Reflections http://www.terryrbacon.com no-reply@terryrbacon.com http://www.getmura.com Thu, 23 May 2013 08:06:37 GMT en-us Lance, We Hardly Knew Ya http://www.terryrbacon.com/index.cfm/reflections/lance-we-hardly-knew-ya/ http://www.terryrbacon.com/index.cfm/reflections/lance-we-hardly-knew-ya/#comments CBCC8158-E07C-B215-7DA7233C6898010A Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:25:33 GMT Lance Armstrong’s colossal house of cards recently came crashing down during two well-orchestrated interviews with Oprah Winfrey on national television.  For the media, it was a ratings extravaganza fueled by the public flogging of a once-revered sports legend.  For cycling insiders, it was the lancing of a boil that had been festering for years.  And for many Americans and others around the world it was the humiliating discovery that the hero they had worshipped and cheered through one victory after another was a fraud, a little like learning that your favorite uncle is a crook and a pedophile.

What makes Lance Armstrong’s downfall so bitter for us is that we had elevated him to such stellar heights.  He was the celebrity cancer survivor, the solemn spokesman for defeating death. A fierce competitor, driven and strong, he exemplified what you could make of yourself if you were as focused and determined and disciplined as he was.  He created Livestrong Foundation, the cancer nonprofit that raised the hopes of hundreds of thousands of cancer sufferers.  He won the Tour de France, the granddaddy of cycling’s grueling races, seven consecutive times.  He was everything we hoped we could be if only we were more like him.

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