Tuesday, January 15, 2013

ESPN about Lance talking with Oprah

I realize this is a huge story but it's a shame this is the only way cycling and triathlon make it into the mainstream media. It's interesting listening to people talk about Lance doping that know little about the situation and would never be talking about cycling unless this happened.

Mike & Mike did a great job and made the point that unless you really follow cycling, the whole situation is hard to understand. They also had people from Bicycling and Velo on their show to talk about it...people who actually follow cycling. Unlike Colin Cowherd who tried to compare LA to Kobe Bryant and didn't seem to understand that triathlon (140.6 distance) is one of the few sports a 40+ year old can stand a chance at a comeback.

It was clear that the people writing in comments had no idea how much control LA had over the cycling world at the time. They had no clue that he not only doped, but destroyed people's lives to keep his secret and keep people from beating him. The argument that everyone was doing it or he was just trying to level the playing field doesn't fly. If one does the littlest of research about doping, one would quickly see that doping doesn't effect everyone in the same way. Some people gain a greater advantage than others so it doesn't really level the playing field in that way most people would think.

I don't even know why Colin Cowherd even bothered to talk about it since the only time he ever mentioned cycling was to joke about the Tour de France. He just made fun of average people who ride bikes and watch the TdF. Granted I am a football fan but, I cycle more often than I play football... How many football fans can throw a football more than 20 yards or do a few 100 yard sprints without passing out or heaving on the ground afterward? I'm sure the percentage of cycling fans in the US that watch the TdF and can ride a decent distance is much higher.