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Lance a Lot...In Fact, Too Much?
Look, I admire Tour de France mega-champ Lance Armstrong as much as the next guy. He's amazing, courageous, the quintessence of cool (in an athletic way, of course). But do we REALLY need another outdoor magazine cover shot of him? Seriously, once again on the cover of Outside Magazine this month there is Mr. Armstrong, strong arms-crossed glaring into the camera with that "I'm such a studly bastard I can pretty much beat you at anything" look on his face. Yes, he just finished the New York City marathon in under three hours, a very impressive feat for a guy who's used to having a seat under his arse when he exerts himself. All very good. But I mean, give someone else a chance to be on the cover for once.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
coach Nov 17th 2006 12:43PM
the NYC marathon humbled him a little: an NYC newspaper said that, after he "shuffled into" the press conference after the race, he said, "In 20 years of pro sports and endurance sports, even the worst days on the Tour, nothing felt like that or left me the way I feel now." And when asked if he'd do another marathon, he said, "I don't know how these guys do it."
RogueWanderer Nov 18th 2006 3:59PM
Interesting observation Erik. I took a quick look at their archives. Lance has been on the cover every year for the last four years:
2006 - Dec. The Outside 100
2005 - Jul. The Greatest Athlete in the World
2004 - Jul. Can Anybody Beat this Guy?
2003 - Jun. Exclusive Interview
If you look at their covers through the years it looks like there has been a general shift towards highlighting more celebrity athletes. In '06 they've had Bode Miller, Armstong, Landis, Landon Donovan, and Kelly Slater on the cover.
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http://www.roguewanderer.com
Erik Olsen Nov 18th 2006 4:01PM
Thanks for the comment Roguewanderer...nice site btw...I agree it seems they're going more with celebs. Such a shame that this is how you have to sell mags. I jsut hope they don't push it too far and we end up with Britney on the cover someday.
Mike G Nov 19th 2006 12:08AM
Yes, I like Armstrong as well, but I agree with the author: does this guy love his own mug, or what? How many magazine covers does he feel he has to appear on? I thought the self indulgent narcissistic publicity whores all lived in Los Angeles and worked in the film industry.
Thinnmann Nov 24th 2006 10:07AM
Duh - Like Eric said, it is about selling magazines. Lance's face is more likely to be picked up by the #1 target audience of magazines: women aged 25-55. It has nothing to do with him bing a "self indulgent narcissistic publicity whore". Outside could get smart and have one cover to sell on newsstands and another to send to subscribers. There wouldn't even be an outside magazine if it didn't sell. They need to get those ads into the hands of all those women who do most of the buying in this country. So let 'em put whomever they want on the cover. If you don't like it, don't buy it.