Junk Food Nation, by now all of us have heard the news – that Lance Armstrong, he of seven consecutive Tour de France titles, he of Live Strong, he of former Sheryl Crow arm-candy, would be dropping his appeal of the USADA allegations that he doped during his championship bids.  The USADA, the very next day, said they were stripping him of his titles.

For any of you who know me and have read my blog consistently, you know I have a big problem with performance enhancement and doping and cheating in sports, and this case seems equally murky.  On one side you have Lance taking what seems like hundreds of tests proving that he is clean; on the other, you have circumstantial evidence including direct testimony from other cyclists indicating that he DID dope.

The funny thing for me, arising out of all of this, is: what actual impact does all of this have?  I mean, really?  This isn’t baseball, where there’s shock and awe with each player caught.  It’s CYCLING.  You’re kidding, right? I only know about the Tour de France because of Lance Armstrong.  Like I heard the radio say – if Lance is stripped, what gets updated? A record book that no one looks at and his Wikipedia page? Does anyone even care about the Tour de France?  I’m a huge sports fan, and I can BARELY name ONE other cyclist that is a professional.  I know there’s some dude named Landis floating out there, and that’s it.

So if you ask me MY opinion about Lance, I’d probably say that it really doesn’t matter that much, and I’m sure he generally cares even less. Sure, maybe he’ll tone down any speaking tours he has and avoid the spotlight for a while.  He’s being banned from racing?  He’s friggin’ almost 41 years old!  Please.  He ain’t racing anymore anyways.

Lance Armstrong beat cancer, which was incredible.  He started a foundation that has helped soooo many people and raised millions in support of the less fortunate. He brought attention to a sport that I think about…never.  Stripped or not, fraud or not, cheater or not, he’s still the most famous cyclist I know.
The court of public opinion either hates him or still loves him, but his legacy in Live Strong means more to many, I’m sure, than his actual tour wins.

On to happier topics: a quick look at things I’ve seen in stores now!

WHAT THE

Marshmallows that are various ice cream flavors?  Something tells me that the product does not deliver on its promise.  I mean, its cute the marshmallows are colored to be half cone, half ice cream…but I’m guessing these ALL just taste like marshmallows.  Yikes.

Running out of ideas

Jolly Rancher wrapped hard candy around a piece of taffy and is calling it Crunch ‘n Chew.  This is the quickest way to get cavities that I’ve ever seen.  I feel like you’re inviting kids to not only destroy their teeth with sugar, but also with sharp shards of corn syrup.

Bigger than Fruity Pebbles?

Instead of Fruity Pebbles, Post has, for a limited time, Pebbles Boulders!  So…essentially just puff cereal, along the lines of crunchberries.  But oh good, the whole cereal is Caramel Apple flavor!  Ugh…that does NOT sound good to me.  Thank God it’s not a permanent addition to the line.

General Mills not even trying

To quote David Sapde, I liked this cereal yesterday….when it was called Froot Loops.

Double endorsed!

kellogg’s has a lot going on here.  Racecar Driver endorsement by Scott Dixon (yeah, I dunno either).  Target endorsement (I think this cereal was only sold in Target).  And then you theme the cereal to match both the racecar theme (VROOMS) and the Target theme (red rings).

That IS fun….sort of

Too bad that essentially it’s just frosted Cheerios.  And red-circled fun sounds too much like getting a spider bite – I’m all skeeved out now.

Sorry for the delay in today’s post, everyone – it’s a lazy weekend.

Thoughts? Please comment below (I always reply) or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. Also, you can always email me at junkfoodguy@junkfoodguy.com. Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy