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Lance not a great athlete? you decide

SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,793
14,149
In a van.... down by the river
I Are Baboon said:
If it's on an ESPN channel, it must be a sport. That goes for the spelling bee, the hot dog eating contest, billiards, poker, high school cheerleading, the World's Strongest Man contest, skeet shooting, bass fishing, and the annual RV show.
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Wow. Is all that crap actually on TV? I'm more and more glad by the day I don't have cable............. :D

-S.S.-
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
Barbaton said:
This was posted on one of our local lists. Apparently this guy thinks that Lance isn't a great athlete because he hasn't carried a football. He also can't spell pedal. There's an email addy at the bottom if you'd like to :nuts:

Linky
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I totally disagree with this guy. No matter how good Williams may be, there's no way they would ever let him try to sell bicycles in the Tour - even if it's only for a couple of hours.

Hint: It's spelled "P-E-D-A-L".
 
LordOpie

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Echo said:
How is it fixed? Separating pro's from amateurs doesn't make sense. Are you saying that because I can't hit a baseball 450 feet like a pro, that hitting a baseball 450 feet is not an athletic achievement? I don't think I understand your point.
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No, the opposite.

Most people -- especially the lazy critics -- can't hit a baseball 200'... that makes hitting one over the wall that much more special.

You say Lance flies downhill at 60mph. I don't think most people can do that at half the speed making his ability that much more amazing.

Part of what I was saying is that you don't have to perform at those levels to still be an athlete.
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
LordOpie said:
No, the opposite.

Most people -- especially the lazy critics -- can't hit a baseball 200'... that makes hitting one over the wall that much more special.

You say Lance flies downhill at 60mph. I don't think most people can do that at half the speed making his ability that much more amazing.

Part of what I was saying is that you don't have to perform at those levels to still be an athlete.
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Ah. So we agree, we just didn't know it :p
 
ghostrider

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
jacksonpt said:
You keep trying to point out holes in my arguement, why not support yours. I'm by no means close minded about all this - if you can put together a good "arguement", I could be persuaded to think differently.
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I would, but my only point is I would never try to compare. I have tremendous respect for anybody at the highest level of their chosen profession. Except politicians, but anyway. Also, Lance is not just pedaling up a mountain. He happens to be pedaling up a mountain faster than any other professional cyclist (that choses to compete in the event) in the entire world. By over a minute.
 
Kornphlake

Kornphlake

Turbo Monkey
Oct 8, 2002
2,632
1
Portland, OR
hmm, two newspapers with the same name...
www.harktheherald.com
Okay I guess happy valley had no place in this conversation afterall. I still hold my opinion that both papers suck though if they're going to publish anything just to stir up the communitie's loyalties.
 
erastusboy

erastusboy

Monkey
Mar 5, 2003
470
0
i play baseball and ride bikes (all kinds of bikes mtb street road) and i would have to say that both are definately athletes and its really hard to argue that either is not if you follow or participate in either sport. i can hit a 85+ mph fastball but i have a rough time not dropping my water bottle on road rides, both require hand eye coordination and that kinda thing. an athlete is an athlete no matter what they do. I think its something you are more or less born with and physical activity only strengthens these traits. watch some baseball sometime those guys can move (it just happens to only be for a few seconds at a time) the best example would be watch someone turn a double play thats finese and i wont go into cycling because being on this forum i assume you know whats going on. anyway the point is that a lumberjack could be athletic its and a cyclist could be a total clutz.
 
lanman

lanman

Monkey
Nov 2, 2001
202
0
Natick, MA
I wrote a really long email back to him, and basically to me, comparing a football player and a cyclist is the same stupid apples and oranges comparison,of course Armstrong can't play football, but a football player is not built to ride a bike 2000+ kilometers. Also, I can't completely agree Lance is the best athlete in the world, I can't really say anyone is, because again it is impossible to compare a thing like that over so many different sports. Lastly, I think it is an athletes desire and passion that make them the best, and that is just impossible to measure.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
clearly the best athletes in the world are those crazy chinese circus guys who ride a unicycle on a ball, and toss teacups from one foot onto the top their head, stacking them up one by one.

those guys f'in rock.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
ghostrider said:
I would, but my only point is I would never try to compare. I have tremendous respect for anybody at the highest level of their chosen profession. Except politicians, but anyway. Also, Lance is not just pedaling up a mountain. He happens to be pedaling up a mountain faster than any other professional cyclist (that choses to compete in the event) in the entire world. By over a minute.
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OK, fair enough.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
DRB said:
So then what's your point?
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My point is, that his statement made a good point. I don't think anyone (me) is argueing that Lance isn't an athlete. BV basically said that anyone who competes at such a high level in any sport is exceptional. I agree with that.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,162
1,261
NC
lanman said:
Lastly, I think it is an athletes desire and passion that make them the best, and that is just impossible to measure.
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It could be argued that the desire, passion and dedication to a sport is partly genetics anyway... Not that one is predisposed to being passionate about a particular sport, but that all the raw talent in the world is nothing without the dedication and commitment to train, which some people simply don't have. That sacrifice is difficult for many (myself included) to even comprehend.. To relegate everything else in your life - including your family - to second place.

Which, again, argues that Lance and others like him are above us common mortals
 
DVNT

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
I just heard that Matt Damon accepted a role playing Lance in a movie about his life that should be out in 2006.

This is wrong on so many levels i can't begin to think about it.
 
DVNT

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
Yeah but Ben Assfleck may have the doping thing down.

oh did i post that in the lance forum???? oopps
 
J

jollyrodger

Chimp
Jul 12, 2004
31
0
Anyone who says that Lance is not, at the very least, a world-class athlete is ignorant. I think it's agreed that he has, be it through genetics or just hard work, the physical ability and mental fortitude to do things that few people on the planet can, or ever have been able to, do. This, however, is true of any professional athlete. Being a professional athlete in the US means you are better at your sport than a few hundred million people, and that's just in one country. What makes Lance one of the greatest athletes of our time is not only his superhuman ability on a bike, but the way he has transcended the sport. He has fans (and enemies) of every nationality, he has helped introduce cycling to an entire country, and has used his success/popularity to help promote cancer research. All this in addition to winning 6 Tours in a row. My point is, being one of the greatest athletes of our time means going beyond physical ability. I'd say that Jordan and Armstrong were of similar abilities in their respective sports. I've heard that Jordan railed Tyra Banks, and although a noteworthy accomplishment, it fails to put him in the same tier of greatness as Armstrong.
 
Skookum

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
ugh i'm sure i'll read all of this in awhile but i can always go back to the argument of using Michael Jordan. Whom nobody denies is one of the most elite athletes of all time. When he retired from basketball the first time, and tried his hand at baseball he failed to be succesful. He played in college but couldn't after all these years make it work. Ignorance of sports and what it entails to be great, exposes people for making idiotic comments such as Lance Armstrong isn't one of the greatest athletes of all time. He's a living legend and his story is a wonderful tale to tell our grandchildren about, period.
 
DVNT

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
Lance, Lance, Lance.... Anybody remember Greg LeMonde??? Introducing this country to cycling.....

Anyway, YOU TO CAN WIN THE TOUR DE FRANCE,
through the miracles of modern pharmacology! C'mon everyone's doing it.

---------------------------------
flame on - peace out
 
Tully

Tully

Monkey
Oct 8, 2003
981
0
Seattle, WA
Kornphlake said:
I'm confident this article was only published to get a response out of the community. They'll have opinion articles for months to come stemming from this single article.
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I couldn't have said it better.
 
tmx

tmx

aka chromegoddess
Mar 16, 2003
1,683
2
Portland
binary visions said:
...but even synchronized swimming is a sport, as stupid as it is, and don't take away from the people who participate by saying it's not.
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Point well taken. My bad for scawfing in the general direction of the dedicated curlers out there.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,162
1,261
NC
tmx said:
Point well taken. My bad for scawfing in the general direction of the dedicated curlers out there.
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Well, I didn't say you can't scoff at sports as rediculous as curling, so long as you admit that it is, in fact, a sport :D :p
 
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