It looks like the shine is coming off the Armstrong apple.
What started out as thrilling comeback is turning into a bad soup opera with a drama queen on two wheels, according to Mike Celizic, who writes for NBC Sports.
In his latest column Celizic writes:
"Once, he was Lance Armstrong, the greatest athlete who ever lived. Now,
he’s a caricature of Lance Armstrong, a figure in a cartoon that we are
forced to watch without knowing whether to laugh or cry."
He backs up this accusation by writing about Armstrong's latest comments that he fears for his safety during a potential 09 TDF:
"I understand if he has some anxiety in that
regard. He hasn’t been the most popular guy in France for quite a
while, not since L’Equipe, the sports magazine, claimed to have found
EPO in old urine samples from his early years in the race.
But
he was never assaulted during all his years winning the race, including
the years at the end when the allegations were flying and he was less
popular with the French officials than rose wine in a box.
He never brought up his fears in the old days. Why bring them up now? What’s changed?
We’re
left with no answer other than Armstrong loves being the center of
attention. Either that, or he’s paranoid. Or maybe it’s both.
In any event, he’s clearly so consumed with
his own self-importance, he thinks all of this nonsense simply has to
be conveyed to a world that couldn’t care less.
Apparently,
there’s no narcissist like an old narcissist. When he was young and on
top of his pedals, he didn’t have to seek out publicity. He attracted
notepads and microphones like sugar spills attract ants. But now that
he’s just another old-timer trying to recapture his youth, it’s harder
to drum up the attention that he used to complain about when it was so
easy to get. So he manufactures conflict and drama. And he stays in the
headlines."
You can read the rest HERE.
What started out as thrilling comeback is turning into a bad soup opera with a drama queen on two wheels, according to Mike Celizic, who writes for NBC Sports.
In his latest column Celizic writes:
"Once, he was Lance Armstrong, the greatest athlete who ever lived. Now, he’s a caricature of Lance Armstrong, a figure in a cartoon that we are forced to watch without knowing whether to laugh or cry."
He backs up this accusation by writing about Armstrong's latest comments that he fears for his safety during a potential 09 TDF:
"I understand if he has some anxiety in that regard. He hasn’t been the most popular guy in France for quite a while, not since L’Equipe, the sports magazine, claimed to have found EPO in old urine samples from his early years in the race.
But he was never assaulted during all his years winning the race, including the years at the end when the allegations were flying and he was less popular with the French officials than rose wine in a box.
He never brought up his fears in the old days. Why bring them up now? What’s changed?
We’re left with no answer other than Armstrong loves being the center of attention. Either that, or he’s paranoid. Or maybe it’s both.
In any event, he’s clearly so consumed with his own self-importance, he thinks all of this nonsense simply has to be conveyed to a world that couldn’t care less.
Apparently, there’s no narcissist like an old narcissist. When he was young and on top of his pedals, he didn’t have to seek out publicity. He attracted notepads and microphones like sugar spills attract ants. But now that he’s just another old-timer trying to recapture his youth, it’s harder to drum up the attention that he used to complain about when it was so easy to get. So he manufactures conflict and drama. And he stays in the headlines."
You can read the rest HERE.