A Tale of Two Armstrongs

...What? You were expecting some sort of Dickens-eqsue parody? I haven't even read “A Tale of Two Cities.”

Anyway....

This weekend, America lost two great Armstrongs, one to death, the other to his own hubris.

America's finest.

Let's take each in turn. Yesterday, we learned of the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. He is universally regarded as one of humanity's greatest pioneers, literally the first to walk on an alien world. He is considered a man to look up to, whose accomplishments show that with the dreams and the drive, one's potential is almost limitless. Not only that, but his accomplishments were coupled with a great sense of humility, as he was a man who never sought the spotlight and indeed commonly went unrecognized.

I admit, it's not the most flattering picture.

On Friday, we learned of Lance Armstrong surrendering his fight over doping allegations. Armstrong was, of course, the famous bicyclist who earned seven Tour de France titles despite battling cancer. His story inspired millions, until he was accused of doping several years ago, tarnishing his record. In giving up his fight against the allegations, it seems a tacit admission of wrongdoing, no matter what he says to the contrary.

Now personally, I feel like too much weight is put on sports figures, even in the cases of major, record-breaking ones like Lance Armstrong used to be. However, some people see them as heroes, as they should, for accomplishment in sports, coaching or playing, still requires hard work and dedication.

However, in recent years, more names have been tarnished and ruined, from allegations of cheating (Marion Jones) to acts that are flat out evil (Joe Paterno, who abetted Jerry Sandusky's perversions). Both names are now stained and defined by their footnotes instead of their accomplishments.

Neil Armstrong, to me, seems to hearken back to a day when we could look back at our heroes, in sports or otherwise, and not have to worry if they would be tarnished by self-inflicted scandal. It feels like, in this modern day, we can not find people of integrity who we can look up to and emulate without finding some dark blot in their past.

One day, I hope we can again find those people like Neil Armstrong, who can be a shining example of excellence. The kind of people whom we don't preemptively fear will reveal a darker side of themselves.