Human Limits

In response to the drop Lance Armstrong as fast as you can movement by his sponsors and his resignation as chairman from his foundation one reader sent me a note that went like this:

”He is finished – might as well move to his house in Spain and not come back.”

 I am not sure if Lance has a house in Spain, but I think we all get the point.   At one level perhaps he should try to preserve as much of his reported $125 million fortune as possible, keep a low profile and hope that he does not drown in a tidal wave of lawsuits and settlements.

So, the question is will Lance have a second act?  F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that there “are no second acts in American lives.”   Lance was trying to forge one in the triathlon, but he was cut off at the pass by USADA in terms of competing at the highest level.  So what is next?  One crazy thought I had is that maybe Lance will “come clean”, write a block buster book, name names, and set the record straight (at least from his perspective).   Who knows he might even find religion?

If something like this does happen, he would not be the first fallen public figure to cash in that way.   To the extent he is driven by the need for fame, celebrity, and cash this might be his best option.  To the extent he needs to be driving the narrative, perhaps it is his only option.   If Lance fades away so be it.  If he opts for the second life I have outlined it will be a nine ring circus.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.