Given how unpopular distance/endurance sports tend to be, why was Lance Armstrong so popular?

He was white. wrote:

Armstrong was white, unlike the vast majority of great American athletes, too bad he couldn't do it clean.

This is correct. Over the years I've seen the LRC support foreign white in various sports over their own black American athletes.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Were any of you around to watch his TDF wins? His violent surges during the climbs and his time trialing were awesome to watch.

Of course - he had the best doping program money could by (you don't pay the legendary doping doctor Ferrari a MILLION bucks for anything less than spectacular results!). Armstrong is the classic example of where money can buy you stardom! ?

SDSU Aztec wrote:

That downhill where Lance veered into a field to avoid a rider that crashed in front of him, rode across the field, carried his bike across a ditch and got on the wheel of the next group of riders was of the most exciting things I've ever seen in sports.

Definitely he had superior bike handling skills. He also had 9 lives - he never once crashed out of the 7 Tours he competed in!

LA = the best doper in the history of the sport and someone with incredible luck in avoiding crashes.

It also didn't hurt that he rode for team US POSTAL with some other US riders

Enough to attract any US citizen

Would have maybe slightly less marketable if he had rode for Astana or something to that effect

it was all hubris.

we wanted to know how high he could get before the inevitable fall.

A bit like a certain 100m sprinter.

But if you want to talk about the tdf? its the insane eternal endurance, suffering and pain. the look on the faces of some of the best trained athletes in the world as they climb the mountains.

Its planing your holiday around that one day when you stand by the side of the road for hours, just to see them flash past in minutes.

The tdf is incredible. So are the other tours. Nothing like them.

global appeal wrote:

Absolute nonsense. The World Cup pisses all over the TDF in terms of size.

Too bad the world cup doesn't occur every year like the TdF.

You're wrong. TdF is the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Million + people a day along the roadsides.

jasonderulo wrote:

Was wondering this on my run yesterday. Given the factors that many believe make distance running unpopular:

.

You're forgetting the most important part of all:

the comeback from cancer (that he probably gave himself with his PED use).

Same reason why Ironman is shown on NBC and 80% of the race covers the "people's stories".

Same reason all major marathons focus on the hobby joggers at the back for indiscriminate amounts of time.

America cares only about battling through adversity. Sport is just an avenue to showcase that.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

There are very few riders that have had the bike control skills to pull off what he did. Most riders would have plowed into the fallen rider and maybe have been injured out of the tour.

You've got to be kidding.

He didn't even veer. Rather than make the right bend, he just continued straight when Beloki crashed.

Absolutely amateur hour and NOTHING special about it.

You want special, go watch Salvodelli descend, or any of dozens of other rides. Or go watch a cyclocross or mtn bike race.

You're super far off on this one.

Summarizing some things already said:

1) The Tour de France is like the Boston Marathon. People in the US know what it is. Look at Des going on big talk shows or Shalane doing the same post-NYC. You're probably more well known for winning Boston or New York versus an AR in the 10k or a global medal.

2) Now add in an athlete like Lance who has the same ego as an NFL/NBA star. All-American stereotype. Hung out with A-listers @ A-list events.

3) Now add in dominance like Mo Farah had. He won 7 straight. Unlike in running, the Tour de France doesn't take a year off every 4. There's no year where it's a World Champ versus Olympic event. It always carries Olympic like status.

4) Now add in cancer & Nike $$$. Who didn't have a LiveStrong bracelet? It just goes with the American attitude. Nobody wanted to even consider doping when the narrative is that an American athlete overcame great odds to dominate the rest of the world at a sporting event.

The perfect recipe was there for him to be a global star.

I’m not convinced that all Lance’s “fans” even watched him compete. You’re right, cycling is not that exhilarating of a sport for the average person to watch. Neither are swimming or golf but Michael Phelps and Tiger Woods were larger than life in their primes too. Lance being so dominant as well as beating cancer I think made him a sympathetic hero. He also showed up frequently in commercials, interviews and cameos making him more recognizable. Obviously the doping and especially the harm he caused trying to conceal that scandal have changed a lot of opinions on him but the fact is you don’t need to be from the most popular sport to become an ultra-famous pop culture icon.

Rockz wrote:

It also didn't hurt that he rode for team US POSTAL with some other US riders

Enough to attract any US citizen

Would have maybe slightly less marketable if he had rode for Astana or something to that effect

This is big. You can't discount the US vs the World aspect here, at a time when, especially post 9/11, the US felt the need to assert itself to and also felt under attack from the rest of the world, particularly European countries. Dont forget this made the drug accusations easier to discount - look at the Europeans coming after the American because they dont like America or dont like an American winning their race. Lance riding in red, white, and blue for a team with USA in the title made a difference. People were looking for reasons to have pride in America and Lance, who very much was an extension of or similar to W. Bush, was perfect in many ways.

Add in the cancer angle, the take no prisoner's attitude, and the demeanor with which he rode - I had a picture of "The Look" on my wall for years - and it makes sense.

A) The cancer backstory was captivating.

B) Armstrong was a champion and had a strong and very interesting personality. Very few American distance runners are really all that interesting to follow.

C) Part of the allure is the fact that the Tour is a multi-day/multi-stage event. Suspense builds over days, and it stays in the news for half of the summer.

D) The Tour is not competing with college sports or football during the summer. There's not a lot of sports to occupy one's time when the Tour is on.

E) No American distance runner is as nearly as dominant in running as Armstrong was in cycling.

F) American distance runners and road racers only race occasionally. Interest might build if a runner was in the news more, but they're not. An American might have a great race at NYC or Boston, and garner a lot of press. They might blowup in their only other major of the year and receive no attention. I often wondered if a multi-stage distance race with teams run over the course of a week(s) would draw more interest. However, running is significantly more brutal on the body and such an event is probably not feasible.

El Keniano wrote:

He was white. wrote:

Armstrong was white, unlike the vast majority of great American athletes, too bad he couldn't do it clean.

This is correct. Over the years I've seen the LRC support foreign white in various sports over their own black American athletes.

Lol. Of course the LRC in house anti white racist agrees with this. Or did you actually write the original dumb troll attempt?

I've also even more so seen the LRC SJWs/BLMs support foreign black over their own white athletes. Why do you think that is? The western media loves idolizing blacks, but everyone gravitates to cheer for their own. Blacks are no exception. They love watching and idolizing their own and are not going to cheer for and idolize whites. So you certainly aren't going to make a normal white person do that either.

You're not going to see American blacks cheer for and stand behind legends of various sports like Armstrong, Phelps, Bode Miller, Marciano, Landon Donovan, Babe Ruth, Mike Trout, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, etc etc, even though they're Americans. Track & Field is the same. You're not going to see American blacks cheer for Crouser or Kovacs in the shot put even though they are the worlds best, they're cheering for Darrell Hill or some Jamaican or Nigerian. I've seen and experienced this.

Two words: Cancer Jesus

He did something that is physically impossible. Before he was found out it was inspiring.

get real with it wrote:

global appeal wrote:

Absolute nonsense. The World Cup pisses all over the TDF in terms of size.

Too bad the world cup doesn't occur every year like the TdF.

You're wrong. TdF is the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Million + people a day along the roadsides.

^^^

This.

Try again, soccer boi.

Singular. Annual.

Gazzilions on the roads and mountains everyday for 21 days during TdF

Cycling was always popular in Europe. So you really are only talking about the interest here in the states.

He was World Champ, then won all those TDFs. He survived cancer and did all the great inspirational work.

Being a household name is not the same as advancing cycling in this country. Those cycling fans are still watching cycling. even without a Lance. All the money was in Europe. Still is

Its just the US jingoistic LA grab that brought him to your attention.

The TDF is a journey around France. Its free entertainment though selected cities across France, Italy, and where ever they start. Like Ireland FFS.

La was an awful guy who had no better dope than any one else in his time, but had a stronger team. Like what Ineos is doing now. Their guy has a strong team, and they've been shown to favor TUEs.

LA is pilloried more for how he turned on his people, and for being such a ponce, than the drugs. Just about all the top cycling winners have been done for drugs. Lance was the ugly American. And France hadn't had a winner for a while. LA is still an ugly personality.

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!

Only in 1999, two years and 3 months prior to 9/11 did US Postal have a majority of of US riders on the 7 man TdF squad.

By the next year, Lance had pared away US riders in favor of Spanish super climber/domestiques.

By 2001, yet still before 9/11 Lance, Tyler and Hincappie remained from the 99 team. Vaughters, Livingston, Andreu, VandeVelde all were on different teams by then with Spaniards taking their spots (except for Levi Leipheimer)

After 9/11 (2002 and beyond, replace Hamilton with Landis and Hincappie and LA are still only 3 Americans on the TdF squads.

European riders outnumbered US riders in US Postal teams.

Once Discovery channel took over (Lance's 6&7th wins) it was only LA and Hincappie until LA retired.

It wasn't US vs Europe.

It wasn't Lance vs Europe either, he loved living in Europe more than in the US in fact.

It was Lance vs France, however.

France always had it in for him.

They knew and reported so in 99 but the Lance tsunami had already grown large enough to deflect any such blasphemy.

9/11 was not part of the LA/TdF narrative.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

thoughts and prayers wrote:

some people just have the type of personality that draws people in.

Lance, Bolt, Jordan

Greg LeMond was a big deal win he was winning TDFs and his personality was similar to Rupp's.

Rupp has the personality of a carrot compared to Greg LeMond. LeMond is more personable than the psychopath LA.

All points correct but the general population just saw the USPS sponsorship and not knowing any different took it as Lance and the team riding for the old stars and stripes.