The day you removed your yellow bracelet

[pedaling squares]

The guy who handed me my coffee today at the drive through window wore a livestrong bracelet. I asked him if he was a fan of Lance Armstrong. He replied yes, but he was a greater fan of cancer research. I said nothing to dissuade him from his views. It shows us how well this particular brand has gained status as a tool in the fight against cancer, not a for-profit venture.

 

[fatandfast]

The Onion sells a yellow band that says "Cheat to Win" don't know if they are still available

 

[Kennf1]

For me, cancer/cancer awareness has NEVER been about yellow bracelets, or livestrong donations, or Lance Armstrong winning the Tour for that matter.

It has ALWAYS been about standing by your loved one, doing whatever you can to help them fight the good fight, and being unselfish enough to travel every step of that journey with them.

The same is true for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, addiction, mental illness, etc. There are too many afflictions to devote a colored bracelet or lapel pin. It's certainly more than 28 million people.

Exactly. I've never understood the need to advertise the fact. You want to support a cancer charity, great. You need to announce it to the world? Sad.
It's like when a politician (in the U.S.) gets blasted for not wearing the american flag pin on his lapel. Like if you don't wear it, it means you're unpatriotic.

 

[flicker]

This is the issue that bugs me not about just Lance but ethics in general, are we ok with people using their fame and success to do go deeds if how they achieved their fame and success was done fraudently. Kinda reminds me of the mafia, who are after all just looking after their families etc, the Colombian druglords too. Do people respect these types of people. Some clearly do.

I now regularly see this line that all other cyclists were doped like Lance so its ok. Thing is, Lance was never gonna be just another cyclist cheating to win the Tour. If it had been Tyler Hanilton that had won 7 Tours, would he have achieved the same level of fame, wealth and power that Lance did. No way. I wish people would stop making that comparison, after cancer Lance was never just gonna be another cyclist.

Lance went stratospheric after just one Tour victory, why? the cancer angle. With his backstory, Lance knew what would happen and that he would be asked lots of questions about doping. Win in a sport where everyone is doping, sure fine.

But then promoting yourself as an inspirational clean hero/symbol/crusader to the cancer community is something else altogether at least in my eyes. I think thats what annoyed a lot of people like David Walsh & the French. They knew he was blatantly cheating from the beginning and they saw him lead so many people up the garden path, they just couldnt take the duplicity.

The UCI clearly took the opposite approach, they saw a potential windfall and immediately made Lance a protected species if that story about the positive test at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland is anything to go by.

What would I have had Lance do in 99 after he won the Tour. Take the Indurain approach, steer clear of the popular media and let others look after the Cancer foundation whilst contributing a large part of his still substantial earnings. This approach might not have raised as much money for cancer but there would have been a lot more integrity to it.

Lance was a rock star. Just saw his Oslo win93. His promoters saw that in him and used it to the hilt. Nothing wrong in that in my eyes. I do not believe in doping but I believe all top riders dope. Always has been that way, if Armstrong is convicted maybe it will be worse? As for the yellow bracelet it was a fun little hip thing for some people. I guess it is out of style now.

 

[pmcg76]

Lance was a rock star. Just saw his Oslo win93. His promoters saw that in him and used it to the hilt. Nothing wrong in that in my eyes. I do not believe in doping but I believe all top riders dope. Always has been that way, if Armstrong is convicted maybe it will be worse? As for the yellow bracelet it was a fun little hip thing for some people. I guess it is out of style now.

Of course you never really addressed the ethical issue of people using their ill gained success to promote charities whilst clearly lying. OK with you?

I will say this, Lance was more of a media draw for English publications in the mid 90s because he was the only English speaking rider competing at the top level. Chris Boardman was the only other rider who came close and he didnt have a national sponsor like Lance.

Imagine Lance in the previous generation, Kelly, Roche, Millar, Anderson, LeMond, Hampsten, Bauer, he would have been just another good Anglo rider who received far less attention. The mid 90s was a down period until the Aussies started arriving.

 

[Muriel]

He did not flip the bird Lance made a point.

Fair enough. One persons point is another's disrespect.

Personally, I've always been taught to ask first. You only go against the rules if there is a greater cause. But do you think anyone would have disagreed with the cause? Do you think UCI/ASO would have said no? Has 'cancer awareness' become militant?

So what was the point Lance was making?

 

[buckwheat]

For me, cancer/cancer awareness has NEVER been about yellow bracelets, or livestrong donations, or Lance Armstrong winning the Tour for that matter.

It has ALWAYS been about standing by your loved one, doing whatever you can to help them fight the good fight, and being unselfish enough to travel every step of that journey with them.

The same is true for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, addiction, mental illness, etc. There are too many afflictions to devote a colored bracelet or lapel pin. It's certainly more than 28 million people.

Are you saying that Lance hasn't been unselfish and stood by his loved ones?

He did love Crow/Olsen/Hudson/shoe girl/everyone else he could nail....well for about 15 minutes at least.

 

[sub240]

Honestly I had one when they first came out. Never wore it. I thought it was a genius move at the beginning but now when I see one I wonder if the person knows or cares the story behind them?

 

[BroDeal]

The Onion sells a yellow band that says "Cheat to Win" don't know if they are still available

They don't sell them anymore, which was why I was thinking of make a few.

 

[sub240]

Are you saying that Lance hasn't been unselfish and stood by his loved ones?

He did love Crow/Olsen/Hudson/shoe girl/everyone else he could nail....well for about 15 minutes at least.

Hey Wheat........"It's not about the Nail's"

 

[flicker]

Fair enough. One persons point is another's disrespect.

Personally, I've always been taught to ask first. You only go against the rules if there is a greater cause. But do you think anyone would have disagreed with the cause? Do you think UCI/ASO would have said no? Has 'cancer awareness' become militant?

So what was the point Lance was making?

28 is an up yours to 1 in 6 man 3X tour winner and 2X Nevada City winner.Greg LeMond.

Also to man who challanges Nevada City winner Lance, A certain Mr. Floyd Landis, the man who wears an unaero grey T-Shirt in a Pro race.

Nothing wrong with dissing those 2 at the tour.

 

[Hugh Januss]

28 is an up yours to 1 in 6 man 3X tour winner and 2X Nevada City winner.Greg LeMond.

Also to man who challanges Nevada City winner Lance, A certain Mr. Floyd Landis, the man who wears an unaero grey T-Shirt in a Pro race.

Nothing wrong with dissing those 2 at the tour.

Sometimes you don't make any sense at all. Other times you fall far short of that.

 

[flicker]

Sometimes you don't make any sense at all. Other times you fall far short of that.

The statement with the 28 black jersey was an up yours to Greg n Floyd, simple as that. Was said to be bout cancer but Lance an Johann got a jibe in.

Hey why not at the tour it's "Ghetto"

 

[barn yard]

The statement with the 28 black jersey was an up yours to Greg n Floyd, simple as that. Was said to be bout cancer but Lance an Johann got a jibe in.

Hey why not at the tour it's "Ghetto"

i heard something similar about 9/11

if you add 9 and 11 together you get 20

20 plus 7 (x lance tour wins) is 27

27 plus 1 (x floyd tour wins) is 28

basically the jersey is implying that floyd brought down the towers with thermite

 

[Muriel]

Thanks flicker. Seriously. It took me a moment or two to figure the cryptic answer but I got there. Basically, there was motivation other than cancer awareness. I call it disrespectful to use the TdF in that way but I accept others have no problem with it. I can see the pov even if I disagree with it. No problem there for me at all.

 

[this_is_edie]

The statement with the 28 black jersey was an up yours to Greg n Floyd, simple as that. Was said to be bout cancer but Lance an Johann got a jibe in.

Hey why not at the tour it's "Ghetto"

so you're saying that it had nothing to do with cancer then but just an up yours to LeMond and Landis?

 

[flicker]

so you're saying that it had nothing to do with cancer then but just an up yours to LeMond and Landis?

Seems like that to me.But I am not a sociopath like Lance. Maybe he thinks the 28 jersey is going to cure people?

I enjoyed the showmanship, I could tell Lance got a kick out of being on the camaras. I enjoy the guy really. But no I do not think it was about cancer.

I also think Lance raced the tour this year to take 8 and keep it tough for Contador to beat his record! Again nothing about cancer but hey I love seeing the guy compete, especially as a serious underdog.

 

[this_is_edie]

Seems like that to me.But I am not a sociopath like Lance. Maybe he thinks the 28 jersey is going to cure people?

I enjoyed the showmanship, I could tell Lance got a kick out of being on the camaras. I enjoy the guy really. But no I do not think it was about cancer.

I also think Lance raced the tour this year to take 8 and keep it tough for Contador to beat his record! Again nothing about cancer but hey I love seeing the guy compete, especially as a serious underdog.

so you're saying that Armstrong lied through his teeth - and Bruyneel too.

 

[Hugh Januss]

The statement with the 28 black jersey was an up yours to Greg n Floyd, simple as that. Was said to be bout cancer but Lance an Johann got a jibe in.

Hey why not at the tour it's "Ghetto"

And Greg and and Floyd should even care that Lance acted like an ass again by disrupting the start of the final stage because..........?

I think it was more of an "up yours" to the Tour organizers, but thats what they get for even letting the old geezer in while under investigation in another country. Remember when that was enough to get you disinvited if your name was Ullrich or Basso or........

 

[Hugh Januss]

so you're saying that Armstrong lied through his teeth - and Bruyneel too.

Gosh, that is suprising.

 

[this_is_edie]

Gosh, that is suprising.

oh I'm not surprised by Armstrong lying, I'm just surprised that uberfan flicker admits it, and that it puts his idol in a very bad light - ie that he used cancer to do an up yours at the Tour.

 

[flicker]

oh I'm not surprised by Armstrong lying, I'm just surprised that uberfan flicker admits it, and that it puts his idol in a very bad light - ie that he used cancer to do an up yours at the Tour.

i HAVE NEVER CALLED lANCE A ROLE MODEL. As far as sports goes, when I watched the Eastern Block and Germany in the olympics 7os I saw a model in high level cheating.

Cycling is entertainment. Wish I could go and watch the classics in person in Belguim and Holland.

 

[Hugh Januss]

oh I'm not surprised by Armstrong lying, I'm just surprised that uberfan flicker admits it, and that it puts his idol in a very bad light - ie that he used cancer to do an up yours at the Tour.

Pretty sure Lance is getting a crash course at being "put in a bad light".

 

[this_is_edie]

Pretty sure Lance is getting a crash course at being "put in a bad light".

yep and I'll admit to enjoy watching it crumble

 

[flicker]

And Greg and and Floyd should even care that Lance acted like an ass again by disrupting the start of the final stage because..........?

I think it was more of an "up yours" to the Tour organizers, but thats what they get for even letting the old geezer in while under investigation in another country. Remember when that was enough to get you disinvited if your name was Ullrich or Basso or........

Greg and Floyd do care. They want their names plastered on the front of the newspapers as much as Lord Pharmstrong does.

As far as Floyd goes, why did he not out on the drug thing when he was involved. As far as Greg goes, why did he not out when he was getting smashed by donkeys in the tour.

If those 2 want my respect they should have outed the dopers at their pinnacle of their success not after their subsequent retirements.

LeMond and Floyd have come off as bitter has beens at this point. They need better spin doctor coaching.

That is my opinion thats all.