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Over the past few weeks, Lance Armstrong has joined the infamous group of evil, selfish people such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and every athlete that came out of East Germany, who abused our trust and cheated to get a competitive advantage in the world of sports.
The International Cycling Union was right in stripping him of his seven Tour de France titles and Armstrong is an embarrassment to the country, a poor role model for our youth and should be exiled to an island populated by steroid-enraged badgers. Yada yada yada.
Shut up. All of you.
I’m sick and tired of listening to people spout off about how this tarnishes everything Armstrong has ever done and ruins his legacy. It doesn’t.
Even though his trophy room at home now has significantly more room for activities, the decade of his dominance — and more importantly, what he did with it — is something that can’t be taken away from him, or anyone who remembers it.
First off, the idea of vacating any trophy is a dumb premise. How can you tell me that something never happened when I witnessed it with my own two eyes? Regardless of sport, you can’t undo the past, no matter how hard you try.
We all witnessed Armstrong win those titles. We remember the great story behind his return from cancer and how it inspired us.
None of that will ever change.
Sure, the story’s ending isn’t quite as extraordinary, but this wasn’t written by Walt Disney. Grow up Peter Pan; this is what happens in the real world.
He still came back from testicular cancer to compete in one of the most grueling athletic endeavors in sports. That would have been one hell of a story by itself. And if he hadn’t blood-doped, I bet you he still would have been one of the best.
My favorite part of the story? He found a way to use cycling — a sport Americans would probably choose to watch CSPAN over — and used it to enrage the French.
This isn’t baseball or football, where we act like the integrity of the game is ingrained in our society’s moral fabric; it’s on the same level as tetherball.
Because of Armstrong, Americans got to thumb their noses at a country we love to taunt and say, “See? We could dominate your silly race if we wanted to, but who would want to do that when the sports we invented are so much better?”
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 25 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Incredibly short-sighted. You look at only the benefits of his charity to justify the 'means' (cheating). What about the criminal activity? The fraudulent lawsuits to the tune of MILLIONS of dollars that others paid Armstrong for telling the truth about HIS behavior? What about their rights and their opportunities to make a living in the sport that disappeared thanks to Armstrong while he raked in personal millions (Forbes estimates his net worth at $70 million plus)?
No, this is complete silliness. There's no arguing Livestrong did good things and that it benefitted from Armstrong's personal success - no matter how he got there. But to compare the criminal acts that Armstrong committed to cheating on a test or homework (or Monopoly?! lol) completely misses the point that while Armstrong was building a charity that helped people, he was creating a legacy that destroyed others.
You've got a lot of living left to do, kid, but trust me on this one - Lance Armstrong isn't just a cheater. He's a criminal.
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How is it Nick Cafferky is your managing editor? Sic...
"Shut up. All of you."
"Hell of a story"
"got to"
"I bet"
"made it cool"
Did he write the first draft on facebook? Better to create a Cafferky bag mixed with poor grammar and cliches, dump it on a table, and arrange his articles for him. It will prove better than this banal editor insulting his readership with a derogatory opinion piece filed as a "feature".
Oh, CT, how low your standards stoop.
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That was a pretty fascinating and opinionated article.
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That was a pretty fascinating and opinionated article.
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Very well written. I think this article shines a light on the scope of an extraordinary endeavor. The fact remains this happened during the era of "Let's cheat to get bigger contrracts and endorsements, and if we get caught who gives a crap WE'RE RICH!" Lance Armstrong and his accomplishments will save countless LIVES. But everyone is more concerned about how he cheated a SPORT. Our values are so backwards.
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I was hoping you would take this position. When given the choice between a world with a clean Armstrong who finishes in the top 10 for a couple tours and raises $1000, and a world where he raises HALF A BILLION DOLLARS, inspires the world while raising awareness for a crippling disease, even though he might have (read: most likely) cheated in the dirtiest sport at the time, I take the latter every time. While I wish he didn't cheat at all, it was a fun ride while it lasted.
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"I’ll just go back to forgetting the Tour de France exists. Come to think of it, I already have."
This. Now Michael Phelps needs to get caught cheating so people can stop pretending to care about swimming every 4 years.
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I never bought one of those livestrong bracelets. They carry so many germs it's insane.
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Hey, I just wanted to say that I pretty close to agree with your article and am glad that you put this in the paper to let students know about it. I remember growing up with Lance and he was the reason my family got into cycle. Whether or not he cheated at this points is a bit irrelevant, he passed all the THOUSANDS of drugs test while he was racing is that is what matter.
Also, I wish you had go into a little history about the US anti-doping agency who did this to Lance. The president is also the judge, the jury and the investigator making it a little bit bias.
Truly, if the US courts cannot site any true evidence of him cheating and throw out his case, then why can the doping agency say this??
Thanks for putting the word out.
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Contador was banned for two years, not for life. He will return for the 2013 Tour de France.
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Lance Armstrong cured cancer by cheating. Now shut up. All of you.
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Means to an end...I get it. Here's another one..you reap what you sow. Now watch the Livestrong charity shrivel up and die because of Lance Armstrongs actions.
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