One became one of the most famous men in history after becoming the first man to walk on the moon. The other became one of the most famous men in the world for winning the Tour de France bicycle competition seven times.
Neil Armstrong spent a year with NASA after the moon walk, retired, and took a job as an engineering professor in Ohio. After a decade teaching he bought a farm and chaired the boards of two flight technology companies. Armstrong rode in bicycle races and fought a long, dreadful, courageous battle with cancer to return to racing.
Lance Armstrong leaped headfirst into the celebrity machine. Books, appearances; endorsements; interviews, a rock star girlfriend (later dumped), trail biking with a president, flirtations with running for office, a foundation about himself with 95 employees: he did it all (his Twitter account intro says, " @lancearmstrong. Father of 5 amazing kids, 7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter, part time triathlete - LIVESTRONG!"). And he spent a decade crushing rumors he was a doper, aided in his heroic athletic prowess by better living through chemistry.
Neil Armstrong shunned publicity, interviews and appearances.
There were men of different generations, to be sure; the demands of their chosen fields were different.But it is interesting to contemplate their lives and the models they were in their times.
Neil Armstrong died to day. He was 82 years old. Lance Armstrong gave up his fight against charges he used performance-enhancing drugs this week, effectively admitting that he had while denouncing the legitimacy of the regulatory body he- and lots of other athletes, however unintentionally, created.
He's doing a victory lap in his mind, explaining to media outlets how he's at peace with himself.
Neil Armstrong spent a year with NASA after the moon walk, retired, and took a job as an engineering professor in Ohio. After a decade teaching he bought a farm and chaired the boards of two flight technology companies. Armstrong rode in bicycle races and fought a long, dreadful, courageous battle with cancer to return to racing.
Lance Armstrong leaped headfirst into the celebrity machine. Books, appearances; endorsements; interviews, a rock star girlfriend (later dumped), trail biking with a president, flirtations with running for office, a foundation about himself with 95 employees: he did it all (his Twitter account intro says, " @lancearmstrong. Father of 5 amazing kids, 7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter, part time triathlete - LIVESTRONG!"). And he spent a decade crushing rumors he was a doper, aided in his heroic athletic prowess by better living through chemistry.
Neil Armstrong shunned publicity, interviews and appearances.
There were men of different generations, to be sure; the demands of their chosen fields were different.But it is interesting to contemplate their lives and the models they were in their times.
Neil Armstrong died to day. He was 82 years old. Lance Armstrong gave up his fight against charges he used performance-enhancing drugs this week, effectively admitting that he had while denouncing the legitimacy of the regulatory body he- and lots of other athletes, however unintentionally, created.
He's doing a victory lap in his mind, explaining to media outlets how he's at peace with himself.
I always thought in many ways Neil Armstrong wasn't suited to play the role of America's first man on the moon because he shunned the limelight. Perhaps that was what made him so admirable - he never tried to milk an accomplishment that couldn't have happened without the assistance of thousands of others.
ReplyDeleteThe more I read about Lance Armstrong, the less I like him. Yes, his foundation work is a positive, but his personality does seem to, shall we say, have its shortcomings.
Interesting comparison and a good read.