Lance: Ambassador of Running
Could 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong be distance running’s biggest ambassador?
LiveStrong himself plans to follow up his sub-2:50 performance at the ING New York Marathon by running the Boston Marathon on April 21. This is Lance’s first Boston, and he will again run to benefit his foundation, which supports cancer research.
Armstrong might just possess the celebrity and drive to give the sport of running the shot-in-the-arm it deserves. He proved in New York that he’s no slouch when he laces up his Nikes, and his global recognition and appeal is much greater than anyone named Haile or Hall. What’s more, Lance clearly draws new subsets of fans — including cyclists and general sports fans — into the sport of distance running.
The point? After defeating cancer and scores of bikers in the hills of France, Lance Armstrong will look to make Heartbreak Hill his next victim. He’ll have more than a few cameras on him while he does this. This is not a bad thing.
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January 23rd, 2008 at 9:17 pm |
Well, it becomes a bad thing when the TV producer cuts away from the Cheruiyot/Lel duel in the front to get another update from Lance. TV time is a zero-sum game, unfortunately. But I’d rather have Lance than, say, Dawn Timlin, Red Sox fan though I may be.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm |
At first I felt a little resentful at a non-runner stealing the spotlight, but I guess when you have a lesser-known sport like running, you should be thankful for any attention you can get. And at least he admits that running isn’t easy. Third times a charm, I’ll be cheering for him at Boston.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 pm |
Regardless of your thoughts on Lance, you have to love these commercials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO8_N4YkEns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcojlAmHMzk&feature=related
Feed the warrior!
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm |
Love the commercials. But I’m not sure how Lance helps the sport. The first question is “What do we want?” Do we want more average runners? Not if we want to mirror the NFL and NASCAR. They don’t want more mediocre drivers. They want more revenue to support support the top tier of the sport, and that will drive (excuse the pun) a grass roots movement. Talent chases the money!
If the Holy Grail for running is more television revenue, than the answer is altering the sport to fit that medium. Of course volleyball changed their rules for that purpose and there hasn’t been a significant change in their status. The only thing that ever helped their ratings is female beach volleyball outfits. Now that’s something to hang your hat on. Very professional!
We already tried that with female pole vaulters. More fans for that event, but are they the fans we want?
Unfortunately, to understand a sport you have to go back to its’ roots. T&F started as an amateur sport and it is tough changing its’ color. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
The truth is we have enough runners trying to complete marathons. If Lance created 100,00 more it would still only be the shoe companies and race organizers that profit. Where is the trickle down to the professional?
So to be redundant, “What is our goal?”
January 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pm |
my feelings:
He BQed at NYC, he deserves the right to run at Boston.
Everyone seems to forget that before being a champion cyclists, he was first a triathlete, who was a good runner, for anyone to say that he is a non-runner and stealing spotlight is a complete fallacy. If anything he brings attention to the sport.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:48 am |
Thanks for the comments, folks. The guy clearly trains hard, runs 2:46, and doesn’t toot his own horn about it. Do I want the focus of the TV coverage to be on Lance the whole time? Of course not. But maybe it brings a few hundred more people out to the race that wouldn’t have been there, making them fans of the sport, not just Lance.
I’ll take Lance as the “celebrity” spokesperson of running ANY DAY over P.Diddy or Oprah. =)
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm |
[…] Lance is what he is — an amazing cyclist-turned-amateur marathoner who is a mighty fine ambassador for the sport. Last 5 posts by Steve Holtcompetition - April 14th, 2008The House that Webb Built? - […]