- All that said, I am a strong believer in *appropriate* reverence, giving respect where it has been earned, especially at some cost. The World Championship Rainbow Jersey is a jersey that merits respect, all on its own, for what it represents. So too the wearer of the Jersey deserves respect - it is the equivalent of Golf's PGA Championship, the player's championship race. If a current World Champ is hurting in a race, other teams will help out the Champ, because the Jersey never fails. The Champ is expected to be a leader in the pack, if not the pack captain. The institution matters, the wearer is presumed to have earned it and to have earned respect. Reverence is due, and appropriate.
So I have three questions about the photo below that I'd love to see you answer in comments:
1) Is this rider giving proper respect to the U.S. National Roadrace Championship jersey, and explain why you feel he is or isn't.
2) Do you think the person taking the photo from about 20 feet away is showing proper respect to the sport and/or the jersey by taking and then posting this photo?
3) Can you imagine current wearer of the World Championship rainbow jersey - Paolo Bettini, a killer on the bike but by all accounts a nice guy and class act - getting caught out in this position by a photog, or for that matter most of the European pros allowing the jersey to be in any sort of distress? Do you think this says anything about Levi, and do you think that it has any bearing on his race performances?
[Update: I can't help but get in one final bike culture-related dig. Would it surprise you to know that the guy who took the picture is a triathlete, not a roadracer? Triathletes... they ride bicycles alright but it seems to me that not many of them are cyclists. FWIW I hesitated to post this photo but thought the point had to be made.]
Fire away.
16 comments:
1. When you gotta go you gotta go.
2. The picture should not have been taken, particularly of the jersey holder. NO CLASS, no respect for tradition.
3. This simply would not happen in in Europe. Too much respect for the sport, the jersey, and the jersey holder.
LTC Tim
1/ The shot is a commentary on the general lack of respect for cyclists. I'll bet Levi knocked on a few doors to use their toilet and got turned down.
2/ The person taking the photo is not taking a photo, they are collecting "states evidence".
3/ No, not Bettini, or Cippo, or any other Euro champ. Refer answer 1 for justification.
Do I have to show my work as well?
Anyways...
1) He is not giving props to the jersey. If I walked out and saw this on my lawn or while walking the dogs I'd give him an earful. He's not even attempting to be discrete angle about it. They arrest people after football games for that kind of thing.
2) Why on earth would you take a photo of that? That said, there are Watson photos of more or less the same thing, albeit from a more discrete angle.
3)I'm hesitant to read that much into it. It's a dude taking a piss in a poor place. We've all been guility of it. Plus, he's the US champ, not the world champ. You think anyone gave a rat's butt about Chann McRae or Marty Jamison in the same jersey? How about Brochard as world champ.
It's a fairly classless thing to do and Levi got caught, which is not surprising given the number of cameras that are out there nowadays.
Let Levi ride. (into your front yard to take a dump)
Trek is now funding the "let levi piss" campaign.
1) I didn't realize that was actually Levi. He's like school on Sunday. There are better ways to do this. I prefer to do the "Let me put my bike down and squat next to it to check out a mechanical" ruse.
2)I'm torn on the picture taker. I don't think I would take this picture if it were on the side of a mountain, but on a residential street, yeah I think I would. He shouldn't be doing it.
3)Nope. Levi is an a perfect analogy for what europeans think of americans. No class, and ultimately soft.
1. They FILMED this exact thing for La Course en Tête and The Greatest Show on Earth, the old Eddy Merckx film/documentaries. Everyone's gotta piss sometimes and he's not pissing on the jersey.
2. The photographer has very little class taking a picture like that.
3. I think Paolo and Cipo would be caught eventually if they raced in front of this photographer.
Triathlete, hmm I don't know any so I can't say.
He is not urinating, but Whizzinating, thus lightening the load for the next big climb. Johan will have another clean sample Whizzinator ready in the team car for the ride into the finish.
At least the dog had the decentcy to look away, showing more class than the photographer.
1. I think that he chose that time and place to do it was poor. Most of the race in TOC was done out of city limits. I never have to go that bad on the bike. But it takes a man to show his 8===D in public.
2. It was a triathlete that took the shot. That explains a lot right there. He was probably mostly noting that the national championship jersy has sleeves. ;-) Kevin Dillard got Jason Miedoff peeing last year at toona.
3. I am sure if you typed up Bettini peeing in italian you might find pics of him. I really do not care for Levi. I was rooting for Big George for once with all his attacks.
Knowing a triathlete took the shot explains it. He's merely going to share it with his brethren to show them all that they don't HAVE to continue pissing on themselves when they race.
Jim, you crack me up, I have learned a lot from you this winter. LOL.
I think whoever took this picture has about zero class, and I don't care who took the pic.
I just don't know how I feel yet about the way cyclists and triathletes piss like that off their bike. It's disgusting though. I also think both triathletes and cyclists both are guilty of it!
If I ever see a triathlete pissing off his bike during a race, I may have to yell some obscenities at him.
Yeah, I envision all the tri geeks staring at that pic like monkeys with a bone in 2001.
"Look, he's pissing, and he's on a bike BUT HIS CHAMOIS IS DRY! HOW does he do that? When will that technology come out in carbon fiber!?"
My answer is WHY DOES THE U.S. KIT LOOK SO EFFING TERRIBLE?
Okay, that is a question, but its been bugging the hell out of me. Seriously, candy gay blue, candy gay red, and white (suck and) do NOT match with Astana baby blue and the dehydrated pee-pee yellow colors.
That lady behind him is hot
I'll leave the morality aspects of the act and the photograph to others, but I'm pretty sure if the commissaires catch you pissing in town, you're going to owe the UCI a few Swiss francs. The way things are heading, they can probably use the cash.
Judi, peeing is fine for roadies, just there are some expectations about decor - turn away from people, if on the bike get out the back of the pack to do it, etc. Pissing yourself is absolutely out unless you're at some critical juncture in the race and it's either pee yourself or lose the race. Even then... you'll catch abuse and probably get called a triathlete.
Pete - Levi's jersey is Team Astana's fashion choice. Each team has some freedom to integrate its members national championship colors into the kit.
Mayhew - the thing that kills me about IM triathlon, is peeing yourself while on the bike, then eating dextrose cubes off the bike's top tube. Ick!
of course nobody took a picture of the dog pissing. good dog! of course he isn't wearing the national frisbee colors either and there are no iditarod dogs with sleeveless sweaters, cameras, opposable paws, and an axe to grind either.
sigh... just goes to show you why my wife has three dogs and only one husband.
LTC Tim...
Post a Comment