July15

Horses Finally Out-Do Bikes

One of the main themes of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is the notion that emerging technologies are starting to take over the world. What once was a stable facet is being pushed aside for the next big thing. In the case of the movie, horses (the main mode of transportation during that time period) is being pushed out by bicycles – which is really a metaphor for the demise of Cassidy and the Kid.

In current ESPN news, bicycles are getting killed in the coverage department by the very animal they took place of way back when.

For the past two weeks, at least, Babaro news has been ranked higher than news from the Tour de France. I don’t mean that more people are reading it, I just mean that it’s higher on the page – which users might equate with being deemed more important.

Wait. Think about it. The world’s greatest race is getting a better news push than a horse that broke its leg and might die? Wow, I guess Lance Armstrong was the only thing worth watching in that race.

If you ask me, this is incredibly stupid.

The Tour de France is an insanely grueling race that gathers 170+ of the world’s most enduring athletes. It takes three weeks to complete and the riders will ride over 2,200 miles (nearly equaling the minimum amount of lapsed miles to get an oil change). The race saw Lance Armstrong win the previous seven in a row and this year several of the top riders were suspended for doping before the race even started. This will be the most wide open Tour in many years, but apparently we’re not too concerned with that.

No, we’d rather check in on the condition of a former race horse who has a fatal foot disease. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an animal lover and I dislike seeing animals in pain. But is this really ESPN headline worthy? Yes Barbaro was the latest horse that had a good shot at winning the Triple Crown, but he didn’t. Now he’s ill and could die, which sucks. I understand that these race horses lead good lives and even though some may become hurt/ill, it’s important to keep them alive, if to just keep their genetic line going. But to get headlines up higher than the Tour de France? Please.

My advice: the doctors best take some steed sperm before they taste a hint of Barbaro in their next serving of Jell-O.

UPDATE:
Even ESPN’s own are calling them out for this silly coverage.

+ original post date: July 15, 2006 03:59 PM
+ categories: Pop Culture, Sports, WTF