Alan, I can't disagree with you more... on just about everything you said. To begin with, being a northerner, I can tell you that NASCAR is beginning to bridge the gap between the "redneck" south and north. I work at a Hedge Fund, full with people who drive porche's, not a "'75 Corvette propped up on blocks," who are going home, I think tomorrow, or maybe Friday, to watch NASCAR. In addition, many of my friends in college have started watching it as well. I went to a northern university and many of these friends are New Yorkers.
Second, perhaps the first reason people ever watched NASCAR was to see a crash. Once popularity builds, and you understand the drivers, the cars, the rivalries, it becomes more about the race and the competition between the "athletes" and their machines than witnessing a wreck. A perfect example of this is me. I'll give NASCAR a chance, as my friends did, not because I want to see another Dale Ernhardt catastrophe, but because I see my boys getting amped at the competition and rivalry. A crash is the last thing on my mind... if anything I hope they DON'T happen. Who wants to see Booby Labonte out of the race on the second lap because of a crash. Its like seeing El G go down in the last lap of the 1996 Olympic Final. NO FUN! As for running. We need less "fluff" pieces about all the hardships runners endure, and more action. What would you rather see... Tim Broe talk about how he lost his cat in 5th grade and that's why he decided to start running? Or 7:39 seconds of dueling it out with Leonard Mucheru... changing leads and splitting 4:01 for the last mile? The announcers should have bios on each athlete and let them talk about those interesting tidbits as the race goes on... no reason to pull away from the action. And if you think John Q Public will go away feeling cheated cause Broe got outkicked by Mucheru, you're crazy. No way, no how. Same with when BK took the lead in the Olympic 5k... I don't think any American would really come away from that race thinking it sucked. My non-runner friends hate watching track BECAUSE of all the downtime where there is no action. Show 1-2 hours of races and end it. No more FLUFF! Mike _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
