Hard to Read
I just read Juliet Macur's Cycle of Lies - The Fall of Lance Armstrong and it hurt to read it. Not that it was a poorly written book, quite the contrary, but it was painful.
I normally could care less about all the sports figures and 'Hollywood' types. Their lives are their lives. But Lance, not only coming from the same part of the country that I did, got me hooked on the Tour de France and cycling in general. I watched him faithfully cycle to 7 wins. Every July for years now, the girls know it's my time in front of the TV to watch the Tour.
It did confirm what I had suspected. I put it down to being 'intense' and 'focused', but apparently he wasn't the nicest guy to have around. The girls teased me at one time about being his 'girl friend'. I told them I would probably have killed him within 24 hours, given his personality. Seems I was probably right. But I do believe he did contribute some good. He raised awareness of cycling as a sport (men in spandex!) and cancer. There was some good amongst the bad.
And I believed. Up to the very end, I believed. And a part of me wants to say he 'confessed' in order to get everyone off his back. So to read the story, from start to finish, was painful. Like falling off your bike onto concrete and sliding. And there's no bandaid big enough to make it better.
I normally could care less about all the sports figures and 'Hollywood' types. Their lives are their lives. But Lance, not only coming from the same part of the country that I did, got me hooked on the Tour de France and cycling in general. I watched him faithfully cycle to 7 wins. Every July for years now, the girls know it's my time in front of the TV to watch the Tour.
It did confirm what I had suspected. I put it down to being 'intense' and 'focused', but apparently he wasn't the nicest guy to have around. The girls teased me at one time about being his 'girl friend'. I told them I would probably have killed him within 24 hours, given his personality. Seems I was probably right. But I do believe he did contribute some good. He raised awareness of cycling as a sport (men in spandex!) and cancer. There was some good amongst the bad.
And I believed. Up to the very end, I believed. And a part of me wants to say he 'confessed' in order to get everyone off his back. So to read the story, from start to finish, was painful. Like falling off your bike onto concrete and sliding. And there's no bandaid big enough to make it better.
I wish our 'big' athletes would realize what they mean to those of us who watch and support them. Breaks my heart that they disappoint our youth or, worse, make them think it is ok to do wrong.
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