Like it or not, he has been the dominant figure in U.S. cycling over the last 15-20 years. I’m not sure if most Americans (other than the minority who follow pro cycling closely) could even name a single other U.S. cyclist or any pro cyclist, whereas most Americans, even non-sports fans, probably know who LA is. It’s natural for many to want to see more on the story, while others may want to just move on and stop digging into the old news. Both perspectives are understandable, but I don’t think it’s particularly nice to mock people for wanting to watch the movie. It’s not about hanging onto old fantasies of Lance as a sports hero. It’s about understanding more about what took place at the heart of pro cycling (and what is probably still happening, given recent cases like Frank Schleck and Contador).
I know some non-cycling observers go overboard and go on about how cycling is inherently corrupt. Similar to how some rabid anti-bike people seem to think only cyclists break traffic laws and exhibit bad behavior. This attitude overlooks the massive drug problems in popular team sports like baseball and football as well as in some Olympic sports like track & field. (The majority of the superstars in baseball over the past 25 years seem to have been caught up in various drug scandals, and it’s still going on: A-Rod, Ryan Braun, Manny Ramirez, et al.)
Anyway, it’s a touchy subject, I know. But I think there is valid interest in the topic. I see it as something similar to a political investigative documentary. Unpleasant topics, ones that I usually don’t care to spend my free time thinking about or watching on movie screens. But in this case, the subject is pro cycling, something of more interest to me and to others than the latest Congressional or banking scandal.
NOTE: I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I don’t know whether it’s worth watching. But the topic is of interest, and a good documentary would be worth watching, for me. I hope it was well-directed.
.
