fall from grace
Once an angel, now a dunce: Lance Armstrong is Texas Monthly's Bum Steer of theYear
We just love to watch someone fall from grace, don't we?
Surprise, surprise (or no surprise at all), our favorite sullied, surly cyclist, Lance Armstrong, has received Texas Monthly's most anticipated honor of the year, the Bum Steer of the Year.
(Before we continue, let's take a moment to reflect upon Lance's 2005 Texas Monthly cover, in which he wears a halo. It's just too good. Okay, let's continue.)
Previous recipients of the Bum Steer Award include Rick Perry, Anna Nicole Smith, Tom DeLay and Jessica Simpson. Writes Texas Monthly about this year's choice:
In August, after denying for years that he’d used performance-enhancing drugs ever at all in any situation and you’d better watch out if you keep suggesting it, buddy, the famously intense competitor announced that he wouldn’t fight the charges put forth in a new U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that made a blisteringly convincing case that, well, he had. In short order, the Plano native was stripped of his Tour titles, dumped by his corporate sponsors, and, for all we know, asked to return prizes from old Happy Meals. But there’s one thing those bastards can never take from him: He’s our 2013 Bum Steer of the Year!
Armstrong's public downward spiral began in the July 2012, when his restraining order against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was quickly dismissed.
By October of 2012, Armstrong had officially severed ties with Livestrong and was stripped of his seven Tour de France medals.
But what many found most unappetizing about the months-long ordeal was Armstrong's unapologetic attitude about the whole thing, as evidenced by the snarky photo he published to Twitter this November, in which he is depicted lazing about beneath his many framed Tour de France jerseys.
It would seem, in the end, Armstrong doesn't care how many fans he's been stripped of either. At least we've found a new way to honor him in 2013.