The Glorious Uncertainty of Sport



I just saw an interview with Christian Prudhomme, who stated that the
ASO policy of inviting whoever they like is consistent with the
glorious uncertainty of sport. On the other hand, he said, the UCI
policy of having a set of teams with garantees of participation is an
"American style" program that is inconsistent with the monuments of
cycling history.Sounds to me as if he is also alluding to Armstrong
and his lack of "panache" due to his overemphasis on calculation and
just winning.

-ilan
 
[email protected] wrote:
> I just saw an interview with Christian Prudhomme, who stated that the
> ASO policy of inviting whoever they like is consistent with the
> glorious uncertainty of sport. On the other hand, he said, the UCI
> policy of having a set of teams with garantees of participation is an
> "American style" program that is inconsistent with the monuments of
> cycling history.Sounds to me as if he is also alluding to Armstrong
> and his lack of "panache" due to his overemphasis on calculation and
> just winning.
>


Sounds to me as if he's upset about Vietnam and McDonald's too, not to
mention being damned glad to see Tom Brady get his ass kicked.

If you need to know anything else Christian is thinking, just ask.
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
|I just saw an interview with Christian Prudhomme, who stated that the
| ASO policy of inviting whoever they like is consistent with the
| glorious uncertainty of sport. On the other hand, he said, the UCI
| policy of having a set of teams with garantees of participation is an
| "American style" program that is inconsistent with the monuments of
| cycling history.Sounds to me as if he is also alluding to Armstrong
| and his lack of "panache" due to his overemphasis on calculation and
| just winning.
|
| -ilan

It is important, very important, to keep in mind the history of the 'Tour,
and the background of those who now run it. This is not an athletic endeavor
as much as it is journalistic and commercial. I think what Prudhomme is
alluding to are the similarities of the 'Tour not to Football or Baseball or
Basketball in the US, but rather, say, Wrestling. The total package for
Wrestling, top to bottom, is owned, operated, broadcast etc by the WWE. I
would suggest that the ASO & WWE have far more in common than the ASO & UCI.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
Mike J. reminds us all;

>It is important, very important, to keep in mind the
>history of the 'Tour, and the background of those who
>now run it. This is not an athletic endeavor as
>much as it is journalistic and commercial.


Yes, TdF was originally organized by a french sports newspaper as more
or less a publicity stunt as I recall.
One can understand from a _french_ perspective, LA virtually killed
the "spirit" of TdF.

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin
 
"Michael Baldwin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| Mike J. reminds us all;
|
| >It is important, very important, to keep in mind the
| >history of the 'Tour, and the background of those who
| >now run it. This is not an athletic endeavor as
| >much as it is journalistic and commercial.
|
| Yes, TdF was originally organized by a french sports newspaper as more
| or less a publicity stunt as I recall.
| One can understand from a _french_ perspective, LA virtually killed
| the "spirit" of TdF.

One can also understand that the TdF was having real problems getting
attention until Lance came upon the scene. The Festina affair was still
fresh, and it had been quite some time that somebody stood out from the
crowd as either hero or villain.

I have attended each TdF from 2000-on. And the popularity, within France,
among the French, increased significantly each year, perhaps leveling off in
2004. In 2000, if you went in search of a bar with the 'Tour on, you'd
likely not find one. Football (Soccer) was much more common. But by 2002
that had changed, the TdF was everything, everywhere. And the French
spectators? Somewhere around 2002-2003 those in the countryside would bring
out their families and have hand-painted "Lance" signs and talk about what a
hero he was. I found no hint of scorn, only admiration for what he was
doing. It was a most-amazing thing.

It didn't have to be Lance; it could have been anybody who had taken charge
of the TdF and given us, and them, structure. Removed the randomness of the
event and made it simpler for people to understand and follow. And follow
they did.

I think, looking back at the history of the TdF, it will be easy to make a
case that the more-popular years were those in which the race was easier to
follow because people knew the players. Years when you had racers who had
already made their mark, and were coming back for more. Lance, for at least
5 years, did that extremely well.

So, perhaps from a journalistic perspective, a French journalist most-likely
employed by ASO, Lance might have killed *their* idea of the spirit of the
TdF. Because, to those journalists, they believed it was their responsiblity
to create drama from epic battles that existed as much in their minds as on
the roads. They (the journalists) made the heroes! But to the public at
large, I don't think Lance did anything but enhance the interest in the TdF.
Because he made either a great hero or villain. He polarized things in a way
that made it easy to understand.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> So, perhaps from a journalistic perspective, a French journalist
> most-likely
> employed by ASO, Lance might have killed *their* idea of the spirit of the
> TdF. Because, to those journalists, they believed it was their
> responsiblity
> to create drama from epic battles that existed as much in their minds as
> on
> the roads. They (the journalists) made the heroes! But to the public at
> large, I don't think Lance did anything but enhance the interest in the
> TdF.
> Because he made either a great hero or villain. He polarized things in a
> way
> that made it easy to understand.


I agree with this completely. In 2000, when I was there, you couldn't find
the Tour on a TV in any of the sports bars and when you were trying to buy
an l'Equipe (sports paper), they would try to sell you special editions
about Soccer.
 
On Mar 10, 3:10 pm, "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote:

> I agree with this completely. In 2000, when I was there, you couldn't find
> the Tour on a TV in any of the sports bars and when you were trying to buy
> an l'Equipe (sports paper), they would try to sell you special editions
> about Soccer.


dumbass,

maybe if you repeat it enough times someone will care.
 
>But to the public at large, I don't think Lance
>did anything but enhance the interest in the TdF. Because
>he made either a great hero or villain. He polarized
>things in a way that made it easy to understand.
>Mike Jacoubowsky©


That is quite possibly the finest quote in reference to Lance Armstrong,
the Tour de France and their relevancy, that I've ever read. Thank You!

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin
 
[email protected] wrote:
> On Mar 10, 3:10 pm, "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote:
>
>> I agree with this completely. In 2000, when I was there, you couldn't find
>> the Tour on a TV in any of the sports bars and when you were trying to buy
>> an l'Equipe (sports paper), they would try to sell you special editions
>> about Soccer.

>
> dumbass,
>
> maybe if you repeat it enough times someone will care.
>

It still wouldn't make it true.
 
On Mar 9, 10:51 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...
> |I just saw an interview with Christian Prudhomme, who stated that the
> | ASO policy of inviting whoever they like is consistent with the
> | glorious uncertainty of sport. On the other hand, he said, the UCI
> | policy of having a set of teams with garantees of participation is an
> | "American style" program that is inconsistent with the monuments of
> | cycling history.Sounds to me as if he is also alluding to Armstrong
> | and his lack of "panache" due to his overemphasis on calculation and
> | just winning.
> |
> | -ilan
>
> It is important, very important, to keep in mind the history of the 'Tour,
> and the background of those who now run it. This is not an athletic endeavor
> as much as it is journalistic and commercial. I think what Prudhomme is
> alluding to are the similarities of the 'Tour not to Football or Baseball or
> Basketball in the US, but rather, say, Wrestling. The total package for
> Wrestling, top to bottom, is owned, operated, broadcast etc by the WWE. I
> would suggest that the ASO & WWE have far more in common than the ASO & UCI.


Dumbasses,

When a European businessman says that he doesn't want to
do X because it is an "American style" program, he isn't
embarking on some xenophobic campaign of LANCE hatred.
LANCE is irrelevant. "American style" is just code for
globalised unfettered capitalism. Prudhomme, of course,
is running a business, but he is trying to gain an advantage
over the UCI by casting himself as a European defender
of tradition and the UCI as a bunch of money grubbing
people with Wall Street ethics. Of course, this is ********
served up in a propaganda war - it's just a business power
struggle, and Prudhomme is trying to make money too -
but it has very little to do with either LANCE or the NFL vs WWE.

Ben
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6d466692-497a-4c66-a6f0-cd3101f8ba1c@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> On Mar 9, 10:51 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>
>> news:[email protected]...
>> |I just saw an interview with Christian Prudhomme, who stated that the
>> | ASO policy of inviting whoever they like is consistent with the
>> | glorious uncertainty of sport. On the other hand, he said, the UCI
>> | policy of having a set of teams with garantees of participation is an
>> | "American style" program that is inconsistent with the monuments of
>> | cycling history.Sounds to me as if he is also alluding to Armstrong
>> | and his lack of "panache" due to his overemphasis on calculation and
>> | just winning.
>> |
>> | -ilan
>>
>> It is important, very important, to keep in mind the history of the
>> 'Tour,
>> and the background of those who now run it. This is not an athletic
>> endeavor
>> as much as it is journalistic and commercial. I think what Prudhomme is
>> alluding to are the similarities of the 'Tour not to Football or Baseball
>> or
>> Basketball in the US, but rather, say, Wrestling. The total package for
>> Wrestling, top to bottom, is owned, operated, broadcast etc by the WWE. I
>> would suggest that the ASO & WWE have far more in common than the ASO &
>> UCI.

>
> Dumbasses,
>
> When a European businessman says that he doesn't want to
> do X because it is an "American style" program, he isn't
> embarking on some xenophobic campaign of LANCE hatred.
> LANCE is irrelevant. "American style" is just code for
> globalised unfettered capitalism. Prudhomme, of course,
> is running a business, but he is trying to gain an advantage
> over the UCI by casting himself as a European defender
> of tradition and the UCI as a bunch of money grubbing
> people with Wall Street ethics. Of course, this is ********
> served up in a propaganda war - it's just a business power
> struggle, and Prudhomme is trying to make money too -
> but it has very little to do with either LANCE or the NFL vs WWE.


Everyone please take note - aside from the language Ben has actually made an
intelligent posting. I remember when he used to do that all the time and not
just once a year.
 
In article <[email protected]>, "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com>
wrote:

> Everyone please take note - aside from the language Ben has actually made an
> intelligent posting. I remember when he used to do that all the time and not
> just once a year.


Hmm, it'd be nice if you could make an intelligent post even once a year, Tom.

--
tanx,
Howard

Whatever happened to
Leon Trotsky?
He got an icepick
That made his ears burn.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?