The day you removed your yellow bracelet

[urban attacker]

After the last day of racing in the tour, Radio Shack broke out the black kits i did some soul searching about what message was being sent.
The 28 million cancer number
Livestrong, I did pull up there website that day
Then it came to me it was about Lance showboating
Lance =Livestrong=cancer; with a healthy lean of Lance
I will fight cancer but not promote Lance
I will ride my bike as hard and fast as i can and i will cheer on any body doing the same.Let us start over and have some fun bicycle racing .UCI.clean up your act as well


PEACE

 

[scribe]

Never owned one.

 

[Kennf1]

I tell ya, it was pretty weird to see footage of all the Livestrong workers giving these things out at the Tour to anyone who held their hand out. I thought the original point was to use them to raise money (99 cents each). Now it's just blatantly about branding.

As someone who had a very close friend survive cancer, I'd rather wear a band with the name of the surgeon and oncologist who saved her life.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Saw Livestrong cups and plates in my local supermarket.
Wanna bet those are made in China where lack of environmental regulations have contributed to skyrocketing cancer rates?

Yeah. Live. Strong.

Whatever. What a bunch of marketing garbage.

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

I tell ya, it was pretty weird to see footage of all the Livestrong workers giving these things out at the Tour to anyone who held their hand out. I thought the original point was to use them to raise money (99 cents each). Now it's just blatantly about branding.

It's all about Lance. He is the sect leader and needs as many people to do his bidding.

 

[theswordsman]

Saw this "article" in Google this morning. It explains that Livestrong is now the cool thing for boys to wear in the UK, gives photos and details of the merchandise, links to the women's items, etc,

How LIVESTRONG clothing makes millions of pounds for cancer charities and even tames rebellious teenagers!

The seven-time winner of the event has sold 70million of the bands, inspiring Nike to bring out the LIVESTRONG range in 2008 and help raise around £50million for cancer charities since

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ot...cer-charities-tames-rebellious-teenagers.html

A few years ago I found out a long - distance friend from my old study abroad program had cancer, and was hiding it from pretty much everyone. I spent time trying to convince her that she needed and deserved love and support, and her family deserved a chance to nurture, pray, and help her through it. I offered her Livestrong bands, ordered ten, sent her eight, and wore one in support for a couple of days before it broke.

Figuratively, I stopped believing in the man during training camp and ATOC in 2009, totally wrote him off during that Giro, and trashed the second band after hearing how he treated Contador.

 

[ChrisE]

A little off topic, but I was taking a drive today and as I was coming up to the bridge over Lake Houston there was a rider with a jersey that had "HOPE" written in big letters across the back. I just thought Wonderlance would like that little story. Hope is still alive and well.

I had a yellow bracelet, but I gave it away in the airport in Caracas in Nov 2004, to the cutie checking passports. Never got another one.

 

[Escarabajo]

A little off topic, but I was taking a drive today and as I was coming up to the bridge over Lake Houston there was a rider with a jersey that had "HOPE" written in big letters across the back. I just thought Wonderlance would like that little story. Hope is still alive and well.

I had a yellow bracelet, but I gave it away in the airport in Caracas in Nov 2004, to the cutie checking passports. Never got another one.

You must ride close to where I live.

A friend gave me a bracelet but never wore it. Never been into that kind of stuff. Must me somewhere inside a box. If I want to do something for Cancer I just donate to a worthy organization.

 

[ChrisE]

You must ride close to where I live.

A friend gave me a bracelet but never wore it. Never been into that kind of stuff. Must me somewhere inside a box. If I want to do something for Cancer I just donate to a worthy organization.

No riding anymore in my life....I was just looking around trying to find a pontoon boat to buy. Went to that marina on the east side of the lake and asked around.

I used to ride out that way alot...I had about a 75 mile loop from my house and went up that direction. I didn't know you lived in Houston.

I don't see too many yellow bracelets around. There are a bunch of other colors, though, for all types of things. I was never really into them too much.

 

[saphblue]

Never owned one, but my step mother had one that she wore as she fought cancer for 3 years until passing away. I understood that she got hope from Lance's story. I avoided saying anything about how I felt about LA, Livestrong and LAF. In the end though, she and my dad determined that Livestrong wasn't really funding research into cancer cures and decided that in her memory she wanted people to give to the American Cancer Society which funded research grants for the type of cancer she had.

 

[flicker]

I would wear one and I have a few but for no like to where plastic. If it were gold, silver or platinum I would wear with pride. Go Livestrong, hope rides again!

 

[ManInFull]

I believe that the bracelets first appeared in 2004. I wore mine from then to about 2006--which is the year that I really began to believe that he was a doper.

 

[erader]

I tell ya, it was pretty weird to see footage of all the Livestrong workers giving these things out at the Tour to anyone who held their hand out. I thought the original point was to use them to raise money (99 cents each). Now it's just blatantly about branding.

As someone who had a very close friend survive cancer, I'd rather wear a band with the name of the surgeon and oncologist who saved her life.

erader

 

[David Suro]

Lance may have done a lot of things wrong, but that doesn't matter much right now. He has retired and his fate is in the hands of a federal prosecutor. He is probably already guilty in the court of public opinion. We will see what the legal system decides.

That said:

Even if he has profitted greatly from his foundation, he has still given more money to cancer research than I ever will. I find it hard to fault a person who gives more to a charity than I do.

The way he has been branded as a living folk hero was brilliant. He and his PR team did a great job of making LiveStrong a household word. Like it or not, their plan worked.

Having spoken with many cancer survivors in my practice, they almost always mention the inspiration of Armstrong. I have cycling posters on the wall, so that probably sparks their memory. Any person who gives hope and inspiration to many other people is doing something positive, even if there are negative aspects to how he achieved his fame and fortune.

I am neither a hater nor a fan. Frankly, I enjoy the Tour more without him, since the outcome is not so predictable. But, the guy deserves some amount of credit, even if it only for his ability to market himself effectively.

And, I never had a bracelet, never wore a yellow AIDS ribbon, never rode the MS 150, never did the Walk for Life, andnever wore a pink breast cancer ribbon.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

If you want to donate to cancer in the name of a true American hero cyclist, and a very respected organization, I suggest you donate to Leukemia & Lymphoma, in the name of Freddie Hoffman. Link here.

We started a thread about Freddie a bit ago. Some great links on it if you'd like to read.

The yellow bracelets were launched in 2004. I had serious suspicions about LA and USPS in 2002 with the way they rode that year 6-9 guys at the front of big mountain stages hammering away for hours. But by 2004, I no longer believed any of his, or USPS wins, were clean.

 

[HL2037]

But, the guy deserves some amount of credit, even if it only for his ability to market himself effectively.

To go from being a deadly sick cancer sufferer to finishing the tour even once would have been just as inspiring. No need to put a lie on top of it.

To use a true story to instil hope into cancer patients would have been better. Now they are just going to be terribly disappointed and disillusioned when it all comes down, and that is the last thing they need.

By basing his message on a lie Armstrong has gambled with the hopes of very sick people. I don't think he deserves credit.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

The one thing that always bugged me about the whole beating cancer with hope angle is that there are a lot of people who get cancer and fight very hard, yet succumb to the illness because of it's severity, their age, etc. It's not that Lance didn't fight it hard, he did. But he had several other key things in his favor. His age and general level of fitness, the type of cancer being treated, and the fact he responded well to treatment - thanks to the wonders of science and research before he even was diagnosed. It wasn't just will power. That had little to do with it. Had the tumor started in his brain and spread elsewhere, it's very likely he would not have survived very long, regardless of how much will power he had.

 

[BroDeal]

Lance may have done a lot of things wrong, but that doesn't matter much right now. He has retired and his fate is in the hands of a federal prosecutor. He is probably already guilty in the court of public opinion. We will see what the legal system decides.

That said:

Even if he has profitted greatly from his foundation, he has still given more money to cancer research than I ever will. I find it hard to fault a person who gives more to a charity than I do.

Yeah, I hear Bernie Madoff was big in the charity scene also. Cannot fault him for that.

 

[Muriel]

After the last day of racing in the tour

I never had one but, co-incidentally, the last day of the tour was the day I decided to do some self education.

Previously, I'd not been what you'd call a fan of the Armstrong personality (from reading his books) but recognised his achievements. I'd read the criticism he attracted from others but always just considered it opinion. Then came that said day's PR stunt.

I just couldn't believe the disrespectful, self-centred actions. Armstrong owes a great deal to the Tour, yet in one premeditated action he shat on both the Tour and the riders. There is no doubt in my mind that had Radioshack asked that they would have been allowed to wear those jerseys. But that wasn't good enough for them/Armstrong. He had to flip the bird too. Only he knows why. So I decided to find out more about him. And I found the threads on this forum.

The rest is, and will be, history. I reckon he's going down.

 

[Benotti69]

Even if he has profitted greatly from his foundation, he has still given more money to cancer research than I ever will. I find it hard to fault a person who gives more to a charity than I do.

i think he has given 'some' of other people's money* to various cancer 'things', research or hospitals, i am not sure.

But as far as digging into his own pocket, i doubt that.

* Money donated to his charity, that does not rate high in the list of cancer charities that do really good work.

 

[Bailey]

My mum and I wore one while my Nanna went through the final days of her life, in a wretched hospital bed after years of struggling to hold onto her life of seemingly endless cancer treatment.

As we sat in our pain and surreal hopelessness at the hospital (but nowhere near as much pain and hopelessness as cancer had given Nanna), the wristbands did nothing for anyone. Nanna didn't know what it was about, and frankly, neither did we. In fact, its bright yellow colour just felt like it was upstaging our horrific nights of darkness and excruciating despair.

I figured at first maybe it would show how much we CARED and wanted to rid the world of cancer and take all of my nan's pain and suffering away. It just became a bright yellow symbol and reminder of the pain we all had suffered in her dying days, week, months. It was like a horrible yellow badge of sorrow. When we lost her, the cruelty of the joke was complete. Life often feels like we're the but of a sick cosmic joke. There is no need for any wrist bands.

So I removed mine when I realised it was of no help whatsoever - for providing hope to me, mum, nanna, or the grieving process after she'd slipped away. In fact, i felt it was silly. A constant reminder of our gut-wrenching sadness and loss. And that helped nobody - least of all my mum's and my own mind.

Nanna slipped away one night after we had sat in that hellish nightmare of a room all night and day long with those ridiculous yellow bands as we stroked her head and fed her ice chips. We had tried so hard to think positive and show our support. We had done everything we possibly could and more. We had nothing left to give to a lady who had nothing left of her health.

We thought the bands would help us be strong even for some time after but they just intruded - both physically and in the memories of seeing them on us in the hospital - and it just seemed insulting.

I look back on the gesture of wearing them and i shudder at its futility... but who can be rational in times of such profound loss and fear and pain? No one hands you a manual on what to do when your loved one is dying.

So yeah...Lance's Cancer-Industrial Complex had even managed to penetrate into my family's darkest hours.

 

[ladyvader]

Never owned one.

That is my answer too. Wasn't gullible enough to buy one.

 

[Square-pedaller]

I bought a yellow band at the end of the TdF stage in Montpellier in ?2003/2004. They were on sale for a Euro and I got a US Postal cycle cap the same day and sent them both to my Mum in the UK who was suffering from melanoma. She was a big Armstrong/US postal fan, and wore the cap sitting watching the Tour on the telly. She never opened the bag the band was in, nor did she ever look at the copy of 'It's not about the bike' that I bought her later. I never discussed it with her for fear of spoiling her obvious enjoyment of supporting Armstrong/US postal - but she obviously never got any inspiration from him on the cancer front.

 

[Muriel]

That's one helluva moving post Bailey, and very brave of you to go there once again to write it. It really does put those plastic bands into perspective.

 

[Cloxxki]

Thanks for sharing Bailey, that sure was pure.

People who do get to survive wearing a bracelet will likely say it helped them so tremendously. So while it lets down victims, it gets credits off survivors. Genious marketing move to launch a brand, yet so so dark...

At this year's prologue they were selling the bracelets again, for a bit more than $.99 this time. I looked at the guy approaching people with it what must have looked like a mix of surprise, disgust, anger and compassion. He didn't notice though, and nor did the people going for their wallets to "support" Mr. DotOrgCom.