Not bad for a middle aged menopausal gal.
Posted on 07/08/2005 6:02:21 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Rocker Sheryl Crow has ruined the Tour de France.
Well, she's ruined it for me, anyway. I'm sure her fans are much more interested in cycling now that she's lending her astute commentary to the race coverage.
But I'm not impressed, or enlightened. Just annoyed.
Because her famous boyfriend, Lance Armstrong, is wearing the yellow jersey, I'm supposed to care about what she thinks of his position in the peloton?
No, thanks.
Listen. We know you support him. We all support him. My guess is, when he was married, his wife even supported him. But she wasn't sharing her insights with Bob Roll and Al Trautwig. And she probably knew more than some spotlight-hogging rock star.
What makes Crow's ubiquitousness more disappointing is that the Tour de France was always one of those sporting events that didn't seem to need the touch of celebrity; huge as it was in the cycling world, it managed to keep a low profile everywhere else. In my teen years, I scoured the networks for signs of the tour, but those days, it wasn't huge. There were no cable networks to track the live progress of Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon or Pedro Delgado. Instead, I'd set a VCR for six hours on a Sunday, and cross my fingers for about 20 minutes of highlights.
Now I have the luxury to watch every stage live if I want, and listen to the sharp commentary from Phil Liggett - who's been narrating the tour for as long as I remember - and Paul Sherwin. It's a great thing for Tour junkies.
Until now, when the second-day commentary featured Sheryl Crow, in her breathy, soft Southern twang, fretting: "Oh my gosh, I was sooo worried that I made Lance's foot slip out of his pedal, 'cause I gave him the thumbs-up just then, and I asked him later, 'was it my fault?' "
Ugh.
There she is, on a split- screen while Lance is pedaling furiously. There she is, on the sidelines when the racers start the stage. There she is, riding in a support car with five- time tour winner Hinault. There she is, canoodling with Lance.
There she is, EVERYWHERE.
The tour doesn't need Sheryl Crow to make it relevant, but yet there she is, in front of the cameras, sharing her thoughts and relating to the masses. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts playing a number or two during the pre-race coverage.
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't give the geniuses who decided to put her on the air in the first place any more ideas.
Ohyeah they do. That's why he's only been in four races this year. That's why this is his last race. To be with his kids.
You all know how I feel about Sheryl Crow and her karma crap. But if she was any kind of woman, she would let her boyfriend enjoy the spotlight, and just be seen, not heard. I highly doubt Lance would give a play by play of a Sheryl concert.
How about her leaving him because of his bike? She knew what he was and what he did for a living before she married him. She couldn't handle it and she left him. Do you think of her poorly?
Armstrong recently described the Tour as a combination of a marathon, chess and NASCAR. It is very strategic in terms of setting up riders. But at the end of the day, they must perform at the right time. No where to hide in the individual time trials. No where to hide in the final stretches of the mountain stages. That is where Armstrong excels and where is consistently wins the Tours. This year he might have won it in Stage 1 when he destroyed the field (save Dave Zabriskie) by almost a minute in a mere 20 minute time trial. No "blockers" no "conspiring" just pure athletic dominance. The key moments in every tour are the one-on-one's and Lance is the best in the world when it comes to those moments.
Not bad for a middle aged menopausal gal.
Sheryl Crow is an ugly, publicity-hungry idiot.
I've never seen past armstrong's treatment of his wife: She supported him on his rise to success and during his cancer. He then took the rewards for his success and left her.
THAT's not a real man.
Why on Earth does anyone give a flyin'....Never mind.
You do not know what you are talking about.
So tiresome.
What did you think of the promo Sheryl Crow did for NASCAR?
Sheesh. I dumped tv eight years ago, left the radio a few months ago, and dumped all internet news a little over a month ago (it's easy with gmail). I checked my old hotmail account and noticed a headline about the tour.
Here I am doing my 15th Seattle to Portland bike ride tomorrow and I didn't even know the tour was going on.
DOH!!!
Actually, life has been much, MUCH better.
I'm off and back to ignorant bliss. Everyone have a nice day and if something terrible happens that doesn't directly effect me, don't tell me. Meanwhile, I'll keep my powder dry for when it is time to take up arms.
Keep me posted for that.
Well, I've never tried my hand at racing, but at one time I rode my bike to work and back every day. (12 miles round trip is all it was) Ugh. I don't really know what a five degree slope looks like, but I know that there were a couple of hills on my route that were pretty steep. It took me a couple of months (this with doing some pretty intense PT every day, too) to get to the top without stopping or slowing significantly. Plus, I would practice riding around different areas on the island where there were LOTS of steep hills. Still took forever to figure it out. :)
The thought of climbing the Alps on a RACING bike (and not a mountain bike) makes me shudder! :)
Go Lance!
Take a nap.
Sheesh. For the hundredth time, Armstrong did not meet his wife until post-cancer.
Enjoy the ride.
I'm doing my 10th Michigan MS150 tour next weekend. 200 miles over two days.
SHAMELSS PLUG-I'm raising money for the Michigan Multiple Sclerosis Society. If any Freepers would like to support my ride, Freepmail me.
I should try to make a FR decal for my helmet. Last year I had Bush/Cheney '04 sticker on it. Got a couple of positive comments.
shamelss = shameless
Americans have a short attention span for sure.
Remember: Beauty is only skin deep. Stupid goes through to the bone!
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