So Long World Cup
It was nice playing along as a wannabe soccer fan for a while. Yes, yes, we know you're not done yet. But, you see, the Tour starts this weekend. And now that the media machine known as Lance Armstrong has left the building, Seattlest is actually (gasp) excited to watch this time around. The past few years of the Tour have been like sex between people who've been married forever--still feels pretty OK, but you know exactly how it all is going to happen. We'd give you the blow-by-blow of who is lined up to win the yellow, but everyone is already doing that, and the best part is that it is a long and varied list of contenders this year. (Apparently there's that whole doping controversy-palooza as well, in case you've been living under a rock.)
People have been griping about US coverage of the World Cup, but you can't say that about the tour. OLN's coverage of the Tour each and every year is stellar--Phil Liggett is a god amongst plebians when it comes to commentary, and has the most extensive knowledge of the sport we've ever witnessed. He is also one of the most entertaining people to listen to; as we read over his pre-race preview, we could hear the lilting, syncopated excitement of his voice echoing in our head. We'll gladly listen to the cycling kingdom's court jester, Bob Roll, rattle on like an idiot just to hear Liggett describe what a man-beast Jan Ullrich is.
The other reason we're excited? Floyd Landis and Dave Zabriske. They're younger (they've got blogs!), and almost the Anti-Lance of professional road cycling. Lance called them Dumb and Dumber, but like everything else that came out of The Armstrong Media Machine's mouth, it just sounded like Charlie Brown's school teacher. He was so fucking boring, merely a machine on and off the bike. They are actually entertaining in the saddle and in life, as witnessed in this interview of Landis that Zebriske conducted for Bicycling magazine.
If we had one wish for this tour, it would be the return of Tyler Hamilton. He may have broken his collarbone three Tours ago, but Seattlest's heart broke when he was suspended from racing due to drug testing results (we don't think he actually was doping, nor was Armstrong).
Best place to watch the Tour? On our couch, over and over again. If anyone knows of good venues where people actually watch this at 8:30am in Seattle, by all means drop us a line and let us know.
Photo of Dave Watson jumping the Tour peloton in 2003 from Scott Markewitz/Kona Bikes.
