Brett Banter

In the days preceding the 2011 USA Cycling Pro Road Race Championship, local celebrity and race favorite George Hincapie did not receive his typically celebratory homecoming. Instead, he spent the week attempting to escape the shadow of a more notorious event – his alleged connection to the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. But by Monday evening, upon the race’s finish, that scandal was but a small blemish on Hincapie’s otherwise shining portrayal in the Greenville community.

So what changed? Nothing, frankly, except a bit of perspective. The story’s arc can easily be traced to correspond with Hincapie’s arrival in Greenville. The news of Armstrong’s doping broke on May 21, with a 60 Minutes interview where Hincapie apparently admitted to participating in the steroid use. The community quickly erupted into debate over whether to continue supporting such a figure. The Greenville News expressed concern for Hincapie’s privacy while in Greenville, but more importantly doubted whether Hincapie’s claims of innocence were true, or true enough to overshadow the credibility of 60 Minutes’ reporting.

In contrast, WSPA-Spartanburg’s nightly tv-magazine program, Scene on 7, aired an intimate interview with Hincapie, showcasing his family life within the Greenville community, and positioning Greenville as a lucky town to have such a celebrity choose it as home. Although this interview was scheduled before the scandal broke, it nevertheless conveniently placed Hincapie as a hometown hero in the midst of national controversy.

Yet by the weekend, when Hincapie actually arrived to prepare for Monday’s race, media coverage made a decided shift from negative to positive. The scandal remained in the back of everyone’s mind, but as a minor misunderstanding that could be cleared up in due time. The Greenville News reversed its tone, running an article that argued the cycling doping scandal, while legally significant, has little bearing on the public’s perception or enjoyment of the sport. The News continued coverage of Hincapie’s preparation like it would any other year, and Scene on 7 featured local sports commentators stating that local fans would wait until the full story broke to cast judgment on Hincapie.

By race day, the story became a familiar celebration of Hincapie, and with him, Greenville’s growth to an area of national prominence. Hincapie didn’t even win the actual race; he was overtaken in the final 10 meters by Wisconsin rider Matthew Busche. But winning was a formality at this point; for the media, Hincapie’s very presence in Greenville was a win for the city. In the recap of the event, The News focused not on the race itself, but on the community’s continued support for Hincapie, motivating him with parties along the race route and a send-off celebration before his European departure. From this angle, it’s not only Hincapie who appears a hero, but Greenville that appears the idyllic community in which heroes are born.

The lesson? Once a hometown hero, always a hometown hero, as long as you keep supporting the hometown. Scandal or not, first place or not, Hincapie, and Greenville, came out winners in the end.