Lance Armstrong

[garagephilosopher]

Haven't seen anything about this man anywhere even though he just pulled off something that probably no athelete in the world could equal in any sport.  Ofcourse.. maybe its becasue:

1) It's cycling and a majority of the members probably dont care
2) Tired of hearing it already
3) blah blah blah

Dude had some ball(s)

[McKdaddy]

I think his achievement is bigger than "sports."  To rank his achievement amongst other top-ranked sports moments or achievements is a dis-service to
1)  his victory over cancer
2)  the vast hope and inspiration to other cancer victims and,
3)  the fundraising spawned by his surviving cancer and winning a bike race in '99.

I don't know how you rank his 7 Tour victories in the annals of "greatest moments in sports", given cycling's lack of popularity in the States, and the fact that he beat cancer to accomplish this record feat.  I liken it to the color barrier being broken by Robinson in MLB in '49.  This is an event that to me is bigger than sports.  I don't know how this event in sports could be ranked in a list w/out there being dis-service to this mark in history.

Is Lance winning 7 Tours after having beaten cancer truly one of the greatest moments in sports?  I think so, but I don't know where to rank it.  Does it automatically go to the top of the list of greatest moments?  Again, you have to consider the human struuggle aspect of cancer survival vs. the lack of popularity of cycling.  When I think of greatest moments several come to mind:  '80 Miracle on Ice, Flutie pass vs. UM in '84, Fisk homerun of '75, etc.  Indelible images and events.  To me Lance and Robinson's achievement rank above these images and are immeasurable in a list.

[garagephilosopher]

I think his achievement is bigger than "sports."  To rank his achievement amongst other top-ranked sports moments or achievements is a dis-service to
1)  his victory over cancer
2)  the vast hope and inspiration to other cancer victims and,
3)  the fundraising spawned by his surviving cancer and winning a bike race in '99.

I don't know how you rank his 7 Tour victories in the annals of "greatest moments in sports", given cycling's lack of popularity in the States, and the fact that he beat cancer to accomplish this record feat.  I liken it to the color barrier being broken by Robinson in MLB in '49.  This is an event that to me is bigger than sports.  I don't know how this event in sports could be ranked in a list w/out there being dis-service to this mark in history.

Is Lance winning 7 Tours after having beaten cancer truly one of the greatest moments in sports?  I think so, but I don't know where to rank it. Does it automatically go to the top of the list of greatest moments?  Again, you have to consider the human struggle aspect of cancer survival vs. the lack of popularity of cycling.  When I think of greatest moments several come to mind:  '80 Miracle on Ice, Flutie pass vs. UM in '84, Fisk homerun of '75, etc.  Indelible images and events.  To me Lance and Robinson's achievement rank above these images and are immeasurable in a list.

Hey hey... Simmer downa.  This isn't even about his cancer if you'd payed attention.  Didn't even factor it in to the equation.  I'm talking about his incredible reign over the world of cycling for 7 years.  Fact that a sport is not popular doesn't take anything away from the demand a sport has on the human body.  I don't like to watch Soccer or people running marathons or iron man races but there aren't any athletes in any other sport in the world in better shape than in those sports.  I can easily make the assessment than Lance Armstrong's kicking the world's best bikers butts for 7 years in a row is unparalleled by any other sport achievement.  It's a no brainer.  Any one that doesn't think so are kidding themselves.  I'd like to see how far any Hockey, Football, or Baseball player could ride a bicycle.  They'd be lucky to last one day in the Tour DE France.  Just saying Armstrong deserves some props.  You can't possibly compare the US Team fiiiinnnallllyy winning the gold, one pass, and one homerun to what Armstrong just did.  I love baseball and football but there's more sports than whats on ESPN Classic out there.

[garagephilosopher]

I see what you were getting at.  Ofcourse his beating cancer is bigger than what he accomplished in his sport.  But what the did as an athelete was amazing also.  He is basically superman.  The sport also put him in the publics eye.  And its unfortunate, in a sports history sense, that the best achievement in sports EVER will be overshadowed by the fact he had cancer.  And Hockey sucks.  I'm upset that the lock out ended.  Was hoping the sport would go away but neither has professional wrestling. 

[McKdaddy]

I think his achievement is bigger than "sports." To rank his achievement amongst other top-ranked sports moments or achievements is a dis-service to
1) his victory over cancer
2) the vast hope and inspiration to other cancer victims and,
3) the fundraising spawned by his surviving cancer and winning a bike race in '99.

I don't know how you rank his 7 Tour victories in the annals of "greatest moments in sports", given cycling's lack of popularity in the States, and the fact that he beat cancer to accomplish this record feat. I liken it to the color barrier being broken by Robinson in MLB in '49. This is an event that to me is bigger than sports. I don't know how this event in sports could be ranked in a list w/out there being dis-service to this mark in history.

Is Lance winning 7 Tours after having beaten cancer truly one of the greatest moments in sports? I think so, but I don't know where to rank it. Does it automatically go to the top of the list of greatest moments? Again, you have to consider the human struggle aspect of cancer survival vs. the lack of popularity of cycling. When I think of greatest moments several come to mind: '80 Miracle on Ice, Flutie pass vs. UM in '84, Fisk homerun of '75, etc. Indelible images and events. To me Lance and Robinson's achievement rank above these images and are immeasurable in a list.

Hey hey... Simmer downa. This isn't even about his cancer if you'd payed attention. Didn't even factor it in to the equation. I'm talking about his incredible reign over the world of cycling for 7 years. Fact that a sport is not popular doesn't take anything away from the demand a sport has on the human body. I don't like to watch Soccer or people running marathons or iron man races but there aren't any athletes in any other sport in the world in better shape than in those sports. I can easily make the assessment than Lance Armstrong's kicking the world's best bikers butts for 7 years in a row is unparalleled by any other sport achievement. It's a no brainer. Any one that doesn't think so are kidding themselves. I'd like to see how far any Hockey, Football, or Baseball player could ride a bicycle. They'd be lucky to last one day in the Tour DE France. Just saying Armstrong deserves some props. You can't possibly compare the US Team fiiiinnnallllyy winning the gold, one pass, and one homerun to what Armstrong just did. I love baseball and football but there's more sports than whats on ESPN Classic out there.

Don't get snippy.  I can't factor out the cancer from the equation.  That's the point of my post.  The fact that he overcame cancer to win 7 Tours seems to be the only reason he receives respect from the non-cycling world.  Personally, I enjoy cycling and have kept up with Tour since before LeMond's day--though it was very time-delayed to do so.  I think his accomplishment is great, but I can't remove the cancer victory from my analysis b/c frankly, it is what it is.  I'ver heard nothing the last 5-6 days but talk of ranking Lance's achievement.  The crux of opinions on the XM sports stations is that it's a great accomplishment regardless of the cancer, despite cycling's lack of popularity in the States.  But is the accomplishment heightened in the US due to the cancer survival.  I.e. if an American had won 7 Tours in a row and did so w/out having to first defeat cancer, would the States care?  Probably not.  Thus, the cancer survival is so intertwined w/in the accomplishment that I can't rank the achievement of his 7 Tour wins on the basis of only those contests.

Sorry.

[McKdaddy]

My uncle have a good arguement going.  We are both semi-avid cycling fans.  We argue about which sport requires the most "in shape-ness", endurance, toughness, and athleticism?  I argue tri-athlon athletes or decathletes.  He argues for cyclists.