My Thoughts on Lance
I used to follow Lance Armstrong on twitter back when he was preparing for his last Tour de France. I would get so frustrated for him when the anti-doping officials would come knocking on his door on a daily basis. I felt like he had proven himself time and time again that he wasn't doping. And maybe at that time he wasn't. But apparently my faith in him was misplaced. I told Chris on numerous occasions that I didn't believe the stories to be true. You can imagine my disappointment when I heard that he was going to confess.
Now I don't know much about the cycling world. I still don't understand the time trials and how you can win without being in the lead or the first one to cross the finish line. I don't get it. But I knew a little of Lance's story from his years in the spotlight and it was neat to me that he lived in the Austin area. I also had a lot of respect for the Livestrong Foundation and what it was working for. I felt like Lance was someone you wanted to get behind and support because of all the good he was trying to do.
I think what bothers me most about this is not that Lance doped but that he lied about it, covered it up, and denied it for so long that you no longer can respect anything he has done. And I defended him. Not that my opinion matters to anyone but it is upsetting when you trust someone or something and you get let down. I feel this is something that happens a lot with celebrities. We put them on a pedestal for something they have done only to have that ideal shattered when you learn the truth about them. It makes you not want to put your faith in someone who is in the spotlight.
Truth is I am a nobody...just a middle class suburban mom. But that is why this matters. I want my child to have role models that he can look up to and aspire to be. I want him to be able to dream big and I pray that he will succeed. So that begs the question, Who can those role models be? Who should he look up to and how should we handle it when those people fail him? I don't know the answer but I do know I will caution him when he turns his attention to a celebrity because they can disappoint.
Now I don't know much about the cycling world. I still don't understand the time trials and how you can win without being in the lead or the first one to cross the finish line. I don't get it. But I knew a little of Lance's story from his years in the spotlight and it was neat to me that he lived in the Austin area. I also had a lot of respect for the Livestrong Foundation and what it was working for. I felt like Lance was someone you wanted to get behind and support because of all the good he was trying to do.
I think what bothers me most about this is not that Lance doped but that he lied about it, covered it up, and denied it for so long that you no longer can respect anything he has done. And I defended him. Not that my opinion matters to anyone but it is upsetting when you trust someone or something and you get let down. I feel this is something that happens a lot with celebrities. We put them on a pedestal for something they have done only to have that ideal shattered when you learn the truth about them. It makes you not want to put your faith in someone who is in the spotlight.
Truth is I am a nobody...just a middle class suburban mom. But that is why this matters. I want my child to have role models that he can look up to and aspire to be. I want him to be able to dream big and I pray that he will succeed. So that begs the question, Who can those role models be? Who should he look up to and how should we handle it when those people fail him? I don't know the answer but I do know I will caution him when he turns his attention to a celebrity because they can disappoint.
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