Lance Armstrong’s Texas Unilateralism
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James Joyner | Sunday, July 25, 2004 |
ESPN – Armstrong’s sixth win most in Tour history
Lance Armstrong rode into history Sunday, winning a record sixth Tour de France and cementing his place as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Never in its 101-year history has the Tour had a winner like Armstrong — who just eight years ago was given less than a 50 percent chance of overcoming testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain. His streak of six straight crowns has helped reinvigorate the greatest race in cycling, steering it into the 21st century. And the Tour, as much a part of French summers as languid meals over chilled rose, molded Armstrong into a sporting superstar.
It never really occured to me until a tangential comment in Steven Taylor’s comment section, but this has to really gall the French. Not only does an American come over and whip them in their own race year after year–without so much as approval from the UN–but, to add insult to injury, it’s an American from Texas. No wonder they hate us.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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You're putting too much politics into this event. Lots of non-frenchmen have won the tour before, and what Lance has done has never before been accomplished - 6 consecutive victories. I'm sure the French overwhelmingly respect and admire this achievement. I'm sure there are a few that will be sore losers and will interject politics into it. But there are always sore losers when someone beats you at your own game. Remember when Taiwan regularly won the Little League World Series in the 1970s, and many in the US thought that they won it by using ringers? Those were the sore losers, and they finally got Taiwan out of the LL world series by limiting it to only US teams.
James, maybe you need to label all of your humorous asides in flashing neon.
I only wish this were a joke. You didn't hear about the spitting? You didn't see the wire service photo of the spectator giving Lance the middle finger about four feet from his bike during a climb in the Pyrenees?
(No links, but the stories were all over the news about as week ago.)
DC Loser: Please click here.
Doesn't anyone pay attention? Lance Armstrong made negative ( hence accurate) comments about the Iraq excercise in ineptitude, incompetencey and dishonesty well before the race began.
No doubt it is because of too much exposure to France and Sheryl Crow. Still doesn't help with the frenchies too much, given that he is the third most unpopular sportsman in France. Maybe its because he's still friends with Pres. Bush.
Joke you say? We could joke about a lot of things like the NoVA Expos, but this fixation about the French borders on psychosis.
Not to worry, DC -- we won't have you committed for it. ;-)
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