Armstrong - AP Athlete of the Year???
Now a lot of folks are probably going to get on me for this (if any of those folks actually read this literary masterpiece), but how in the hell is Lance Armstrong the Male Athlete of the Year??? He wins one flipping race a year and the world loses it’s damn mind.
Now I understand a three week bike race is about two weeks, 6 and 1/2 days more of a bike race than I could complete, but seriously athlete of the year? One, bike racing, especially on streets, isn’t overly athletic. Endurance? Hell Ya….Stamina? Hell Ya….athleticism? No. Two, can anybody name Armstrong’s rivals? The common sports fan who can tell you the New York Giants score from a game against Washington in 1987 couldn’t tell you who else races the Tour De France. Seems to me that Lance is good, but everyone else pretty much sucks! Lastly, and this is the part that will draw the ire of some people, if Lance Armstrong did not have testicular cancer, he would not have been the male athlete of the year for the past three years. It’s a sympathy vote. It’s a vote by the media for some heartwarming story which is fine when it’s not at the expense of other individuals. There are so many other athletes out there that deserve this award before Armstrong but since he sells yellow wristbands and survived testicular cancer (and in no way do I wish to demean or lessen that achievement) he is automagically given the award time and again? It really irks me, yes yes it does…..
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Date posted: Monday, December 27th, 2004 1:48 pm | Under category: Original Blogger Posts
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Wow, I usually don’t disagree with you but I think I am going to have to on this one. Lance Armstrong survived not only testicular cancer, but it also spread to his lungs and brain. He went through massive chemotherapy and is in remission. He has won the Tour de France five years in a row. Now, I can’t name anyone else on the tour (you got me there), but here is a link to his schedule of races throughout the year (http://www.lancearmstrong.com/about_career.htm). He also created the Lance Armstrong Foundation which raises money to help others with their cancer struggles. He may not be the biggest guy on a football field, the best dunker on the basketball court, the home run champion in baseball, or the biggest knockout punch in boxing, but his performance in his sport as well as his contributions off the field put him in the athlete of the year category to me. Did he deserve it three years in a row????? Maybe not, but congrats to him anyway.
On another note, Reggie White (god bless his soul) was an awesome athlete on the field as well as a wonderful human being. Those that help others off the field are not honored like they should be. Instead, the media likes to focus on those that create havoc. If more individuals were like Reggie White and Lance Armstrong, the world would be a better place.
Ok, I’m off my soap box now…..
Whaddya mean you don’t agree with me????
Regardless of his off the bike accomplishments, he is not the ATHLETE of the Year. He beat cancer which is great. Has nothing to do with athletics. He formed a foundation for cancer victims and survivors which is great. Has nothing to do with athletics. He started dating a celebrity. Not a big Sheryl Crow fan so I don’t know how great that is but that too has nothing to do with Athletics. And even if he does race other races during the year, how often do you hear about them. Or for that matter, other than the Tour de France and the Tour duPont, I can’t even name other bike races.
Athlete of the Year is not about the biggest or fastest player in football or basketball, it’s about unusual athleticism which includes more than just stamina……
I’m sure there are other people out there that deserve the title. You said it was a sympathy vote, I don’t agree (at least not all three years;). I think you do have to be a good athlete to compete in a race like the tour de france. Do I think he should have gotten it three years in a row, probably not. But I don’t think he got it this year just because he is dating a celebrity (not a big Sheryl Crow fan either) or because he beat cancer. We can agree to disagree….it happens:)
In that case, what did he do this past year that he didn’t do the past umpteen years he’s won the Tour De France? If it’s not a sympathy vote, what extraordinary feat did he accomplish that he hasn’t already done which qualifies him as the Athlete (still don’t agree with bike racing being an athletic sport, endurance sport yes…athletic no) of the Year
I know we are going to have to agree to disagree. We have to because I am right….and you are. . . well I don’t want to say wrong . . . . .so I will say you are not as right as I am.
I keep forgetting that you are always more right than everyone else;)