Think about what has happened and is happening to the legacies of Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong. I mean seriously, just wrap your head around the news yesterday:
1. Alex Rodriguez hits his 600th home run....to a chorus of....meh.
2. Tiger Woods has to explain whether he would accept being chosen as a captain's pick, if he is chosen, because he is not one of the 8 best golfers in the country!?!?!
3. Lance Armstrong has to sit at home and listen about how the Feds are closing in on him and his possible doping.
Wow! Now lets look at five years ago and where these guys were at:
1. Alex Rodriguez is one of the best young players in the game and was our shining hope, our shining light for someone to dethrone the asshole that was, and still is, Barry Bonds. I remember thinking you know what, to hell with Bonds! Even though I'm not an A-Rod fan, I will gladly cheer for him as he chases down Bonds and gives us a clean Home Run King.
2. Tiger Woods was the greatest golfer on the face of this Earth. Records were falling and he was soon going to be the greatest golfer of all time and shatter every record Jack Nicklaus ever held. He was somewhat brash, but was still someone that parents could be happy for their kids to look up to.
3. Lance Armstrong, I mean what can you say about him. Lance Armstrong always has been and always will be an inspirational story. The way he beat cancer, came back and was the greatest cyclist on the face of this Earth. He actually made people, other than the French, care about the Tour de France. That was a feat in itself.
It just blew my mind yesterday watching all this unfold and how much things have changed. So the question is, what will the next five years bring?
1. Alex Rodriguez should break or be close to breaking Barry Bonds record, barring injury. The biggest question is how many people will be cheering for him to do it? How much will that record mean in five years? I personally would rather A-Rod have it than Bonds. Mostly because the only thing I wish about Bonds is that he had never existed.
2. Tiger Woods should be back to the form, or close to the form he once displayed, if he can get healthy and once the media buzz and paparrazzi has died down some from his prior indisgresions. Will he have the fan base he once had tho?
3. Lance Armstrong will be out of cycling and I'm sure will still be raising money for cancer research. The only question is will his accomplishments be tarnished or not?
What a difference five years can make. The one that bothers me the most is Lance Armstrong. I'm not a cycling fan but I've always been a huge fan of Lance. What he did and meant to so many people is an amazing story! I just hope what is being said isn't true, but it doesn't sound good. What do you guys think about these three?
