As I wrote to some friends in an email... I'm a bit of a dichotomous guy. I appreciate a good underdog story, but not the ones that get too much teleplay or garner a "blue collar" support. I equally appreciate eye-opening dominance, but not dominance that is impure or without integrity. Most of all, much more than seeing the little team that could or the undisputed champion, I've always felt most inspired by the toppling of the powerful. The crumble. The "too good to be true... oh, apparently it is" moment. The destruction and the chaos that follow. The gut check. This is because I believe in the power of shared reality. The thing that we all have to deal with, that connects us to each other and drives much of our social norms. What we're willing to put up with. The confidence in one's contribution.
I just simply love that Lance was a "hero" and now he's a former "hero." It's like he was nothing all along. But it's important to remember he wasn't nothing. He built a reputation of dominance in a particular sport that included a level of underdog-edness and come back-edness. With the help of his teams, he put up the numbers. He transcended his sport and began to pluck on the heart strings of the hopeful and possibly desperate. He did this by translating social momentum and awareness into an institution based entirely on a trending retail phenomenon of supremely defensible motives (both capitalistically and humanely speaking). Apparently, he even talked about running for office in Texas.
I do not suffer a fallen hero of this nature. But perhaps my sadistic enjoyment is really a form mourning. Because I do suffer the confusion of those who supported Lance and now must grapple with reality, where theirs was once blind monetary and philosophical support of a cause, is now just (hopefully continued) support of a cause. It must be difficult to support something out of the sheer kindness of one's heart, without figure for inspiration.
Lance suffered many things in his heroic trip which are far, far darker than his now exposure. Now, it's mainly reputational, the physical being trophy and possibly finance. His use of power is phenomenal, and even despite the measures that are place to check such power, we still remain so fascinated by heroes that reality became "Lance Armstrong" (which I just realized is too grossly similar to Livestrong). The ego is the icing on the cake. Fortunately, the truth is far more fascinating and inspiring a reality.
