Lance Will Always Livestrong

Cheater.  Liar.  Doper.  Hero?

Lance Armstrong will go down as one of the greatest athletes to ever be knocked off the mountain.  His ride from deathbed to "champion" was marked and marred by yellow jackets, court cases and drug tests.  Armstrong became a household name in no time at all.  His 7 consecutive Tour de France titles ranked among the top individual achievements in the sporting world.

Recent decisions made by USADA and the UCI have cemented Armstrong's place in cycling infamy.  With the removal of his 7 tour victories and his lifetime ban, he now ranks #1 on a new list.  Armstrong is now the most famous name to grace the doping circus that is professional cycling.  He cheated and won in a sport full of cheaters.  Granted this may speak to just how sophisticated of an operation he was running, but when it comes down to it the facts are simple.  Lance Armstrong cheated better than his competitors and his continued successes both on and off the bike created animosity between his fellow riders.  Jealousy was the motivating factor leading to Armstrong's downfall.  Almost every individual who testified against him had been caught doing the exact same thing.



Imagine what it feels like when you cheat to win and still get beat... There was only one man who was able to successfully "CheatStrong", Lance Armstrong.

Although he and his lawyer have maintained his innocence, the governing bodies have sided against him, but why is this career implosion taking place now and at what cost?  Armstrong has been the focus of numerous doping investigations all ending the same way.  He was able to maintain his innocence.  However, after beating the system for over 10 years Armstrong's "luck" ran out.  It appeared as though the stars aligned against him and the powers at be felt strong enough to obliterate him from the face of cycling and multiple sponsorships.

He is no longer the 7-time champion of the Tour de France; he just happens to be the one who crossed the line first.  He is no longer the face of Livestrong; he is just the reason that over $400 million has been raised for cancer research.  The majority of society will remember him as that one guy who cheated.  His contributions will be overlooked by his shortcomings.

I urge you to look at Lance Armstrong the man and not the cyclist.  What has he given to society?  There are people living today who had little to no intention of supporting cancer research, but Armstrong provided the nation and the world an outlet to support a humanitarian cause.

Regardless of his past transgressions, the Lance Armstrong I will remember is the one off the bike who wore civilian clothing.  I am not going to say what he did was acceptable, but I'm not going to forget everything he did outside of cycling.

Armstrong was a hero for millions and regardless of what society pins him as, in my book he will always Livestrong...