/04/lewis_agreement/

[Champ]

39. I'll adress Iverson

You bring up an article from 8 years ago and the other article he was found on no wrong doing. On edit, all charges were dismissed except one.

[Kraklen]

40. Don't forget the cornrows.

Lot's of white people out there saying Iverson is a bad role model because of the cornrows.

[Champ]

36. Dupe

[DrGonzoLives]

11. But he's AMERICAN!!!

Therefore there MUST be something wrong with him!

Seriously, I think that is behind much of it. It's grasping at straws in an attempt to look cool.

[MissB]

12. It is all Jon Stewart's fault

He called Lance a Quitter. :rofl:

I don't care much about who Lance screws and why.

[democracyindanger]

13. Who's Lance?

:shrug:

[Throckmorton]

31. I think I've earned that right,

He is a athlete, no more, no less. Ive stood by and watched a loved one fight cancer. He she lived, rest assured, she would have appreciated my support.

[bluestateguy]

32. Seems like a good man to me

As an Austinite, I guess I am a bit biased, but there is no evidence to me that he has let his success go to his head.

He is not the New York Yankees.

[chaska]

33. I saw somewhere that he's thinking of running for govenor of Texas....

and his girlfriend is noted liberal, Sheryl Crow. That adds up to something good, I think.

[fricasseed_gourmet_rat]

42. He's pretty liberal, too.

There was a thread about this awhile back.

[Divameow77]

37. I think everyone would agree that Lance is a fantastic athlete

top in his sport, but he is a little overexposed right now but not like some other people I could mention.
I think he's fine it's his girlfriend I find extremely annoying for some reason.
And for the people ripping on Basketball, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time, if not the best, he also brought alot of attention to the game.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

44. Again, he may be a great athlete.......

....but as a human being, he's overrated.

He survived cancer. Fantastic. That doesn't make him a hero, he just has great instincts.

And quite frankly, it's not hip and cool to bash Lance, but rather to treat him like a hero. So I'll take my stale 7-11 Slurpee and watch from the parking lot.