Why Not Show Your Support?

I'm not Lance Armstrong's greatest fan, but the guy has raised a zillion dollars for cancer research, he's had nothing but praise for his ex-wife, and judging him as a father is really something that should be left to his kids. I haven't seen anything indicating that he's NOT supporting Kik and the kids, and he certainly has the means. The divorce rate is still 50%. Why again does Lance get thrown under the bus?

Agreed... I'm not fully up on his personal life, but I seem to remember that his wife wanted the divorce because he was away from home too much pursuing his career.

Divorce sucks no matter who's at fault and I'm sure that you meant your comment very tongue-in-cheek, but let's cut the guy some slack.

LOVE YOUR SITE!

"Why again does Lance get thrown under the bus?"

Why? That's the funny thing about blogs. For some reason, just because we see an opinion rendered in HTML on the internet, it's somehow more "legit" or worth more than the opinion out of the cop on the street, homeless person or lunatic you sat next to on the train this morning.

Lance is humanóso is Greg.

Oh, and for the record, those bracelets are $1 each from legitimate retailers or sources. Also, there's more NIKE behind it than Armstrong. Lance is just the tool. I for one don't own one nor do I plan on ever owning one. Not my kinda thing.

The only fools paying $5 for them are the same who'd by a stroller for more than $200(I say as I take the seat cover off my kid's Bugaboo to put in the washer).

Anyway, it may not be polite to talk about or judge other people's marriages and familiesófailed or otherwiseóbut it's never stopped other's from doing so, right?

Hey, I'm all for divorce, don't get me wrong. And I'm all for cancer, too. It's the "away from home too much pursuing his career" thing that gets to me.

I knew this post'd be at best a cheap joke, and frankly, I've written and deleted it several times before finally posting it, precisely because I really don't want to presume, judge or jump to conclusions about anyone's family situation.

But I finally heard one too many people say what a great guy they think Armstrong is, and I'm like, "he's the greatest cyclist in the world, sure, but he did that at the expense of his family." He just got on my nerves.

As for the $5 thing, I had no idea how much they actually cost, just that Nike was actually underwriting the whole project. If you pay $5 you're still a chump, though, it's true.

I'm with Greg on this one. When there were three ankle biters running around, Lance spent all his time away from home chasing after pretty, yellow shirts. Now, wife and kids gone, he's found plenty of time to play celebrity and chase pretty famous skirts.

Yeah, he's human. That's an explanation, not an excuse.

You could get them individually wrapped for a buck a piece last night at the discovery store. Fitting in with your coworkers and neighbors hasn't cost this little since those stupid car magnets.

I agree with Greg as well. People like Michael Douglas, Lance Armstrong, and so many more spend most of their "first" kids' lives chasing after a career and then when they finally make it, their old wives and familes just aren't hip enough for them. So they ditch them and pick up a more "instyle" wife and we're all suppose to drool over them on every magazine cover because they are such "it couples".

While I don't agree with Lance Armstrong in his personal family choices there is no doubt that his fight against cancer and sports success are inspirational to millions of cancer patients and survivors around the world. The braclets are also $1 and 100% of them go to cancer survivor support. They have sold 23 MILLION OF THE BRACLETS SO FAR. $23,000,000 for cancer is NEVER a thing to spit on, no matter if you think Lance's character is flawed.

Speaking of the yellow wristband I thought this little bit of news was interesting...

The Lance Armstrong LiveStrong wristband is similar to a wristband some hospitals use to identify patients who do not wish to be resuscitated:

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/10/Tampabay/Wristbands_called_pat.shtml

Funny thing...

My wife says Lance cancer BEFORE he met his ex.

I'm late in commenting here, but...

This "[people like Armstrong spend] most of their "first" kids' lives chasing after a career and then when they finally make it, their old wives and familes just aren't hip enough for them. So they ditch them" bit is a tad overboard. Kristen Armstrong [1] knew how determined Lance was to get to and remain at the top before they were married, and [2] as an adult chose to stay. Lance has, by all accounts, been an exemplary father and, despite the demands of his career, a pretty good husband. (I'd like to see some supporting evidence for the "Lance spent all his time away from home chasing after pretty, yellow shirts" comment; as someone who has followed his career pretty steadily, I can't remember a single pre-separation incident.) When Lance and Kristen worked at reconciling several times before making the split permanent. The two _still_ publicly maintain great affection for one another. Kristen said it best:

"We've had six homes, three languages, two countries, one cancer comeback, three children, four Tour de France wins and one rise to celebrity. You're not supposed to cram such a huge amount of events into such a small period of time."

Anyone who's read Lance's book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life knows exactly what Kristin is talking about. They also know how much Lance's wife and family mean to him. They tried to make a marriage work. They "failed." If you want to make light of the man for trying, you're well within your rights to do so. Did he (possibly) sacrifice his family for his sport? Do you ever put off a family responsibility in order to make sure you're successful professionally? Yep, and yes, more likely than not.

But honestly speaking, no matter what you think of the admittedly overblown press surrounding Armstrong, the post lacked subtlety.

well said. and I did have to admit, the post was a cheap shot.

But it IS easier and funnier to judge others, whereas judging myself makes me sad.

Kik didn't nurse him back to health that was his mother Linda. Lance did meet Kik until after he was in remission.

Everything happens for a reason. We all get lifes lessons dealt to us. I idea, is to live and learn to manage or avoid the lesson.
God is Love! All we have to do is to watch what life has in store for each and everyone of us.
Do what's right, love one another and pray for God's blessing on each and everything we do.
Lance A,you have three kids that miss you everyday

Greg, that's super funny! And no, it's not too harsh.

To everyone who says "It's no big deal; lots of people get divorced; how dare you comment on his personal life", etc...

Lance made millions from a book with "husband" and "father" in the subtitle, complained in that same book that his own father was merely "a sperm donor", has been shown hundreds of times on the Tour de France podium holding his son over his his head, and was on television asking me to give my time and money to an organization which provides fertility resources to cancer patients because "family and children are such an important issure to him" a mere two weeks before he left his wife.

Those who think the public has no right to comment on his personal life don't take issue with comments about his personal life as long as it is praise.

Lance is not a hero to everyone.

I was lucky enough to be cured of cancer and a facility which played a part in my cure and with whom I have participated in a number of follow up studies was given $1 million (from sale of yellow bracelts) to study "survivorship issues". Dave, if you think that Lance is a hero to everyone and that the money raised is "NEVER a thing to spit on", please re-consider. I will not participate in any study funded by those stupid, yellow bracelts.

There are millions of people out there who've been cured of cancer and most of them haven't cheated on their spouse.

Sure, I'm impressed because he can ride a bike really fast, but being a freak of nature doesn't make the guy a hero.

I would never want or have that kind of a marriage-- away from the wife for several months at a time?
Why even get married then-- and that is not a sign that one's wife is one's best friend & the most important element of one's life. And at least why not postpone kids, like most working professional couples do nowadays..
That's no different than having a glorified maid that one boffs once in a while--
What's the poor woman supposed to do: continue her career, clean house, raise the kids & masturbate nightly-- then proclaim to the media how happy & satisfied she is?
That era is long gone decades ago-- when men ran things & married doormat wives, while boffing the secretary at work AND the local barmaid after work while supposedly closing some deal at a business dinner.

Charles, Lance didn't wait to start a family until he retired from racing because he was still experiencing the euphoria of being alive.

One of my reactions to "It's Not About the Bike" was amusement. I was thinking "Right. Sure. Talk to me again in 5 years."

Inevitably, the thrill of being alive wears off.

It has to.

It did.

The family was a drag, I guess.

FedEx is back.

And I don't think it took 5 years.

80% of all monies that charities bring in can go to the work force, I.E. The Spokesperson and all the costs of production, and anyone else involved. why do celebrities start charities? For all that damn money!!!!!!!

As a father of four, a husband for 20 years and a born again christian, I have a real problem with Lance. The "world" glorifies him for his cycling success and beating cancer but how dare he sacrifice his wife and children? There is no excuse for that. He should have known better, in stead of ending the legacy his own father gave him, he passed it on to his children. Lance claims to be a born again christian too and I don't doubt that. Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven. Having said that, he had an obligation to his wife, children and his Savior to make his marriage work. Divorce is never the right answer, only the easy way out.

I really shouldn't read blogs since they are filled with uniformed and self-righteous people that just make me angry.

Kik did not nurse him back to health, they met while she was working on the race for roses in Austin. She's was always a strong woman and she gets plenty support from LA.

Intelligent people should be able to determine which attributes to emulate from their roll models and which to attributes to develop on their own.

Nobody is perfect, even if they do beat cancer and ride a bike really fast.

We happen to know his personal life because he is in the spot light. I doubt any of those who are posting so negatively about Lance would appreciate anyone looking very closely at their own lives.

To Michelle, Lance and his foundation have a right to choose where the money for research goes. In fact, in total, the foundation has given almost 85 million dollars to cancer research, raised from various resources (not just bracelets). Just because the facility you were treated in did not receive a large sum, or even money designated for research, does not make it wrong. It would be impossible to give every hospital that treats cancer a huge amount.

What is that old saying??? Judge not lest you be judged. I wonder how many people who are posting negative slams about Lance have ever started a foundation, or raised money for anything, or even volunteered to help at a charity function for a day? Not many!

And Mark, Lance has never claimed to be a born again Christian, he actually claims to be Agnostic. However, as a Christian myself, I don't intend to judge him, do you?

Becky,
Perhaps I wasn't clear.

I am refusing to participate in any study funded by the $1 million that came from the Lance Armstong Foundation and those stupid, yellow bracelets.

The amount wasn't my point. The source of funds was my point.

Y'all,
This isn't about Lance being imperfect. This is about the de facto "hero" status improperly given to a man who markets himself as a great guy, husband, and father and then abandons his kids.

Becky,
This "judge not" stuff makes me laugh. What do you think you just did?

Everyone judges.

I judge.

You judge.

We all judge and it's not wrong.

When someone says something you disagree with it's "judging".

Please!

I'm so very tired of hearing about Lance and cancer. He acts like he had something to do with his cure. He didn't! He was lucky.

That doesn't make him a hero.

That makes him a really lucky guy.

I was lucky too. I am grateful. I've never cheated on anybody. Why don't y'all worship me?

You should.

I am a much nicer person.

Right. I haven't won the Tour de France 7x. I can't throw a baseball. I'm not a rock star.

OK all you hero worshipping losers, as you were.

I would have much more respect for Lance Armstrong in making his marriage work then winning 7 Tours!
Matter of fact I have tremendous respect for the couples that no one knows working to make their marriage work than all these stars hooking up and leaving marriages.
I know a couple now at MD Anderson for the husband. He is being treated for cancer. They have given their lives to help other peoples marriages after learning how to improve their own. There should be some kind of huge reward here on Earth for people like that. I do not care if Lance wins #7. I do care if his children survive the almost 70% of people of divorced parents who commit suicide. It is all about perspective and we Americans have definitely lost ours!
Every one wants to call it judging others. "Judge not lest ye be judged" some of these things are just the plain truth. That verse has more depth than the cliche in which it is used by most people. State the truth and people say you are judging. A fact is a fact no matter how much we want to avoid it.

Just my 2 cents.

Whoa! -- how interesting -- 70% of kids/adults from divorced parents commit suicide? With a 50% divorce rate, how many suicides would that portend in a year? Added to the suicides among those who did not have divorced parents, we should be looking at astronomically high suicide rates if your "stats" were even remotely accurate. (I just love it when people throw "stats" around like this that are too ludicrous for words.)

BTW, my parents did NOT divorce, and I wish they had -- because the 7 of us kids were subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse by our father until we had the ability to leave home on our own. Sticking together "for the kids" isn't always what some of you are making it out to be. It isn't always better to remain married when one of the partners is abusive -- in fact, it is much more destructive and dangerous for the kids -- and the battered spouse. (I realize that Lance Armstrong wasn't accused of being an abuser and thus the posters who are condemming him and others for the sin of "divorce" might not actually judge a divorce a "mortal sin" in the case of an abusive relationship. What say you in that situation? Where do the kids fit in that scenario?)

Has anyone heard how Cheryl Crow came into the picture? Maybe I am behind the times.

I am always amazed at how confidently people make pronouncements about other people's marriages. Maybe it's natural to speculate about famous couples but we must remember that WE DON'T KNOW what their issues really are. If two people who divorce share their parental rights and responsibilites and treat each other respectfully, I would say they are doing a good job. On that basis, I would say Lance and his ex-wife (and mother, and Sheryl, for what I can see) are doing a good job. Better we ask ourselves if we are making the most of our own abilities, as Lance has surely done. And I don't think that it's easy to judge what is "at the expense of the children." If the children never get to see their parent, okay--but children do benefit from watching their parents pursue goals. In fact, if you make your child the sole focus of your life you do him/her a disservice.
Thanks for hearing me out.

Lance met Sheryl Crow in October, 2003, a month after the mutually agreed upon divorce was filed.

OK, I have to weigh in on this issue. I used to think that Lance was one of the few athletes that I could encourage my son to look up to as a role model. After all, on paper, Lance has all the qualities a child could admire--hardwork, determination, talent, drive, etc. However, after Lance and his wife divorced I could no longer see him as a role model for my kids. He clearly chose his career over his family. I just read an article on line about Kristin, and apparently she is not taking the divorce well. In the article she said that after the divorce, she, already thin, began losing so much weight that her friends were concerned about her. She also said this was not the family life she always pictured. I mean, Lance hooked up with Sheryl Crow a month after they filed for divorce! He wasted no time moving on to someone famous and glamourous. Lance has said he is going to be Sheryl's guitar jockey on her next world tour. So much for devoting all of his time to his kids! Isn't five months a year to train for the tour enough "me time", Lance? Every time I read a story about him, he is at Sheryl's mansion in L.A. or Sheryl is with him, or he is "squeezing " in an interview while he is home for 3 days to be with his kids. give me a break. The whole father angle with him is just fuel to make him more marketable. Thanks for letting me vent.

I understand first hand what it is like to be married to a dedicated cyclist. My husband is on the verge of becoming pro he is constantly practicing and racing. It takes a lot of time and dedication(not to mention money).
It is true he is gone a lot from our family and there is times where he has gone away for weekends for races, and i am left alone to take care of the children.
As a wife and mother i know i need a partner and i need my husband to be here to help me raise our kids and i end up a lot of the time doing it on my own.His dream of riding in the tour de france clutters desire to be there when his daughter dances in her recital and he misses it for a race or his son takes his first steps.
I can completely understand why kristin divorced Lance she married him assuming they were going to raise a family together and not by herself.
I wonder is winning 7 Tour de Frances a better victory then being the best Dad and being there for your children?
i do however give much recognition to lance and what he has accomplished and overcome and what he has given to the cancer foundation.
But all in all his career was more important to him than his family.

I know this conversation is long over, but I just found it and wanted to speak up, in case it ever continued.

When you see Lance Armstrong with his kids, you know that he is not lying or faking his love for them. When you see how much happier he is on the days that his kids are in France during the Tour, you know that he is genuine. When you see his kids climbing on him during interviews, or playing with Sheryl Crow's camera during presentation ceremonies, or how he interacts with the kids while he's warming up, you don't question him so much anymore.

The thing is, people make sacrifices for their jobs. Lance's sacrifice is that during the past few summers, he hasn't been able to spend as much time with his kids as he wants to. Neither do the other amazing cyclists who work so hard at the Tour in July. And then there are the ones who ride so many more races than Lance in a given season.

Sadly, Lance and Kristin's marriage didn't last. However, I believe that people are always doing the best that they can in their unique situations. Lance and Kik are doing their best to show their children that above everything else, they are loved.

Isn't that the important thing? Loving one's kids and doing anything for them? Just because Lance sacrifices in the summer to ride doesn't mean that he doesn't love or care for his children. And since when does our knowledge of Lance's summer extend to our knowledge of his life the rest of the year?

I am proud to have Lance as a personal hero. I think that he has found a good match in Sheryl Crow, whom he met after splitting up with Kik, because she is another celebrity who understands what it's like to be surrounded by the benefits and pitfalls of fame. From what I've seen, they are down-to-earth and pleasant people, dealing with the lives they have, and doing the very best to love each other and the people they care about.

That, I think, is honorable.

Hi everyone, I've just been given Lance's autobiography, It's Not About The Bike from a friend who thought I needed inspiration as I'm recovering from a sickness.

I think Lance is a great inspiration to me, and now I wanna try to find out everything about him

About the divorce between him and kik, I wonder who decided to leave who ? And why ? They appeared such a good match. Was it a mutual decision ?

And what on earth does he see in Sheryl ??? Why her ??