In 1999, I dressed up for the office Halloween party in a bright yellow Nike jersey, helmet, bike pants and nubby bike shoes. Only the guy from the mailroom recognized me as Lance Armstrong. Most people had no idea what the Tour De France was and my sign “Go Postal!!!!” made some folks nervous…. A young buck from Texas had just won his first Tour de France after surviving testicular cancer and people were just starting to talk about it.
My name is Deborah and I’m a Lance-a-holic. I loved the idea that the guy could beat the odds on so many fronts. For seven years, I watched and taped every day of the Tour de France so I could fawn over Lance. I scared the heck out of my cats yelling at the TV, encouraging Lance, George, the whole US Postal team. My husband bought Lance’s books for me and friends checked in to see how Lance was doing during the race if they didn’t have cable. July vacations were prefaced by assurances that I could get the Outdoor Life Network, the only channel that carried the European bike race that spawned a new interest in cycling and ultimately captured a huge American market.
Despite the latest revelations, I still have seven yellow armbands for every year he won. You have to admit it was a thrill-a-thon to watch Lance give Jan Ullrich ‘the stare’, then pull back the peloton when Jan accidently dove over a guard rail; to see Lance rebound after catching his handlebar on a musette; to dive off the road and cut across a meadow when Beloki wiped out in front of him; to hear Bob Roll intentionally mispronounce the Tour day France; to kick some French derrière at their own race. It is a shame that all of those feats are now followed by “but…” It is absolutely reprehensible that Lance and, as it turns out, many of the most competitive cyclists were doping but am I still a fan? Absolutely and it has nothing to do with the maillot jaune.
Lance won our hearts as the quintessential American: not just surviving cancer but flourishing in grand style. And as his fame and wealth grew, he could have laughed his way to the bank but instead he did what few could even imagine. Lance parlayed his wealth, notoriety and access to the famous and powerful to convince people – lots of people – to contribute to his brainchild, Livestrong Foundation, an organization that helped people think of a cancer diagnosis in a new way. Livestrong funds cancer research, raises awareness, provides support for people affected by cancer, deliver’s information through a first class website, books, forums and outreach. Lance inspired people to consider not merely surviving but thriving after cancer. We bought millions of yellow armbands, not just to fund Livestrong research, but to let others know we supported their struggle with cancer.
Lance turned Americans on to the Tour de France but he moved the world to think about defying a disease, not just being victim to it. Lance gave us gutsy hope, inspired us and channeled strength to millions facing the challenge of their lives. Turns out, it’s not about the bike. And you can’t take that away…. Livestrong.
• Craig encourages people to check out Livestrong.org
Comments (14)
Add commentDeborah, Lance did do some
Deborah,
Lance did do some great things, but we also cannot take away the fact (although we may like to) that he was a liar and cheater.
He should be in jail
That ego centric self centered jerk made a mockery of the race and is an embarrassment to America. How many true athletes, honest ones, lost their chance to compete because lance Armstrong cheated? How many of us defended him all the while he knew he was guilty. Good deeds? Buying penance for his sins is more like it!
Now like the Kennedy clan using their ill gotten fortunes Armstrong will live a privileged life as a liar and thief: a coward.
The ultimate loser. I hope history removes the but... And records the tragedy of cheating and the costs to other real athletes and the sport that was stolen from a generation because of greed arrogance and selfishness.
I spit at his name.
Twaaa
Forgot to spit!
Any time someone does
Any time someone does something great and excels in life, there will be those who will tear them town, will look for the chinks in the armor. If you cant beat him on the bike, scheme scheme again. I am the first to admit that I haven't seen the doping data, and probably won't. I know he tested clean for years, then all of a sudden he isn't. Drama should be based on the sport, not on how to get rid of the competition.
Boo Mrs. Craig
I lettered in football, basketball, soccer, and tennis. I was not always the best athlete on the field; sometimes I "lost the game for us" and sometimes I was the "star". However, I would rather lose every game I played playing fair, than to cheat and win one.
Just the fact that he could celebrate after a "win" knowing that he did not earn it, makes him a piece of (not pumpkin pie). Where do you draw the line Mrs. Craig? Can I throw my bike in the back of a truck and get dropped off at the finish line and win your heart?
Even if the next runner up that was not cheating gets the credit now, they were robbed of that victory feeling; and that cannot be returned. So I say boo to you Mrs. Craig for being a bad example for the youths that may read this.
@kpawsuh
I know you said you didn't want to see the doping data, but the reason he tested negative for so long is because he was sneaky. He would dope, then go to a hotel room set up at each race and get a blood transfusion after the dope was in his system and before they drew blood for the test.
Not trying to convince you to change your stance, that was just a big part of my dislike for him now.
Mrs. Craig please reconsider and put your fan emotions aside
The East German women's swim team surprised the world when it dominated the 1976 Olympics. It turns out the women had been fed steroids. Guess it shouldn't have bothered the other Olympians that lost to cheaters.
Bill Belichick isn't above a little cheating, as he showed in 2007, when the Pats were discovered to be videotaping the opponent's defensive coaches' signals during a game. No big deal right Mrs Craig and Kapawsuh?
The Canadian sprinter demolished a field that included Carl Lewis and Linford Christie to win the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world-record time. Just three days later, however, his gold medal and world record were stripped and he was sent home from the Games after testing positive for the banned steroid, stanozolol. Johnson returned to the sport in 1991, but he was found guilty of doping in 1993 and banned for life by the IAAF. Ask Carl Lewis if doping and cheating is a big deal!
One of the most dominant Olympic sprinters in history, Marion Jones confessed to using this designer steroid from. Jones gave back the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics, and the IOC wiped her name from its record books.But I'm sure she is a good person. no big deal that the other athletes didn't get to fairly compete, right?
I hope you rethink what you wrote and think a little bit more about the victims. These people don't just run or ride a race. They dedicate their life to the sport. And to have their chance at tasting victory stolen like a crack addict stealing a wallet for a hit is sad pathetic and should be renounced at EVERY opportunity.
Twaa! I spit on his name.
I'm absolutely sure...
...that I couldn't win, much less ride in, the Tour De France even with all of the dope in the world in my veins. Armstrong was a phenomenal athlete even before he resorted to doping.
Pro cycling has been rife with doping for a lot longer than Armstrong was involved in it, and many riders were busted after Armstrong had retired. I'm pretty sure that we'd never have heard of Armstrong's name if he hadn't doped, even though he was likely the best athlete in the race. He was competing with an entire field that doped.
So busting Armstrong doesn't shame the U.S. It elevates us. We're probably the only nation that's doing something about it - tearing down our hero as the price.
Time for the other nations to account for their cheaters as well.
Systematic and intentional cheating & lying a true coward
Tyler Hamilton also said that, in 2000, Bruyneel introduced the concept of ‘blood doping’ to a handful of the squad as they travelled on a private jet from France to Spain: “He explained to us that 500cc’s of blood would be withdrawn from each of us to be reinfused the following month during the Tour de France. There was no test for blood transfusion so this would be undetectable.” Bruyneel was instrumental in covering up doping – George Hincapie claims that after the 2005 Tour, Bruyneel told him “go over to Lance’s [in Girona, Spain] to make sure there were no doping materials in the apartment” — and is particularly damning of his role in corrupting younger riders. He told Christian Vande Velde “not to worry if I felt bad at first [after doping], that I would feel good at the end” and told 23-year-old David Zabriskie to use EPO as “everyone was doing it”.
Twaa! Twaa! spit on his namel!
‘Motoman’
A motorcycle enthusiast and occasional personal assistant for Armstrong, who delivered USPS’s drugs. Tyler Hamilton said: “The EPO was smuggled to us by a French handyman who followed the Tour on his motorcycle and made deliveries to Pepe [Marti, a member of the backroom team] or another Postal Service team staffer. We soon took to calling [him] ‘Motoman’.”
Should forever be told
That lance armstrong was a lying cheating coward that disgraced America and all man kind.
A new word shall come forth, armstronging: to lie cheat steal or otherwise disgrace a sport or a nation.
"Come on kids don't armstrong, play fair play honest!"
"That traitor, he armstronged our country"
Everyone that thinks we are tearing him down
Read the report. It's jaw dropping in its criminal deceit.
Heck his cancer was probably due to his abuse of performance enhancing drugs.
Concerned Take a pill man.
Concerned
Take a pill man. Seriously, I agree he gives Americans a bad name but the amount of hate on this silly subject? Not worth the heart attack your asking for.
Thanks Alaskastu
Much better now.
Quote: "And as his fame and
Quote: "And as his fame and wealth grew, he could have laughed his way to the bank but instead he did what few could even imagine. Lance parlayed his wealth, notoriety and access to the famous and powerful to convince people – lots of people – to contribute......"
Yes, he convinced a lot of people to contribute to Livestrong. I commend him for that. And up until recently I admired him as an exceptional athlete.
But don't think for one minute that Armstrong has been totally altruistic. According to CNNMoney he earned $17.5 million in endorsement fees in 2005 ALONE.
He did not earn that money. He cheated his way into that money. This is not about a cancer-beating elite athlete who beat the odds to win the most difficult bike race in the world 7 times over. It is about a bold-faced, bullying cheater who made a crap load of money because of his lies. There is nothing to admire in that.