There have been multiple articles by different sports journalists the past week, compairing Kyle Busch to Dale Earnhardt Sr. This after Kyle and Junior's incident at Richmond that resulted in Dale jr. getting spun in the closing laps with his winless streak in full force. Articles suggesting that this is what NASCAR needed. A villain, against the biggest fan favorite. I'll concede that NASCAR needed more passion, and this fits the bill. But, the nature of the articles seem to be pushing this comparrison angle knowing how it angers Dale sr. fans, and by default, Junior's fans.
The media is doing all it can to fan the flames of passion in NASCAR. They think if they keep pushing hot buttons, and keep the fan base aggitated, more people will tune into the races. That's probably a correct assumption. But there is a danger of turning this into Pro Wrestling, or worse. Get enough people in the stands upset, and you know what? You could have a mob. I'm sure Jeff Owens, Lee Spencer, and other writers doen't want to keep stirring this pot until people get unruley? We don't want the next post race to look like a third world soccer match, do we?
CR, I heard Buddy Baker say today that the comparison of Kyle to Dale Sr., is foolish in his opinion. He (Baker) said that the previous driver Kyle is most like is DW. He said they have the same driving style, the same brash attitude, the same interview style, as when DW first started. I really don't know, I'm just repeating what I heard. I thought it was interesting coming from a former driver.
CR good point you made here.Some of the #### these writers come up with.I sometimes wonder who is paying them.This is a good for racing to a extend.But my problem is everytime a driver bumps another driver,he's the next Dale Sr.It's never going to happen because there is only going to ever be one SR.And he's gone.
Maybe a riot is the only way to make people come to the realization that their fascination or idol worship of a sports hero is a bit out-of-whack. The media may have the ability to incite emotion, but we are all responsible for our own actions. This is sport/entertainment and the results are for real, not scripted. When is the last time there was an "incident" at a Pro Wrestling event? Passion is great....Perspective is a MUST.
CR - good to see your still crossing over to blogs from the front page! I agree with you about the media plugging this but when there are stories other than about Jr, Rowdy, Sr they dont get as much attention, certainly not nearly the comments, so in a way we are reinforcing this trend.
WWF, I hope not but it is good to get away from vanilla racing and personalities finally. I like what moseby said, passion is great but not when its blind...
moseby, what you bring up is the dark side of human emotion. Everyone gets upset at one thing or another. What is troublesome, is how a group of like minded individuals can be moved to violence. From sporting events to peace marches, people can turn ugly, and feel secure in their numbers. That is why I feel the media should always try to be objective when addressing issues that a fan base has emotional attachment to. If enough people engrossed in their hero worship, become angry at a situation, I for one would not want to be anywhere near. I'm not talking about #### mobs, or full scale riots. I don't want to see anymore bottles thrown, or obscenities shouted. NASCAR should be family friendly, and the sports writers have a responsibility to not over play controversies. jmo
Thanks klvalus! ...and thank you for the vanilla racing comment. Yes, we all want ####e in the racing. Fire, burnt fuel, noise in the air; rubber and some dirt thrown in our beer cups at the tracks!
CR...Good Post! At races I have never had a problem, all fans were considerate of others. I also did not see any Busch fans, that might of helped. Jr. fans have always been nice to this Jimmie Fan! There may be a couple bad apples in the group but no riot material. SO, FAR! All the hype is here not at the track.
I have to say that the bleeps you see in my posts are not bad words, unless you consider s p i c e a bad word. I have turned the filter off on my Fox settings, so whatever I write, and any of you write, I can see ver batem. Just wanted you to know I'm not being foul mouthed. Just I can't tell when Fox is BLEEPing me until I turn the filter back on. Anyone that wants to turn your filter off, just go to your blog page and click on settings.
Agree. It appears the laundry basket full of journalists have lost all creative reporting and writing ability. One guy or gal comes up with something creative and they all have to use their thought and expand on it. We see it week after week.
Paybacks are heck and without a doubt.... Kyle's day is coming. The list of potential payback drivers continues to grow each week. I'm just sitting back waiting for it to unfold. No ulcers here, getting too old.
NASCAR, ALMS, F1, IRL, Rolex Grand Am, Air racing, whatever, I love it. Favorite road course, Laguna Seca. NASCAR venue I'd like to attend someday, Bristol. Like most all of the drivers. Only a few bad apples, but hey! That's life!
