Posted by
Blue Collar Slave on Friday, February 09, 2007 11:17:18 PM
Without a doubt, or embarrassment, (well, maybe sometimes a little) I am proud to proclaim that I am a Robby Gordon fan.
Wow, you're still with me?
I don't really know if that really relates to what I am about write here, but if you are a NASCAR fan, you might understand why I thought it would be appropriate to declare that before we really get started.
How many people watch NASCAR?
How many people attend/support NASCAR?
How many shows are on TV surrounding NASCAR?
If you've ever attended a NASCAR race, or at least seen one on TV, you know how many people attend a NASCAR race. Think about how much money is involved, from the drivers, to the team owners, to huge corporations sponsorships, to peripheral souvenir items, and so on.
NASCAR is huge. Period.
It often out ranks most if not all of the tradional "stick and ball" sports for TV rankings.
So, where's he going with this, you ask?
Ok, I’ll tell you.
In one weeks time, me, my wife, and our little boy, will be winging our way from the left coast to the east, to spend a bunch of hard earned cash on the biggest underground event since, ....... I don't know what!
The Daytona 500!
Often you'll hear the political right wing complain about the "left wing media bias".
Well, I’ll tell you something, the traditional sports of basketball, football, and baseball are much more common, but nothing can capture you like NASCAR, and no one in the "main stream media" seems to give a damm. Men, women, and children can relate to the heroes in this sport, and it's as American as apple pie. But the powers that be seem to be ignoring the fact that there is even a market out there at all. Sometimes I want to scream at the top of my lungs about how crazy this is, but then I catch myself and stop. As I said before, it is nearly an underground event as far as the media is concerned. And that's actually OK with me. The last thing the sport needs is to have Katie Curic trying to under stand how to relate to these supposed Stupid Red-neck hicks. With the way things sit now, it is a perfect mixture of competion, enjoyment and drama. I can't imagine the elite media machine trying to act in a way that fits the NASCAR model and have it seem believable, let alone enjoyable.
With the addition of Toyota to the sport this year, it has already had an effect. People I work with will come up to me and ask (since I’m apparently the only local supposed Stupid Red-neck hick) about what I thought about it. This from the people who always say, "yeah, but they just go around in circles".
So, I guess we'll see. I think that there is always growth in Nascar, and I think it will one day be a bit more main stream, but for now, I think it's good.