I may be alone in this, but I want to like Lance Armstrong. I really do. LiveStrong, a charity spearheaded by Armstrong until late 2012, has raised $470 million dollars in cancer research. Those numbers alone are pretty fantastic. Those numbers paired with other "accomplishments" have led me to this conclusion: Armstrong is not an overall bad person. He has done some really amazing things and doping or not, being a profesional athlete takes a lot of hard work. So, I will say again (and I don't think I'm alone in this) I really want to like Lance Armstrong, but he sure is making it very hard right now!
This blog post is a response to an article put out by The Atlantic "Rebranding Lance Armstrong: Marketing Pros' 6-Step Recovery Plan" all in all a good article and an easy read, so if you want to read it before continuing on with my post feel free, but I will give you a brief summary now: In order for Lance to recover from the web of lies he has created he must follow a 6 step recovory plan. 1.) Confess to Oprah 2.) Confront what he has done- or lay low 3.) Take up a new charity 4.) Don't rat anyone else out 5.) Make peace withe the media 6.) Distance yourself from LiveStrong
There's nothing new under the sun. Lance Armstrong is not the first brand, public figure, or even athlete to pull at the public's heartstrings in an attempt to get back in our good graces. As the article we all just read points out the first step to getting the public's attention is to sit on the infamous couch and cry it all out there. When I say cry it all out there, Lance better be crying on that couch more than I did for the 2 hours and 37 minutes of my life that was Les Miserables, because if the public can't physically see you're sorry no one will think you are.
The main problem for Lance Armstrong is he is already instead of pulling a Tylenol he went Toyota. In crisis situations there are "3 V's" of which you can embody: Villain, Victim, or Vindicator. Lance, like Toyota, has thrown himself in the Villain role. By spinning a web of lies for so long and creating unjustly accused persona Lance has lost the ability for people to see him as the victim of team bullying. The only option left for him is to move from his current role into the role of vindicator. That is the re-branding which needs to take place for the public to trust him again.
Lance Armstrong fell out of my good graces some years back when he was so arrogant about beating his cancer. Many people had told him they had been praying for him~strangers who were trying to express their concern and affection for him. Instead of showing an ounce of humility or gratefulness, what does he do? He shook his fist at God and proclaimed to the world, "God didn't do this. I did this!" ~ meaning that he worked to overcome his illness. Armstrong has yet to learn a simple life lesson, you need to tell yourself the truth. When you tell yourself the truth, your life has a foundation built on character. He'll never be remembered for the $470 million or all the gold medals. He'll be remembered as one who never told himself the truth.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by the above comment. I think giving God credit for our accomplishments is one of the saddest things that happens in modern society. We do great things everyday, we need to own them rather than assign the credit to mythology.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ken. However, I do think that there is power in the good thoughts/prayers/wishes from one human being to another. Whether one believes in God or not, one should always be appreciative when others extend a hand and wish you well- that's just common decency. Thoughts really do count and support matters. It's one thing to say you accomplished something with the help and support of all your fans and another to say you accomplished something while ignoring the fact that you had so many people rooting for you. Jacquelyn is right in stating that one needs to be truthful to oneself. A more accurate statement would have been "God didn't do this. We did this!" acknowledging all his doctors and supporters. He wouldn't have been able to do it all alone.
ReplyDeleteAm I like the only person who doesn't really care about the whole doping thing? Like does anyone actually care about cycling? Or the fact that if we give Lance's trophies to anyone not connected to the same stuff it would go to like the 23rd person? Dude did a lot more good through his inspirations to Cancer victims than he did bad with this stuff.He doesn't deserve all the vitriol.
ReplyDeleteNot that I really care about the whole doping thing, but I do think that we should make the rules consistent between sports. Armstrong is caught doping and is stripped of his titles and banished from cycling. Seattle Seahawks Sherman and Browner test positive for adderall, which is considered a performance enhancing drug, and are suspended for only four games. If we don't maintain these standards we will only be teaching our youth that the rules do not apply to everyone.
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