Moronacity

Andrea’s blog inspired quite a lengthy comment from me. I even told her that I should be posting it on my blog since I’m experiencing a little writer’s block. I wasn’t really going to do it, but changed my mind shortly after clicking the submit button.

Andrea wrote about Lance Armstrong’s comeback and referred to his reception by the media. Check out her post, Don’t Be a Hater, to read more.

Lance comes across as an arrogant Texan who leads a life that nurtures this persona. I truly understand how this can turn people off, because I’ve been turned off by several celebrities whose careers and reputations aren’t as prestigious as they could be because they choose to publicly take sides on controversial issues, or their personal lives are freely displayed to the public. Truthfully, I really don’t care about Lance’s personality. Actually, I prefer not to know much about any celebrity because I almost always find myself being very disappointed, and then it is difficult to enjoy their work. They are entertainers and athletes, and I prefer to keep them that way.

Lance is most certainly a cycling God. I credit him with the unusual strength to fight through incredible amounts of pain and to exercise great self control. That is something that most people really don’t understand and can’t even begin to fathom. I once saw Lance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Jay asked how Lance managed to do so well, and Lance was straight up about training and maintaining weight. He was blunt. Sure, people could take that for cockiness, but Lance told them how it is. There is no magic pill. Lance has an amazing willpower that allows him to just do it.

Many accuse him of doping even though it has never been proven. While not being a supporter of doping, I do recognize that racing at the level of the Tour de France requires amazing willpower and an unobtainable dedication for most. These characteristics are necessary, even for dopers.

As a cyclist, I am a Lance fan for the greatest of reasons: he inspires me. Last winter, I bought a Lance Armstrong book for training purposes. While I don’t follow the plan, I use some of the methods and I remember a lot of little details like remembering to breathe deeply to use my lung capacity to its fullest. Recalling advice such as this during races has allowed me to move to a higher level of racing. In a sense, Lance’s existence as a cyclist has served a purpose for me, as a cyclist.

My first true encounter with Lance’s racing was early this spring during our commutes to Wisconsin races. One of my teammates has a swanky van with a DVD player and a Tour de France box set. We watched Lance. I loved it. There was someone in the Tour de France whom I was familiar with, could identify with, and was inspired by to race. When I tried watching it without him, I just couldn’t. I had no one to cheer for who inspired me and affected me at such a personal level in my athletic life.

I will continue to periodically look to Lance for inspiration throughout the off season and into race season. I know that I have nothing to lose and much to gain from the advice offered through the name of Lance Armstrong. I look forward to his return.