J
John Riley
Guest
So says SF Gate columnist:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
- Status
I sure hope this isn't the "all-American" opinion. Else all hope is lost (for Americans that is ;-)).
I find sports fascinating, also if they arent practiced or popular in my country. I try to get to know sports I'm not familiar with, and each time I find that new sports also offer excitement, strategy etc.
I find sports fascinating, also if they arent practiced or popular in my country. I try to get to know sports I'm not familiar with, and each time I find that new sports also offer excitement, strategy etc.
REHASH, every year all the jealous "journalists" who feel left out of the cycling hype because they are too busy counting stats from the sidelines lash out with some mindless piece of dribble like this article.
my email to this nut:
BF,
Put your cushy TV sports bum on a bike and train for 2 years and let us see just how far you really get on the LOCAL recreational group rides, then we can talk about your career as a competitive cyclist
I think what confuses non-cyclists (i.e. beer guzzling SPECTATORS) about cycling is that for nearly all (real) cycling fans (i.e. beer guzzling after PARTICIPATING), cycling is NOT a spectator sport, whether they ride for fun or competition, it is a participatory sport for them and seeing the best of the best compete for 2 hours a day for 3 weeks per year is just a bonus.
Also, assuming "Californiots" are the norm with regards to cycling (or for most anything else for that matter) is a pretty bad misconception to base your opinions on. Not to mention not all cyclists are liberals either.
And yes, without a succesful U.S. competitor, just like Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, F1 and countless other wildly popular international sports, the media hype in the U.S. will subside to some extent when that competitor and fellow countryman has dropped out of the spotlight.
But do note, that OLN just signed up for Tour coverage through 2008 and cyclist don't cycle because of Lance, cyclists sat in front of the **** tube getting a little fatter and a little slower watching 30 minute snippets of Tour coverage on ESPN long before Lance became popular.
Enjoy!
--
my email to this nut:
BF,
Put your cushy TV sports bum on a bike and train for 2 years and let us see just how far you really get on the LOCAL recreational group rides, then we can talk about your career as a competitive cyclist
I think what confuses non-cyclists (i.e. beer guzzling SPECTATORS) about cycling is that for nearly all (real) cycling fans (i.e. beer guzzling after PARTICIPATING), cycling is NOT a spectator sport, whether they ride for fun or competition, it is a participatory sport for them and seeing the best of the best compete for 2 hours a day for 3 weeks per year is just a bonus.
Also, assuming "Californiots" are the norm with regards to cycling (or for most anything else for that matter) is a pretty bad misconception to base your opinions on. Not to mention not all cyclists are liberals either.
And yes, without a succesful U.S. competitor, just like Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, F1 and countless other wildly popular international sports, the media hype in the U.S. will subside to some extent when that competitor and fellow countryman has dropped out of the spotlight.
But do note, that OLN just signed up for Tour coverage through 2008 and cyclist don't cycle because of Lance, cyclists sat in front of the **** tube getting a little fatter and a little slower watching 30 minute snippets of Tour coverage on ESPN long before Lance became popular.
Enjoy!
--
What do you expect from a guy who calls himself a fool. Only a fool would state this fact:
"Millions of Europeans and a handful of Americans are wrong. Soccer is boring and cycling is not a sport."
So millions of Europeans are idiots for thinking cycling is a sport and this guy's right? Well, as Clint Eastwood said he's a legend in his own mind.
"Millions of Europeans and a handful of Americans are wrong. Soccer is boring and cycling is not a sport."
So millions of Europeans are idiots for thinking cycling is a sport and this guy's right? Well, as Clint Eastwood said he's a legend in his own mind.
This is my reply to Betting Fool:
1. Cycling is a sport.
2. One of the great things about sports is that anyone can play them. You definition of sports seems to be lacking because you seem to need other people to do them for you. 3. France is awesome, and has a fine culture. I wish the top event was here in US, but we're not as refined as the French; maybe someday. By the way, The Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espania are also major cycling events outside of France. 4. There is a lot of strategy involved in cycling, only it takes a lot of patience and intelligence to learn. It's one of those sports where you need cooperation with your teammates and rivals for mutual benefit. That is something that is missing in our culture and is probably why you can't understand it. Sorry. 5. You're not supposed to cycle with a broken collarbone, just as you're not supposed to play football or baseball with broken bones, but people do it anyway, how does this detract from the legitimacy of the sport? 6. On my bike there are at least 114 balls. On this point, I think cycling should be hailed as a great American sport because if encourages people to buy stuff. What's more American than that? 7. Big 5 sells cycling gear too. 8. Once again, sports are meant to be played, and if it's light out, people who love their sport are doing it. Night time is OK for watching TV, so that's a perfect time for cycling to be aired. 9. Thank you for mentioning that cycling belongs in American sports media; I think so too. 10. Millions of people are wrong about a lot of things. That doesn't really help your argument. 11. A healthy lifestyle is one of those things that sports are supposed to encourage.
12. Your profile of typical cyclists hurts your argument here, as it tells us more about yourself than anything else. Cheers!
1. Cycling is a sport.
2. One of the great things about sports is that anyone can play them. You definition of sports seems to be lacking because you seem to need other people to do them for you. 3. France is awesome, and has a fine culture. I wish the top event was here in US, but we're not as refined as the French; maybe someday. By the way, The Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espania are also major cycling events outside of France. 4. There is a lot of strategy involved in cycling, only it takes a lot of patience and intelligence to learn. It's one of those sports where you need cooperation with your teammates and rivals for mutual benefit. That is something that is missing in our culture and is probably why you can't understand it. Sorry. 5. You're not supposed to cycle with a broken collarbone, just as you're not supposed to play football or baseball with broken bones, but people do it anyway, how does this detract from the legitimacy of the sport? 6. On my bike there are at least 114 balls. On this point, I think cycling should be hailed as a great American sport because if encourages people to buy stuff. What's more American than that? 7. Big 5 sells cycling gear too. 8. Once again, sports are meant to be played, and if it's light out, people who love their sport are doing it. Night time is OK for watching TV, so that's a perfect time for cycling to be aired. 9. Thank you for mentioning that cycling belongs in American sports media; I think so too. 10. Millions of people are wrong about a lot of things. That doesn't really help your argument. 11. A healthy lifestyle is one of those things that sports are supposed to encourage.
12. Your profile of typical cyclists hurts your argument here, as it tells us more about yourself than anything else. Cheers!
That article is obviously a joke worthy of Dave (I swear I'm not making this up!) Barry because only an idiot would make such a statement except in jest. I notice he says he THINKS he could buy a bike and in a couple of years of training be a professional cyclist - chances are he had a better chance of beating Michael Jordan at the top of his baketball career than keeping up with ANY pro peleton - hey, just for kicks, buy that bike and see if you can keep up with ANY of your local club cyclists and I'm talking the ones over 80, the women, and the juniors. (Nothing like getting your butt kicked by a fourteen year old girl.) Until you've suffered up some climbs and watched the group disappear in the distance, you have no idea how hard a sport it is. Like the TV commentators all say, bike racing is about suffering - until you try it and try to keep up, you have no idea. (Now, golf and baseball - those are activities that seem like excuses just to drink beer.)
The Betting Fool is just a clown. He talks **** about all kinds of sports, teams, players, etc. He tries to be witty but he lacks the requisite rhetorical tools. He enjoys when people send him angry e-mails. He's not worth your time, no one takes him seriously, don't take the bait. He's proud of being a fat arrogant ****** - read his BIO (long URL, copy and paste if necessary)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/1999/05/07/foolbio.DTL
Here's a line from a previous article he wrote: "* The NBA Finals start tonight. This coincides with my need to clean the garage and stain the deck. Sorry, I won't be watching. Other than Robinson and Duncan and that Parker guy who came out of nowhere, name three Spurs."
By the way SFGate is the website for the San Francisco Chronicle. About 12 years ago their famous columnist Glenn Dickey wrote a hatchet piece about cycling when Greg Lemond won the Sportsman of the Year award from Sports Illustrated. Dickey said pretty much the same thing as the Betting Fool including "give me a bicycle and I could sure as hell ride it up a mountain." He got a lot of nastygrams about that one and later apologized, but he is a serious columnist - Betting Fool is the Don Rickles of sports journalism - he likes saying stuff just to **** you off. If he pisses you off he wins and you lose. Only way to win is to not give a damn what he says.
Pisses me off nonetheless... Now i understand how badminton players feel when they get the whole "badminton is not a sport" routine...
Here is the email I sent:
Under your premise of why cycling is not a sport, your argument could dethrone most activities currently regarded, even by dinosaurs such as yourself, as "sport".
Let me draw up a list:
1. Nascar (Toddlers on tricycles going in circles is more compelling, but only if you get to keep score)
2. World of Outlaws Circletrack Racing (see above, in the dirt, in smaller circles)
3. Any kind of motorsports (dominated by Europeans and Japanese, except for the above)
4. Track and Field (happens in Europe, who's faster, anyone can run, no ball, no score, etc...)
5. Professional Wrestling (you need me to explain?)
6. Tennis (OK there is a score, but who knows what Love and Deuce really mean?, the best tournaments happen in Europe)
7. Hunting (It will only be a sport when the animals get weapons, it's played in a stadium, and we get to keep score. Maybe the Romans were in to something...)
8. Pool (Any game you can play with a twelve pack in you belly and a cigarette in your mouth is not a sport, even if it is on ESPN)
9. Poker (just because its on ESPN doesn't mean the participants are athletes and you get to call it a sport. Involves no physical skill unless you include "poker face")
10. Baseball and Basketball (any sport where one team is so dominant that the other side wonders why they should show up is not a sport. You might as well crown the Yankees and the Lakers and all go home)
11. Golf (there is a score, but there is no defense, and no strategy. Any sport where a NOBODY on a good day can whip the rest of the free world is not a sport)
12. Horse and Greyhound Racing (circles, no score, no strategy, no team, and the participants are so disposable that injury results in euthanasia. Imagine your favorite pitcher getting put down for wicked case of tendonitis)
Need I go on? And don't give me any **** about, history, glory, tradition and beauty of your favorite sports. They are all just hobbies, grown men playing games so they don't have to get a real job at McDonald's for minimum wage. Same could be said of you. Wait, you already have.
Q
Qui Si Parla Ca
Guest
john-<< So says SF Gate columnist:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fo ol227.DTL
>><BR><BR>
So the guy's an idiot...next question...
Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fo ol227.DTL
>><BR><BR>
So the guy's an idiot...next question...
Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
C
Corey Green
Guest
[email protected] (john riley) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> So says SF Gate columnist:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
This guy is actually returning email, so drop him a line. He challenged me to hit a golf ball 250
yards in return for him riding a bike. Of course he then compared me to a Raider fan.
Sounds like he is one of those drunk Nascar fans that has no clue when he is wrong, but typically
gets his chin in the way when defender his idiotic position.
news:<[email protected]>...
> So says SF Gate columnist:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
This guy is actually returning email, so drop him a line. He challenged me to hit a golf ball 250
yards in return for him riding a bike. Of course he then compared me to a Raider fan.
Sounds like he is one of those drunk Nascar fans that has no clue when he is wrong, but typically
gets his chin in the way when defender his idiotic position.
C
Corey Green
Guest
[email protected] (john riley) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> So says SF Gate columnist:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
BTW - the columnists name is Steve Tady. He is the Sport Editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. His
email is [email protected] Phone number: 415-777-6333
news:<[email protected]>...
> So says SF Gate columnist:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
BTW - the columnists name is Steve Tady. He is the Sport Editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. His
email is [email protected] Phone number: 415-777-6333
B
Bob
Guest
Personally I am offended when hunters and fisherman are referred to as "sportsman". And what kind
of athletic ability is required in auto-racing, horse racing, or chopping through a log with a
chain saw?
I think we just need separate words to describe people who actually expend energy when they compete
and those who just sit on their asses.
-Bob
of athletic ability is required in auto-racing, horse racing, or chopping through a log with a
chain saw?
I think we just need separate words to describe people who actually expend energy when they compete
and those who just sit on their asses.
-Bob
B
Bill Davidson
Guest
Corey Green wrote:
> This guy is actually returning email, so drop him a line. He challenged me to hit a golf ball 250
> yards in return for him riding a bike. Of course he then compared me to a Raider fan.
I'd like to take that challenge. I'm typically around 250-260 with the driver and sometimes go
280-290. If only I could keep it in the fairway more. Damned trees!
--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.
I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now
> This guy is actually returning email, so drop him a line. He challenged me to hit a golf ball 250
> yards in return for him riding a bike. Of course he then compared me to a Raider fan.
I'd like to take that challenge. I'm typically around 250-260 with the driver and sometimes go
280-290. If only I could keep it in the fairway more. Damned trees!
--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.
I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now
M
Marty
Guest
"TbosS" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> So says SF Gate columnist:
>>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
> I sure hope this isn't the "all-American" opinion. Else all hope is lost (for Americans that
> is ;-)).
Certainly not an "all-American" opinion, but definitely a "many-American male sports enthusiast"
opinion. Before Lance Armstrong, I'd say it was a "90%-American male sports enthusiast" opinion. LA
has done a lot of good for the sport in America. There will always be guys like this no-talent
ass-clown "Betting Fool" that we'll have to deal with. Do other countries have to deal with guys
like this? I would imagine so, but do they get to write and publish garbage like this in a what
appears to be a reputable newspaper? Man, I'd love to see someone slam Tiger Woods and golf like
this guy has slammed LA and bicycle racing.
--
Marty
>> So says SF Gate columnist:
>>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2003/07/22/fool227.DTL
> I sure hope this isn't the "all-American" opinion. Else all hope is lost (for Americans that
> is ;-)).
Certainly not an "all-American" opinion, but definitely a "many-American male sports enthusiast"
opinion. Before Lance Armstrong, I'd say it was a "90%-American male sports enthusiast" opinion. LA
has done a lot of good for the sport in America. There will always be guys like this no-talent
ass-clown "Betting Fool" that we'll have to deal with. Do other countries have to deal with guys
like this? I would imagine so, but do they get to write and publish garbage like this in a what
appears to be a reputable newspaper? Man, I'd love to see someone slam Tiger Woods and golf like
this guy has slammed LA and bicycle racing.
--
Marty
M
Mike Krueger
Guest
<< And what kind of athletic ability is required in auto-racing, horse racing, or chopping through a
log with a chain saw? I think we just need separate words to describe people who actually expend
energy when they compete and those who just sit on their asses. >>
I am no fan of auto racing, but I do think that maintaining utter concentration while encased in a
hot Nomex suit and full face helmet while steering a race car at 200mph for 3 hrs straight requires
some athletic skill and endurance. I wouldn't describe it as just sitting on one's ass. However,
standing in a field for three hrs chewing tobacco, spitting, and scratching my nuts while waiting
for someone to maybe hit a baseball in my direction, picking it up, and throwing it to someone else
does not necessarily qualify me as a great athelete, does it?
log with a chain saw? I think we just need separate words to describe people who actually expend
energy when they compete and those who just sit on their asses. >>
I am no fan of auto racing, but I do think that maintaining utter concentration while encased in a
hot Nomex suit and full face helmet while steering a race car at 200mph for 3 hrs straight requires
some athletic skill and endurance. I wouldn't describe it as just sitting on one's ass. However,
standing in a field for three hrs chewing tobacco, spitting, and scratching my nuts while waiting
for someone to maybe hit a baseball in my direction, picking it up, and throwing it to someone else
does not necessarily qualify me as a great athelete, does it?
I used to surf. For 13 years I surfed. They say that isn't a sport either. I tried to padle out the other day after about 8 years of inactivity (comparatively) and I realized how much exertion even the most relaxed session on the waves was!!
As to the "anyone can pedal a bicycle" quip, he could say the same thing about marathon running, decathalons, triathlons, etc. He needs to get off his fat body support and try entering some amature riding race, we will see how little strategy it takes.
Truthfully, I think he was just being humorous and cycling was the most convenient thing, (hey a stinking protest gained a yellow jersey for the competition, you can't take that serious or you would blow an artery.)
All with a grain of salt right?
Allen
As to the "anyone can pedal a bicycle" quip, he could say the same thing about marathon running, decathalons, triathlons, etc. He needs to get off his fat body support and try entering some amature riding race, we will see how little strategy it takes.
Truthfully, I think he was just being humorous and cycling was the most convenient thing, (hey a stinking protest gained a yellow jersey for the competition, you can't take that serious or you would blow an artery.)
All with a grain of salt right?
Allen
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