The Great American Cycling Hero is under investigation by a federal grand jury, as the allegations of performance-enhancing drug use are finally coming back to bite him.

MITCH BLATT

The French have thought it to be true for years, but now Americans are slowly starting to accept that Lance Armstrong may have used performance-enhancing drugs to help win 7 straight Tour de France titles and make biking cool in America. The latest sign of the evidence piling up against Armstrong was an 8-page Sports Illustrated article in the latest edition detailing “The Case Against Lance Armstrong.”

The French and cycling fans outside of the United States have thought for years–based on foreign media reports and allegations from former employees–that Armstrong was using steroids, but Americans all “knew” these allegations were anti-American lies designed to discredit the hero who beat cancer and beat the Europeans at their own game.

The USA Today’s Mike Lopresti in 2005 wrote, “All you can do is hope it’s not true.” Tony Kornheiser wrote in 2005 in the Washington Post, in an article titled, “Armstrong Gives Us Hope Against Dope,” “Once again the accuser’s story is fishy, as Armstrong’s accusers’ stories have routinely seemed fishy before.” Even Canadian Peter Worthington, writing for the Toronto Sun in 2004, wrote an article titled, “Armstrong the Best Ever: After Cancer, Cyclist Wouldn’t Dream of Using Steroids.” (sources found in Lexis-Nexis search)

But now, years after he is done riding, the hero worship is beginning to fade, and Americans are beginning to view Armstrong in a more objective light. That he is currently under investigation by an American grand jury removes the nationalist sentiment that Americans could always conveniently rely on to not believe the French allegations.

Armstrong played the nationalistic aspect up himself to great success, even as recently as 2009:

“It seemed suspicious,” Armstrong said. “Of course we’re in France, so you never know what kind of situation I might get into there.”

That echoed the gratuitous mentions of nationality he peppered into a written statement on his team’s Web site earlier in the week. There, Armstrong said he “wasn’t sure who this French man at my home was” and wanted to make sure he wasn’t “just some French guy with a backpack and some equipment to take my blood and urine.”

- N.Y. Daily News, Latest doping tempest renews animosity between Lance Armstrong and France, Apr. 14, 2009

In fact, the facts that should have been cause for skepticism have been present at least since 2001 when Armstrong’s doctor was being probed for providing her clients with performance-enhancing drugs. As the Miami Heard reported on July 24, 2001:

During a rest day Monday at the Tour de France, overall leader Lance Armstrong reiterated that his association with an Italian doctor scheduled to go on trial amid a drug probe appears questionable and that he would review it if the doctor is convicted.

What does this mean for Armstrong’s position in pop culture? Does it change the meaning of his famous Dodgeball scene?

Maybe he should have said, “Don’t quit… Take some of these!”

The Nike commercial where Armstrong says, “This is my body… I can do whatever I want to it… … Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What am I on? I’m on my bike busting my ass 16 hours a day.”

The mantra inspired by Armstrong that anyone can win if they just get on their bike and bust their ass even after recovering from cancer. All a sham.

And he’s not really the “good guy” he’s portrayed as in Dodgeball who watches ESPN 8 cheering on Average Joes’ Peter LaFleur to beat “those jerks” at Globo Gym. When he answered his critics, he always did so in an arrogant manner.

Described as a “sometimes-womanizer” by E! Online, here is a 2009 report about his behavior on a plane:

Regardless, an A.T. reader on the flight with L.A. contacted us and described how unpleasant the 36-year-old cancer-surviving cyclist was:

“He was such an asshole,” ranted our onboard babe. “He was so wasted on painkillers, and he drank a lot. It was just obnoxious.”

So how much did he chug exactly? “Enough to be cut off,” the witness told us.

- E! Online

He’s vengeful and takes out his personal feuds on “enemies” professionally:

Nice guys don’t win, I get that. But there seems to be an awful lot of energy spent settling petty scores (like poaching young phenom Taylor Phinney from Jonathan Vaughters’ Garmin team), and creating melodramatic fights with his perceived “enemies,” when he could be using his popularity and his time to advance the public good.

- Bill Gifford

Another enemy Armstrong picked a fight with:

Armstrong, who had criticized Contador as being inexperienced earlier this year, responded with his own salvo on Twitter.

“Hey pistolero, there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’. what did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated,” Armstrong wrote.

- Huffington Post

Even as a kid, Armstrong was said to be a jerk:

Growing up, Lance was an absolute asshole to everyone. Girls swooned over him, and he treated all of us like dirt. He would ask a girl out and make her day, just to turn around and sleep with her friend or sister. He was a man-whore. He could not keep that tiny little thing is his pants if his life depended on it.

It wasn’t just the girls he pissed on, it was the guys too. Lance didn’t have many friends. He spent all of his time riding his bike, and looking at himself in a mirror. Between classes he would go to his locker and do his hair in the mirror. This was his hourly routine. No guys wanted to hang out with a narcissistic scumbag.

- Sports Rant

It is what it is, but maybe its good that this controversy didn’t destroy Lance’s legacy while he was still riding. At least we were able to savor his success during those 7 years. Now we can just go back to NFL betting and watching the playoffs this weekend.

Photo: Reuters

Popularity: 3% [?]