Armstrong a man of contradictions
He’s a flawed hero to some, a drug cheat and fraud to others
In honour of Lydia Ko, here’s something else that makes people shake their heads, the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.
Last week, while the call-in shows and pundits were flailing away at Lance Armstrong, Reuters tried to summarize the man and his many contradictions.
“Armstrong remains a hero to millions of cancer survivors for beating the disease and coming back to win the Tour de France seven times,” the wire service reported. “To others he’s a drug cheat and a fraud.”
Actually he’s both. And that’s what makes him such a fascinating character.
As much as everyone has tried to simplify this story, there are no quick and easy answers that provide the definitive word on Armstrong. Seven years after his last Tour win, the Texan finally gave up his long and dreary battle with the drug authorities without admitting guilt.
For Armstrong it was the best possible result. He can maintain the veneer of plausible deniability and can say he simply grew tired of the witch hunt.
Never mind that it’s easier to believe in the Easter Bunny than in Armstrong’s innocence. But his followers can still cling to the belief their man rode clean and that, apparently, means a lot to Armstrong.
As for the other aspect of his legacy, Armstrong’s story remains as powerful today as it was a week ago. He remains a massive figure in the fight against cancer and an inspiration to millions all over the world.
The issue of doping might confuse his image. But his good works, the money he’s raised to fight cancer, what he’s meant to so many, remain.
In the end, we want our heroes to be worthy of our adulation, to be as perfect as we imagine them to be. Unfortunately, it seldom works that way. They are human. They are flawed. Yet, they’re still capable of great things and this is the real source of their inspiration.
Only the Red Sox can take on over $250 million in contracts and get worse. Only the Red Sox can trade over $250 million in contracts and get better. It was kind of fun when they were winning in 2004 and 2007, but now that they’re a train wreck again, it feels a little more familiar.
Two thoughts occurred while Travis Lulay was running all over the field in Winnipeg on Friday night.
1) Dude’s got a set on him and 2) Is this really the best way to utilize the league’s most outstanding player?
Lulay has to use his legs to be effective, but he doesn’t have to subject himself to a beating. And he got hit too many times by the Blue Bombers in the Leos’ win. Without too much effort, Lions fans can think back to injuries to Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce and what that did to the team. Lulay is too valuable an asset to risk losing the same way.
Its contribution was dwarfed by the incredible performance of Lydia Ko, but the Vancouver Golf Club still earns mad props for the staging of the CN Canadian Women’s Open. Ko’s performance, of course, will be remembered in golf circles for a long time.
But, in addition to the 15- year-old’s memorable tour, the course held its own, it provided pretty pictures for the TV broadcast and it easily handled the crowds, which swelled in excess of 15,000 both weekend days. It was, in short, an ideal venue for tournament golf — which makes you wonder why Vancouver doesn’t have a permanent stop on any of the game’s major tours.
And finally, just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge our sponsors for the 11th annual Camp Goodtimes Golf Classic, which supports Right To Play. Unfortunately, negotiations with The Who broke down at the last minute and they won’t be playing the after-party. But it will still be a blast today at Marine Drive, and thanks to Goldcorp, Ryder Sunglasses, the B.C. Lions, Sequoia Restaurants and the River Rock Casino for their contributions.