Phil Liggett, the Tour de France, and Hearing Voices

On excitement

“It feels weird,” said squirrel.

“But I think I like it.”

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📷: Parts + pieces of One of These Things and Daisy
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What excites you?

It’s July 1.

The sun isn’t even up yet, but I hear his voice.

What do you hear today?

I’ve heard his voice every summer for decades.

It soothes me, transports me.

And, yes, excites me.

What excites you?

His voice brings me back to the San Diego of my childhood, to a kid seeking freedom, and to my first real bike: a silver Nishiki Sport 10-speed.

His voice brings me back to that teen rush of feeling and emotion, when you questioned everything and were left wildly unsatisfied with the answers.

What brings you back to your earlier years; when you not only asked those questions, but felt them riotous + alive in every cell?

His voice excites something deep within me, a mix of adrenaline and anxiousness and nostalgia; keeping me up at night, so amped for the next morning to come.

What excites that kind of feeling within you?

Do you know? It’s there. It is.

For me, in the first week of July, it’s Phil Liggett; the voice of cycling and the Tour de France for more than four decades.

I turned on the TV this morning and instantly his voice sparked that same feeling I had as an 11-year-old kid, and every year since.

My pulse raced, as my thoughts became feelings and feelings merged with passion and passion with possibility.

When I was a teen, I would often pretend I was riding the tour, colorful jerseys and all.

On those days, Phil would narrate my rides, his signature high-drama commentary painting a larger-than-life story of me with each pedal stroke. He made me more than I was.

And now, forty years later, I still can’t wait to get on my bike today—where I’ll surely hear his voice, reliving those kid-sized dreams where everything was possible.

Where will you find excitement today?