Team Radio Shack is ‘Breaking Away’

When I read the news releases and magazine articles about the new Team RadioShack, I can’t help but remember the movie Breaking Away. The 1979 sleeper surprised movie makers by gaining more momentum years after its release than in the beginning.

According to the American Film Institute, Breaking Away is eighth in the list of America’s 100 most inspiring movies. Film makers tell us the reasons for the films success are camaraderie and heart. The key players in this film are at a crossroads in their lives. Dave Stohler, Mike, Cyril, and Moocher are in transition between high school and college. They need to prove themselves before they move on to the next phase of their lives. As the story unfolds we get so caught up in the Little 500 bike race that our hearts are pounding and our hands are sweating.

From what I observe, Lance, Levi, Chris, and Popo (and the rest of the team) have the same kind of camaraderie and heart. Just like in the movie Breaking Away, it’s not that the competition thinks the guys can’t win the big one… they just don’t know. The rival teams have a plan, but our boys also have a plan. What drives The Shack’s plan is heart and regardless of the challenges, they are all for one and one for all.

In the movie, Dave Stohler crashed yet he didn’t give up. In fact, he had his comrades tie his injured foot to the pedal. As I remember that scene I think of Lance Armstrong falling when a spectator’s purse hooked his shifter. As with Dave Stohler, it was heart that propelled Lance out of his near disaster into the ride of his life.

When I watched Breaking Away it was years after its release on one of the cable channels. Toward the end of the movie the excitement was so intense I remember jumping on the couch (sort of like Tom Cruise on Oprah) yelling, “Come on Dave… you can do it, you can do it!”

I hope all the fans that are rooting for Team RadioShack own structurally sound sofas because I think this is going to be a jumping year.

The teams, the bikes, the mechanics, the commentators and the fans are all needed for a successful season of racing. But when you add camaraderie and heart, that’s when statistics become historical facts and the season becomes a story we will always remember.

By Danny Roberson, staff writer