"PanFan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:"psycholist" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:Quoted message said:Just saw the OLN "coverage" of Tour de GA and saw Lance's finish line
gesture to Floyd atop Brasstown Bald. So what was that? After the
previous stage, Floyd said, "the discovery guys weren't very nice to
me today." I assumed that was just a figure of speech. But then I
saw that Lance gesture and wondered if Lance is now holding a grudge
against Floyd for moving on with his career.I know it's not like Lance flipped him off or anything, but he sure
was rubbing his nose in the fact that Danielson had just taken away
his lead (though I think Floyd may have been too far back to even
notice the gesture).I had the feeling two years ago that Lance and Floyd were not close when
they were on Postal. Their personalities were like oil and water. They
just
didn't mix. I also get the feeling Lance has been affected by his success
and sometimes likes to exert his status at the expense of other people.Floyd, on the other hand, is a very humble person. He has a very blue
collar down-to-earth viewpoint and a great sense of sarcastic humor to
make
sure we don't take the cycling world too seriously. He's so humble it
might
even hurt his performance; he could use a little more swagger to emerge as
a team leader.
What was Floyd's upbringing? Amish or Mennonite? Whichever ... I know
several Mennonites and one Amish and they share certain traits ... humility,
but also a quiet strength and confidence and an incredible work ethic. I
know it's not PC to generalize and stereotype like that, but if ever there
were groups worthy of stereotyping, it's the Amish and the Mennonites.
Where I live, many of the local tradesmen are Mennonites. They're the
plumbers, the electricians, the carpenters, the brick masons (actually,
they're Amish), etc. They show up when they say they're going to. They do
what they say they're going to do ... and then some. They don't work cheap,
but they tell you the cost up front and they never ask for a penny more.
They're honorable and trustworthy. Those are such rare qualities to find
these days.
I'm not too sure one would foster much of a killer instinct growing up under
that kind of influence. That, and the fundamental underlying belief in God
might give Floyd a personality profile that would clash with someone like
Lance.
--
Bob C.
"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)