Since Spring Training baseball games aren't regularly televised this early on and I just can't get into NCAA basketball, I decided to sit down yesterday and watch some NASCAR for the first time ever. After all, Fox Sports wasn't just televising any old race - it was the Daytona 500 - the Super Bowl and World Series of auto racing (which kicks off the NASCAR season, as opposed to other sports where the important game is played at the END of a season). And with Danica Patrick in the pole position, who could resist watching such an exciting event? Well, with all due respect to my NASCAR-fan friends, it definitely was my last time sitting down to watch an almost four-hour car race.
First of all, I had no idea there would be an hour-and-a-half of pregame stuff. With baseball, you tune in at 7:00 for a 7:05 game, and with the Super Bowl, you tune in half an hour before kickoff to see who's going to sing the National Anthem. But no, I sat there waiting for the drivers to get in their cars, and that didn't happen for a long time. I did sit through an interesting explanation of why the cars are designed the way they are (these are Generation 6 cars) and how they're going back to the old-school design that makes Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas easier to identify. But then they had a ZZ Top look-alike band sing a couple of songs, which were just not my style (OK, time to go downstairs and put some clothes in the dryer). Then they had all forty-some drivers come out one at a time onto this big platform - that took way too long, though it gave me a chance to see how many good-looking ones there were!
When the race finally began, I realized that I can't follow a sport in which so many things are out of the main athlete's control. If your curveball doesn't curve, it's up to you to correct it. If you drop a ball in the outfield, it's your fault. If you strike out or get into a batting slump, you need to figure out what you're doing wrong. In auto racing, yes, the driver is ultimately responsible for getting his/her car across the finish line, but you have a whole team of people who can screw it up for you. Your pit crew can be slow, the guy talking in your ear can tell you the wrong thing, or the guy driving behind you can bump into you and send you crashing into a wall (or another car). Way too many things beyond a driver's control for my comfort.
One thing I did like was that after sitting in a car for almost four hours, not able to scratch an itch or blow your nose or eat a sandwich, the drivers were very gracious with reporters. Even after a few of them got into bad wrecks and had to leave the race, they were nice when a microphone was shoved in their faces. I would not have been in the mood to talk to anyone, and if I had been wrecked, I would not have had nice things to say. Kudos to the drivers for understanding the importance of coming across as civil and decent (which is probably why Jeff Gordon wasn't interviewed immediately after getting out of his car). Interview a baseball player after losing an important game and he probably wouldn't be as gracious.
So that's it for my NASCAR experience. Tonight I'm going to watch a Spring Training game on the MLB Network, which is definitely my thing. And the World Baseball Classic begins this Saturday - any time I can root for Team Puerto Rico... that is DEFINITELY my thing!
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