Sports Commentary August 1, 2005

B & G Imagination Junction



The Remarkable Peddler Says Farewell ……………………..



We have never seen anyone like him and we very unlikely will ever see anyone like him again.

Often, the word dynasty has been tossed about when reporting on sports organizations or individuals—a past column was devoted, solely, to the subject of sports dynasties.

Of course, the focus of attention this week has appeared in this space more than once before. Yet, some devotees might say that he is such a powerful and dominating sports figure that as often as he has appeared here it is not frequently enough.

There always seem to be stories connected to a sports star beyond just the victories and defeats and so it is with the peddler though hardly any of his making—what he has accomplished, on the battlefield, should serve as his singular athletic legacy--now he has done it all and rides off into the sunset of athletic retirement unrivaled not only in his chosen sport but, arguably, in any sport at the highest level.

Last Sunday, in Paris, Lance Armstrong completed the final stage of his seventh consecutive overall victory in the Tour De France—previously announcing his retirement from cycling Armstrong will race no more.

Armstrong is at ease with the scope of his accomplishment as are legions of fans and most of his colleagues in the sport—in ones wildest imagination such domination, of not just cycling’s premier but far and away its toughest event, would be extreme daydreaming.

Yet, it has been a run filled with controversy that should never have been or perpetuated to the extent that it did.

Armstrong has always projected the image of the ultimate sportsman but some have attempted to make him the ultimate cheater accusing him of being cycling’s Superman with the assistance of performance enhancing drugs.

The peddler has been tested and tested and tested and in this era of drug testing could never slip through the net as often as he has if not clean and clean he has been each time. Lance Armstrong became the greatest bicycle racer, of all time, by just working harder and wanting it more than anyone else.

Armstrong’s supposed crimes seemed to be his nationality and the health issue. Prior to Armstrong only Greg Lamond, among Americans, has won the Tour.

Cross country bicycle racing is not supposed to be dominated by an American as it is a European sport and the Tour De France is about as French and European as it comes. So those in cycling and the Euro media kept throwing stones at Lance—they tossed but were tossing in vain.

How could anyone (except maybe a Frenchman) win the sport’s most coveted prize, year in and year out, when he nearly died?

Yes, the Armstrong legend is even further enhanced by the well-chronicled battle back from what was thought to be terminal cancer in 1996 and 1997—he not only beat the big C but every other challenge seven times over.

From 1999 through last weekend Armstrong has won every Tour De France and doing it by dominating the event’s toughest test of the monstrous mountain climbs through the French Alps.

In his run he has won twenty-two stages—not all were in the Alps though it seems that way. This year, ironically, Armstrong took just one stage and it was on the next to final day outside of Paris yet he was consistently strong throughout.

Now-at thirty-three years of age-the competitive athletic career of Lance Armstrong has ended in the manner that each would wish to go out, on top.

Finding a provable flaw is hard—perhaps the one flaw might be that his hard work and celebrity status cost him his marriage and even a subsequent romance. Yet, Armstrong is fully committed to his three children who shared the victory podium with pop last Sunday.

What is next for Lance? Most often discussed, for the Texan, are a run at politics and full involvement with being a front man in the fight against cancer. Chances are slim that Armstrong will just fade into the scenery.Interest with bicycle racing used to be down near the bottom of must see sports for Americans and still will never send worrying chills down the backs of football, basketball, baseball, auto racing or golf executives.

The snobbish American media have continued to hold cycling interest underwater in the same manner that they do with soccer—the routine is they say cycling and we wait for the punch line.

Armstrong’s retirement, likely, will not help his sport’s visibility in the US yet Armstrong will be in our sight lines for years.

If he were a baseball player he would be bigger than Barry Bonds. If he were a football player would overshadow Peyton Manning and dare I say if a basketball player might even have been bigger in America than Michael Jordan.

Make no mistake that in Europe Armstrong is as big as any athlete.

What Lance Armstrong has done is nothing short of extraordinary and anyone that says different is a fool though fully entitled to his or her opinion.

We got to watch Lance do his thing live, not just on grainy film—all sports fans and/or fans of anyone beating very long odds should feel most fortunate.

The peddler’s final ride was a grand one and now he can relax. Lance can now be proud of his triumphs and maybe even make light of his detractors—whatever his future path, he has earned it.

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