Jeff Cooper discovers a truly stupid man in Boston Globe and MSNBC sports ‘columnist’ Rob Borges, who suggests that Lance Armstong isn’t an athlete.
I raced bicycles (a long time ago), and was lucky enough to be a suiveur (one of the guys in the cars) at the ’78 Tour (Hinault won, the riders went on strike, I got to have lunch with Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil). These guys were riding up hills comparable to Sepulveda going north into the San Fernando Valley at over 23mph…
…and this moron thinks they aren’t athletes?
Date: 07/30/2002 00:00:00 AM
By the way, there’s poll next to the article. 43000 responses, 96% percent disagree with Borges.
Date: 07/29/2002 00:00:00 AM
re: Jim Rome-ing.Right on the money with that. But it should be said that Jim Rome is a huge Lance Armstrong fan, has him on his radio show regularly.
Date: 07/29/2002 00:00:00 AM
>Merckx chainsmoked Marlboros the whole time. Great anecdote. Remember the photos, popular a few years ago, that showed macho 1930s TdF riders smoking on the bike?
Date: 07/29/2002 00:00:00 AM
Personally, I hope for more Borgesesin the media. At its warmest, majormedia allots 30 minutes a night onESPN2 or 10 minutes on CBS. Becauseof its fringe nature, OLN can show 2hours a day live with commentators who treat it as sport and notmetaphor. I hope it remains obscureenough that OLN is able to continueto cover the Giro, the Tour, theVuelta, paris-roubaix etc. live. AndI much prefer Phil Ligget, Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll to ArmenKetayien (sp).
Date: 07/28/2002 00:00:00 AM
Dude! Lunch with Anquetil and Merckx? Aw, man! You’re my hero!
Date: 07/28/2002 00:00:00 AM
LOL…it’s true, I ate dinners on that story for a long time.I was in that inarticulate hero-worship stupid place (plus it was all in French!!), but they were just so bemused that an American knew who they were (much less could recite some of their stats) that they took all the pressure off me and it became kind of fun. Actually that whole trip I was the object of amazement…Boyer hadn’t broken through yet, and most of the folks had no idea anyone in the U.S. knew anyhting about Le Tour.Merckx chainsmoked Marlboros the whole time.I was lucky enough to touch greatness…
Date: 07/27/2002 00:00:00 AM
That is amazingly stupid.I attribute this to the Jim Rome-ing of sports commentary. it does not matter what you say, as long as it is designed to irritate someone. And if you do not know anything irritating, then just make stuff up.Come to think of it, I could have said the Ann Coulter-ing of sports commentary….