[OT] Congrats

[Tim Wunder]

On 7/28/2003 9:29 AM, someone claiming to be Tony Alfrey wrote:

> On Sunday 27 July 2003 09:11 am, Klaus-Peter Schrage wrote:
> 
>>... to all Americans on this list for Lance Armstrong's fifth Tour de
>>France victory.
>>I hope you know what I'm talking about - cycling doesn't seem to be
>>very popular in the US, in spite of Lance.
>>For me, the TdF is the sports event of the year.
>>Klaus
> 
> 
> Thanks!  Cycling is certainly popular where I live (up in the coastal 
> mountains south of San Francisco) and we always seem to see an 
> increased number of teams on some of the Category 2 climbs leading up 
> to and during the Tour.  But I think that a lot of the attraction of 
> the Tour would be to actually see it in France, not just on television.
> 

FWIW, how, exactly, would you go about televising cross-country bike 
races? I mean, week to week. Football (American), Baseball, Basketball, 
Hockey... they're easy. Set up the cameras in a building and away you 
go... Even Soccer (Football), whcih *does* have a limited following in 
the States, is easy to televise. Bike racing, well, it's just doesn't 
make logistical sense for mundane, week to week races (are there week to 
week races in cycling?).

The TdF gets its press, and people follow it, but it's just not a sport 
that lends itself to television. Doesn't mean people aren't interested.

At least that's my perspective on it...

Regards,
Tim