Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Sport
Rashi Agarwal
With the recent news of a potential sequel in the works, one scene in 2004's classic Dodgeball seems pretty awkward looking back now.
And if you've never seen Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, then where have you been?
Here's the trailer, in case you want to refresh your memory:
The film introduces us to Vince Vaughn's character, Peter La Fleur who tries his best to keep his gym afloat.
With his livelihood constantly threatened by rival gym owner, White Goodman (played by Ben Stiller), Peter enters a Las Vegas dodgeball competition with some of the eccentric members of his gym, Average Joes, to win the big money of $50,000.
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However, the competition soon becomes personal when White, clad in his shiny attire, also enters with his own team.
And it looks like the game might not be over just yet, as reports have said that 20th Century Fox is currently planning a return to the court in a sequel.
But, like with many beloved films, there can often be some elements that now seem a bit awkward in hindsight.
And Dodgeball is one of them.
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In the film, Peter is paid an unexpected visit from White, who offers to buy Average Joes for $100,000.
With this sizeable offer, anyone would be tempted, and Peter ends up accepting it.
When at the airport, he stumbles upon Lance Armstrong, who, at the time, was a seven-time Tour De France winner.
When Armstrong learns about Peter's plan to give up on the tournament, he ends up lecturing him about the significance of 'perseverance'.
"Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life," Armstrong says.
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He then says to Peter that he's sure his decision won't haunt him forever.
Armstrong is one of the world's most famous athletes, having won his sixth Tour de France yellow jersey that summer.
However, he ended up being stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for life, following allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs.
After initially denying the claims, he later admitted to Oprah in 2013 that he had been using drugs.
And the irony of the scene certainly hasn't been lost on viewers after a rewatch.
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Someone wrote that Armstrong's cameo had definitely 'not aged well', while another said his motivational speech was 'kinda ruined' now.
And one person said: "Genuinely hoping that the hilariously-poorly-aged Lance Armstrong cameo in Dodgeball will be addressed in the sequel."
The movie's big-picture message about being a 'good sport' and playing 'fair' does stand strong though- even if Armstrong himself didn't always walk the walk.