armstrong's biggest fan wrote:
I have and always will admire lance, not for his lies and personal/character issues, but for his athletic accomplishments,determination, and charity
(PREFACE: yes I know lance is a pathological lier and has been a horrible person in the past)
FACTS US LANCE SUPPORTERS CAN STILL HANG OUR HAT's ON
(IN NO ORDER):
1. Undoubtedly the greatest cyclist ever
(if you think otherwise you simply don't know the sport) -
RJ: didn't finish two or three tours pre-cancer and then finished 38th. didn't he also finish 38th in his comeback.
The rest is doping. Many have said his hermatocrit level was in the 30s and thus he benefitted way more than everyone else from doping.
2. Placed 3rd in the tour clean, past his primeand against cheats
RJ: I don't believe he was clean. One in a million. I think he's lying about that perhaps so his ex-wife can keep jobs, stay on foundation.
3. LIVESTRONG -
RJ: i've never understood why he gets any credit for cancer stuff. I'm serious.
i) everyone would try to beat cancer. the fact that he did isn't special.
ii) The whole foundation/bracelets , etc were done to raise his (and nike's) image in the public's eye. Great marketing and it enriched him to the tune of 100 million +. Friends have said he hated going to charity events.
Did he go to hospitals? Yes. I'm sure everyone would enjoy that at some level - particularly if you are getting paid 100 million plus.
iii) he also used the whole cancer thing as the #1 reason as to why he couldn't dope.
4. Overcame a bout with very serious cancers to win 7 tours in a row
(inspiration)
RJ: Again see point #3.
Not an inspiraton. Again, everyone is trying to beat cancer. The fact that he won tours after that doesn't mean crap to me. He doped and possibly gave himself cancedr.
5. Don't fool yourself, lance is not a ton worse character wise than his teamates, the only reason they speak out against him is because they got caught first, were going to get caught/punished, or have profited from doing so.
Haters forget they're not perfect either and probably have some deep seeded personal issues themselves that they find easier to not address and instead attack someone else who has more publicized issues (who by the way has never done anything wrong to them personally)....(WEJO/ROJO)
Hate him if you want, but this is my stance on lance..
RJ: This is the MOST laughable. His teammates didn't attack friends/employees who told the truth, sue people, lie under oath to win $7 million from a company (that's a $7 million theft), and most importantly use the whole cancer thing as the #1 reason as to why he couldn't dope.
When McGwire was exposed, he went away for years. Lance couldn't wait 3 months.