LiveStrong

Just finished It's Not About the Bike; My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong.

I just want to say that I've long been a Lance Armstrong fan. His story; surviving cancer to come back and win the Tour De France, not once but seven times? Legend.

Thanks to steroids, Barry Bonds/Mark McGuire/Sammy Sosa, and Floyd Landis, I've been hesitant to embrace Armstrong as a true American sports hero. I didn't want to be disappointed...again. I barely paid attention to the 2007 Tour, the first time in years that I didn't watch a single stage.

After reading this autobiography, published in 2000, the year after Armstrong won his first Tour, I've decided to get off the fence. Lance Armstrong may have used some sort of performance enhancing drugs to win those races, but I would find it hard to believe. The guy survived cancer. Why would he chance injecting drugs into his body merely to win a race? Armstrong makes it pretty clear that the fear of cancer reoccuring was actually one of the most difficult stages of his recovery.
I doubt that he will ever be able to completely convince everyone of his innocence. I'm sure there will always be a lingering doubt. But I'm going with the guy. Here's a link to his Livestrong Foundation, a foundation set up for cancer patients and survivors. He's considered politics. I'd vote for him.

And I'll watch the Tour de France this summer. We can't go on forever assuming that all of our heros are cheaters.