Let's hope they'll save it up.
Wikipedia (link under my name) has this on Eddy Merckx:
He won the Tour de France five times.
In 1975, he attempted to win his sixth Tour de France, but became a victim of violence in sports. A Belgian beating the record of 5 wins set by Frenchman Jacques Anquetil did not sit well with non athletic French spectators. He held the yellow jersey for 8 days, which brought his record to 95, but on stage 14 a spectator leapt from the crowd and punched him in the kidneys. He kept racing with a double fracture and took medications. The pain in combination with the medicine caused him to fall during the race and shake the scafolding on the podium. He eventually soon ran out of energy and lost his lead but on the last stage he showed one last sign of defiance by sprinting ahead of the peleton. He would never win the Tour de France again.
Posted by Jim B at July 25, 2004 12:10 AMIt's British "soccer yobs" who are known worldwide for the propensity to turn a soccer match into a riot.
It was a German who knifed Monica Seles, who at that time had some prospect of becoming the best women's tennis player the world had ever known.
It's the French, Belgian and Spanish spectators along the Tour De France who've abused Lance Armstrong, American athlete, for having the temerity to beat them at their own game.
The lowest of the "bleacher creatures" at a New York Rangers' hockey game would never behave as poorly as this, especially toward someone whose achievements he could never match.
Yet there are people who baldly claim that America's first foreign-policy priority should be to regain Europe's good opinion.
In my arrogant American opinion, Europe had better kneel before us and humbly beg our pardon PDQ, before we get really pissed off.
Posted by Francis W. Porretto at July 25, 2004 4:43 AMRipping balls off may be closer to the truth than intended.
Posted by Walter E. Wallis at July 25, 2004 7:28 AMAll this after he tried to placate the crowds by saying that the U.S. should not have gone to war without European support, but I doubt this had anything to do with international politics.
The French, Germans and Spanish are just poor losers, thats with a big L O S E R S.