Unlucky 13 and What Could Be Next

Sunday Lance Armstrong rode into Paris with the peloton, completing his thirteenth and last Tour de France. He created a controversy at the beginning of the stage by having his RadioShack team don black jerseys with a NFL-style 28 on the back to recognize the millions living with cancer. Race officials, having no knowledge that Armstrong's team planned to wear the jerseys, forced a change. This delayed the start, generating huge publicity and even more controversy over the seven-time champion's motives. Undoubtedly Lance Armstrong knew how all of this would play out well-beforehand. That may be the last act he gets to choreograph.

What Lance Armstrong doesn't know, what none of us know, is what legacy he leaves behind as he exits the high-profile stage he has held sway over for so long. One would naturally assume that a cancer survivor who went on to become a seven-time Tour de France champion, one who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research, would leave nothing less than a legacy of unrivaled cycling dominance while at the same time generating the unmatched goodwill that follows those who perform such wonderful charitable deeds.  It's the fairy tale story come to life. Unfortunately for Lance, that actually being his real-life legacy is the fairy tale.

The thirty-eight year old Armstrong didn't captivate just cycling fans, he reached a larger audience. It was an audience he cultivated through the years. They were inspired by his battle with cancer, his charisma, his celebrity lifestyle and, of course, his Michael Jordan-like dominance of cycling. It was an audience that adored him, for a time. But apparently that time may now have passed. If not, it's at least up for renewal. And there are no guarantees because Armstrong's adoring fanbase has grown increasingly suspicious of the endless allegations surrounding him.

Steroids and PEDs have overwhelmed the sporting landscape since Ben Johnson won Olympic gold in the 100 meters in the Seoul Olympics in 1988.  The breadth and depth of it didn't fully hit the American public until the continued allegations and revelations around baseball in the early twenty-first century, but it has been a visible part of sporting competition all the way back to the East German women swimmers of the early 1970s. Cycling has a rich history of doping.  Pot Belge, synthetic testosterone and EPO are just a few of the illegal substances that racers have used while avoiding detection. In the endless game of cat and mouse, athletes get ahead and then testing becomes more sophisticated and athletes get caught. Then the pendulum swings back the other way. Through it all Lance Armstrong has never failed a drug test.

But after years of accusations throughout Europe, Lance Armstrong is now going to face the music on American soil. Floyd Landis, a former teammate of Armstrong's and admitted user of PEDs has charged Armstrong of the same, and the Federal Government has convened a grand jury to look into the allegations. Landis, whose credibility is highly questionable due to years of lying about his own use, recently said on "Nightline", "Rather than go into the entire detail of every single time I've seen it. Yes. I saw Lance Armstrong using drugs." Add Greg LeMond's accusations and you have a an American cycling soap opera that is some kind of cross between Survivor and Gossip Girl. LeMond, three-time Tour winner as well as the first American ever to win the event, has had a long, on-going feud with Armstrong and, upon being subpoenaed in this case, said he looked forward to testifying on July 30th.  He told the Denver Post, "The evidence will come from the investigation, and I believe it will be overwhelming."

Lance Armstrong's legacy hinges on the outcome of the investigation. Is it possible that anyone could win seven straight Tours while so many of the sport's elite were using PEDs? When Secretariat, the fabled Triple Crown winning horse, died, the autopsy showed that he had a heart much larger than any other horse. Does Lance have some trait or attribute that has allowed him to survive cancer and also be better than any other cyclist, even when those others were cheating? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Through it all Armstrong has almost always been a picture of composure. How can he be so confident, so collected if so many people out there have the goods on his PED use? How can he sleep at night when there are literally hundreds of people looking to bring him down? We've seen the denials before. Marion Jones, Rafael Palmeiro. Roger Clemens. All gave impassioned defenses of their innocence. None held up over time. The list isn't endless it just appears that way.

Lance Armstong would be the biggest name on that list. Ever. He took a third-tier sport and thrust it into the spotlight. He became as well-known and famous as any American athlete. He used his fame for good in an extraordinary way. Now it's all up for review. Do his charitable works cement his legacy as a great man regardless of the findings of this case or is he another fraud of an athlete that gets cast aside and written out of the history books if found guilty? If everyone was involved, as many claim, isn't he still the best and most deserving? Regardless of the result, the case won't be pretty. Testimony will be leaked and Armstrong is going to suffer in the court of public opinion.

In America we often like to see our heroes fall. It makes them more like us. We can be empathetic and sympathetic and forgiving, and then we can root for them to achieve again, knowing that there is a chink in their armor. It will be interesting to see if Armstrong can ride through the storm one more time. Unfortunately I think this one is going to be like his 13th Tour. Unlucky.