*Disclaimer: You may not like this blog. If you already dislike me, you probably shouldn't read this blog as it wouldn't be fair to either of us. You won't be objective. If you have a yellow wristband on, there is a 52.6% chance (I totally made that number up) that reading this blog will make you feel dirty...and not in a cyclocross sort of way. You will feel your teeth grit. You may want to slap me. You may ring my doorbell with a yellow bracelet in a bag and a picture of a relative in your hand. It will not change my opinion....and likely I will not change yours. However, this is my blog and I get to write my opinions, thoughts, feeling here. Blogging is free. You too can get your own and do the same and I may or may not read it. That being said, do not say you have not been forewarned. (Plus you had to click a cute little button acknowledging you were aware that there might be "objectionable" content here, so the gloves are off.) I cannot believe that we live in times when you have to warn people that your opinion may offend them, but everyone reading clicked, so....Game on!
I don't like him.
I don't.
Lance Armstrong.
Guess what?
I'm allowed to not like him.
I have that right.
(And because I got this comment once before, I will head you off: Yes, actually I was riding bikes before anyone other than his family knew who he was. He is 11 months older than me but he didn't shoot me a memo when I was 4 and he was 5 with a photo of him riding his bike, so there's no telling who actually got in the saddle first. I simply got on my ugly yellow bike with the obnoxiously flowered banana seat and rode it.)
He's significantly better at riding a bike than I am. Hands down. There is no comparison on or off the bike being attempted to be made to Lance Armstrong.
I am simply stating that I do not like him, and I have made my peace with that fact.
Just because we both got cancer and ride bikes doesn't make us instant blood buddies.
There are plenty of people with (and without) cancer whom I like and others I do not like.
It's not a fucking club.
We don't have a secret handshake.
I suppose we could flash our super cool scars like the Bloods and the Crips, but considering where our scars are located, I think I'll pass.
Cancer doesn't give someone a soul.
If you were an asshole pre-cancer (he openly admits that he was, as do I...take that how you like) then likely you will be an asshole during cancer and after cancer is gone.
(We can always hope that isn't true, but people are tricky.)
Look, the dude had a pretty shitty childhood...regardless of how cool his mom was.
He was an angry kid.
Then he lost a nut.
I'd be pissed off too.
That being said, Lance never asked anyone to like him.
Ever.
I've read his books.
I've read his interviews.
He's a prick...and he makes no apology for this.
Nor should he.
Lance is being true to Lance.
It is the general sheep-herded, need-a-salvation, Lance-is-cooler-than-Jesus population that has made it required that you, me, your sister, your kids, their kids, and the family dog like, respect, and worship Lance.
Sorry. I attended 9 years of Catholic school. I'm all tapped out on cuckoo.
I bow before no man. (My ex-husband will support this statement.)
Lance is like an evangelist.
He doesn't give a crap about anyone but Lance...so long as you send the LAF your money and wear his pretty yellow bracelet (Which are interestingly enough, not bpa-free...).
He loves what you have made of his image.
Image.
Not a person.
Lance is a person.
Lancefanatics have been sold on the image.
Don't misunderstand, I support the work that the intelligent and dedicated people who run the LAF do to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer.
There are a LOT of people doing a LOT of really spectacular things in that organization.
A LOT of people. Not one man.
Lance is cancer's supermodel.
A face. A nut, if you will. (I "may" have been speaking about his testicle there...but I reread the statement and feel I should leave it open for interpretation.)
*snicker*
Honestly, I don't give a crap if you love Lance.
I care about as much as I care if people love Jesus or the GOP.
(Not a bit.)
I may not understand you, but I really don't care who/what you like.
What I care about is that I have my freedom to not like/worship Lance.
People who judge me for disliking him are assholes and hypocrites.
If someone could articulate to me in an educated and informed manner as to why I am required to like/respect Lance Armstrong, I will listen...openly.
The fact is, you cannot force someone to like someone else.
Having a different opinion on whether someone is fantastic is normal and OK.
If it was an important matter and not merely opinion and yawn-inducing, I could understand.
No one is liked by all.
I am regularly loved and loathed.
I assure you that like me, Lance does not go home and tuck himself into a fetal position because there are people who do not like him.
Frankly, when he leaves the US, it's pretty much a coin toss as to how he will be treated.
He knows this and deals with it...pretty well.
Lance handles not being liked...why can't his fans?
He is just a dude on a bike.
He shits, showers, and shaves just like the rest of us.
...he just shits yellow cupcakes.
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I was JUST thinking this the other day. Every time I have seen him he acts like a arrogant douche.
ReplyDeleteHe was on ESPN Game Day two weeks ago(maybe three. I thought he was rude as hell. Herbstriet asked him a serious question about how many calories he burned in a race. He totally blew him off and acted like he was above the question.
I just keep thinking how sorry I feel for him. People have built him up so high, he doesn't have many options other than down.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, in a genuinely non-snarky manner, I really feel sorry for the people who idolize him. They are going to be so disillusioned when the end comes...
If Lance were humane, he would let them down slowly and just go quietly back into retirement so that his people never see what’s behind the curtain, so to speak.
Lot's of middle ground between like and dislike, love and hate.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for anyone who idolizes anybody (or anything) in that fashion. Doesn't matter if it's an athlete an "artist" or a politician.
ReplyDeleteIdolization and blind faith/belief in ANYTHING makes my skin crawl.
The people who I have no time or tolerance for are those who are in a position to make as large an impact as the LAF has - and selfishly choose NOT to become involved in anything truly worthwhile.
It's one thing to be a self-centered asshole, who at least realizes there are greater obligations in life than to them self.
It's a completely different type of self-centered asshole who can't see anything beyond their own assholishness and selfish needs/wants.
Oh yeah - BTW - I was most assuredly riding bicycles years before him, and riding in Europe years before he made it there.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm old.
@Ethan: Agreed. I am on the dislike side as it pertains to his behavior, but feel no hate for the man or anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI like that his image affords celebrity to an important cause.
@Rich: Obviously I agree with this. I may or may not have my opinions as to the reasoning behind him starting the LAF, it's irrelevant. He did and the LAF is invaluable.
@All: This blog does not state the reasons why I dislike Lance, just that I do and also have the right to do so without being judged.
I specifically did not articulate my reasons because they are my own and it wasn't the point of the blog.
Plenty of people can post all the reasons why they love/like/admire him and an equal amount of the population can post the reasons they don't. The point was freedom of opinion without judgment.
Most importantly, by omitting your reasons for dislike, it's apparent that you're not trying to "sell" anyone else on disliking him.
ReplyDeleteYes! Chris! You get it!!!
ReplyDelete...spread the word! lol
Let me tell you why I don't like Lance. I have a friend who was a medic in Afghanistan. He lost both legs. While in rehab him and some other amputee war buddies decided to ride hand pedal bikes across Texas to raise their self-esteem and to raise money for wounded vets. They contacted Lance to see if he would ride with them for a bit in Austin. His response was "No! Because I don't support the war." They ended up raising about $10,000 on their own. 2 weeks later Lance went mountain biking with Bush.
ReplyDeleteSome people don't want to know what's behind the curtain and some people don't care. EPO? No EPO? Personality of a pubic louse?
ReplyDeleteLance is just meh to me. I don't invest enough to love or hate him. Respect? Sure. Did I laugh at how he handled not being the team leader in France? You bet!
Now Cavendish? He's a prick.
Cory, your first response in the comments section really sums it up for me, too. As I tell my wife about him, I respect the work his foundation does and that is great. As for the person, I am not on the fence. I just don't like him either. She knows the details on why as you noted on FB you know too. It's just not of any value for me to elaborate. I will say tough that I love Greg LeMond, the non-fiction American comeback story. :)
ReplyDelete...but LeMond isn't as "marketable" because there's no hook...
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya kid, he's a creep.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post almost as much as I love Lance (which is a LOT).
ReplyDeleteI love Lance, but I totally hear you. I don't love Lance's image, I don't love him as a person (how can I? I don't know him, and from what I've seen he can be a prick), I love the fact that he's a badass racer and he pisses people off, which makes them want to beat him but they can't if he doesn't want them to.
Eventually he'll get too old and won't be able to rub his hater's faces in the dirt, then he'll be just another ex-racer prick like Greg and Bernard and Eddie.
I love Lance, and I love this blog.
First off all, I just want to say that my first bike was yellow too!! At least the first one I remember-- the 10-speed...
ReplyDeleteAs for Lance, you and I had this conversation a long time ago, and I don't know the man- I just know that there are things that I take from what he has written that help others, specifically other cancer patients, and that helps. It gives inspiration and hope, and I am thankful for that. But then again, I tend to see the best in people and I am often disappointed by them. What can I say...
Christine
Brilliant post. It's always nice to know you aren't alone in how you feel on something...I wasn't as ballsy in my implications when I wrote about the "armstrong machine" here: http://comocyco.blogspot.com/2009/10/inspiration.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying what I didn't. Well done.