 |
|
 |
| [-] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
Prev | List | Random | Next |
A few months back, in the midst of the shooting war, as the pseudo-intellectual "sport" of President bashing was spreading faster then gonorrhea through the left wing effete, I found this post on Lance Armstrong's homepage:
"...In my opinion it's not really the place of an athlete to take a position here. And I do think there should be a strong delineation from sports, war, diplomacy, and politics. I am getting asked this question repeatedly over here because a) I'm an American like the President, b) I'm a Texan like the President, and c) I am a friend of the President's. The war seems to be very unpopular here (lots and lots of protests) and it's normal that the press tries to get a quote regarding this."What I will say, and have said many times, is that NOBODY wants a war. Not me. Not President Bush. Not Tony Blair. No one... but sometimes it may be unavoidable. I absolutely support the President and absolutely support our troops."
There can't be too many good things said for this man, who publicly posted those words for the entire world to see, even as he was preparing for a grueling defense of what is probably the toughest individual challenge faced in modern sports. A brutal three-week, 2,135 mile ride through open country in France, a country whose leaders seem determined to become the sworn enemy of his own; a country that was once the proud sanctuary of the Ayatollah Khomeini; a country with a rapidly growing Muslim population.
Not since Jesse Owens in Berlin has a single athlete accomplished such a feat, to humble the Nazi's on their home turf, in their capitol city, no less. We are much too PC now to see the connection, and certainly Lance would deny it vehemently. All the more a hero.
And please note that a large percentage of the people of France respect and admire the accomplishments of this great American, and were there in force to cheer him along the way. The displays of good sportsmanship by the athletes and the surprisingly few attempts at political grandstanding by lefty droolers in the crowd (or the great job at controlling them by the Tour organizers and French law enforcement agencies) made for a truly wonderful historical spectacle.
Hats off to Armstrong then, the All American Boy!
