The Nascar Theory
There was this great movie that came out a couple of years ago called “Idiocracy”. The basic premise was about how over a 500 year span, we as humans won’t become more intelligent, but rather regress into stupidity. After I saw it, it was pretty striking that of all the futuristic portrayals in cinema, this seemed to be the one that rang true. There are many ways we can look at our society and think to ourselves, “I think we are progressing in the wrong way”. In my very humble opinion, I think we should take a look at the world of sports.
Over the past one hundred years, we in America have been captivated by the 4 “major” sports; Baseball, Basketball, Football, and (to a lesser degree) Hockey. All 4 of these sports, in order for a fan to appreciate them has to have somewhat of an understanding of these games. Baseball is incredibly complicated to the educated fan, with hundreds of possibilities based on field alignment and positioning alone. Plus, it’s the only sport where anyone can be the hero, IE: you can’t send up your best hitter if it’s bottom of the 9th with 2 out. Let’s move to the others.
Basketball is similar in the sense that there are a multitude of plays to run, and all members of the team are integral in developing offensive and defensive strategies to win the game. The fan partakes in this immensely, analyzing the court and becoming a mental coach in his own right. Hockey is no different, with the same processes going on. Football is a massive game, with so many strategies and possibilities that you could fill more than a phone books space up with them.
The bottom line, is that these games require the fan to use his or her brain to not only understand them, but to also follow along in order to enjoy them. They take intelligence. Now, what is the fastest growing sport in America today??? NASCAR!?!?!? Lets take a look-see.
Nascar is a (sport?) where thousands and thousands of people sit down in a giant outdoor arena, to watch their favorite car/driver continuously turn left about 300 times. What’s the goal for the driver? To be the fastest one to turn left 300 times. People, this is fucking ridiculous. We already have a (sport) where we have something fly around a track, and its called horse racing. We gamble on it. We don’t wear jackets of our favorite horses, or keep pictures of them on our refrigerators. Nascar as a company has just as big a merchandising pull on its customers as the hip/hop game does. And yes, I call it a game because Nascar is totally winning.
The fans of nascar don’t have the time to actually involve themselves in situational plays, mental coaching, strategies. I remember my dad talking to me about what the second basemen should do on a flyball to right field with 1 out and a runner on 2nd base. What does the nascar kid hear?
Nascar Dad: “Well lookee there son, watch that car drive around in circles”
Nascar Son: “Yee-Haw dad, I wonder what its gonna do next!”
Nascar Dad: “Well son, if we’re lucky, maybe well see a car crash and some fiery corpses!”
Nascar Son: “Oh Golly paw, that would be awesome! I love watching pointless violence!”
Baseball/Football/Hockey/Basketball Fan: “Human Beings are FUCKED!”
well..well..kind of a shallow outlook on life..how about this for a perspective..I played baseball, football and a little bit of hockey..and raced..guess which was the hardest to win at..racing. If you knew alittle bit of what it takes to campaign a car..and the decisions it takes to be a winner..you might change your mind. And..as a fan..watching all with your favorite in the lead..drinking a cold beer..watching that short shorted sweetie walk buy..without a care in the world..smelling fuel and rubber..well..its just nice to have a free afternoon from heavy thinking..I’ll save that for monday..when the work rush starts..Mike
Well Youre not 100% right about Nascar being just a pointless bunch of bullshit in which they just drive around and around in circles.I have only just recently become a Nascar fan within a couple years ago Id say.there is a great deal of strategy involved in getting a car to go 500 miles without blowing up or crashing..there are many adjustments to make..i.e tire pressure, suspension adjustments fuel conserving braking and so on..the reason I watch..is basically its pretty exciting to see 43 cars flying around a track at 190 or MPH TWO INCHES away from each other..thats the thrill of it.!! YEP!!
I guess I am one of those people you describe that watch Nascar. 6 or 7 years ago, I would of told you the same thing you think right now. Just a bunch of cars going in circles is pointless. Then I met my boyfriend, now husband and started watching it because it was on every weekend. He was the fan, not myself. Overtime though I started getting into it, and now I am as big of a fan if not a bigger fan, than he. You obviously don’t understand how much is involved in racing. There are strategies involved from the start to the end and even when the race isn’t going on. The teams plan and adjust, time things to their advantage, work with other teamates to try to pull off the win. Maybe you aren’t smart enough to understand, maybe it’s just all over your head.
Many years ago I was a NASCAR fan, when it was every driver for himself. The races are now teams who block drivers, bump them out of the race, etc. To me that’s no longer a good race. Remember, NASCAR grew out of the moonshiner’s using their cars to outrun the revenuer’s who were after them for running corn licker. Also, I had friend, BR Alexander, a young up and coming driver killed in a race about 5 years ago which was horrible. I no longer watch the races and am not interested in going to the tracks when all my friends go!!
You’re too quick to judge my friend.
Sure, in America you might see the proliferation of NASCAR but in other parts of the world, soccer is hot. I bet you don’t know a thing about cricket, or and won’t get it immediately either.
The ratio of really bright people to really stupid people has probably not changed much over the last few thousand years. NASCAR only represents a cultural change not an intellectual or genetic one.
I’d say, the rising welfare state in the western world, crippling its own people’s ability to sustain their population is a far far wider problem overall - btw I am a first generation coloured Canadian.
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article ascar Theory, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
I agree that racing is extremely hard to do and a super burst of adrenaline, which of course makes it fun! I agree that watching it is ummmm not so much. Actually, I dread going to a bar on Sunday during NASCAR. I think they have some of the rudest/ most rude? fans I’ve ever run into, which is hard to believe since I’m surrounded by Phildelphia sports fans.
Some of the smartest people in this country are Nascar car owners & crew chiefs.
Many safety,fuel mpg & arowdinamic features on caes today came from Nascar as well as NASA.
Nascar also creates many jobs at the tracks & at the Nascar corp.itself.As well as one of the top advertising mediums anywhere.
not to mention the exercise fans get by walking 100 miles to get to their seats which they than do 500 squats (up % down,up & down) every time the cars come around.LOL
Every race every sunday/saturday is available to watch almost anywhere in the world on tv.Average spectators for each race is double the Superbowls. Drivers & crews get paid according to performance unlike most sports where they sign contracts for ridiculous amounts of money whether they win or lose or even play!
Each drivers loses aprox. 8 pounds during a 4-5 hour race. The pit crew over the wall. 7 athletes perform as one unit to change 4 tires refuel 11 gallons & make adjustments to the car in 12 seconds. That doesnt happen without lots of practice.next time your in your car for 4 hours see how you feel.
I have to agree fully with Brad here, and not just because we share the same opinion of a “sport” who’s self-effacing motto is “Drive Fast, Turn Left”
It’s not a sport, it is at best, a hobby. A hobby which draws hundreds of thousands of inbred rednecks to a track. These are people who make Ned Beatty nervous as fuck, and I can guarantee you you will not find ANYONE with a canoe anywhere near them.
I’m praying to the Flying Spaghetti Monster that the next terrorist attack happens on one of these tracks, and raises the collective IQ of America.
1. Secure ride in a “cup car”.
2. Attempt to drive 500 miles @ 200 mph.
3. Realize that you can’t on around lap two or so.
4. Take dumb-ass rant and stick it up uninformed ass.
5. I’m done.
P.S. Don’t take this personally but I DO speak from experience.
Bullseye, word brother, anybody who thinks this is stupid easy put your money where your mouth is. Spend the money for the Petty driving experience. After 10 laps at MIS( MIchigan International Speedway) at 150 mph I needed help to get out of the car and walk to the stands. the g force in the turns could make you passout & all the vibrations make it hard too see. BY the way I was in my early thirties, 6′, & 200 pounds in average fitness, not a fat inbred redneck.
it’s just temporary popularity. it will always consistently just be the four. bicycling was popular in the early seventies(now temporarily again with lance armstrong)along with a huge popularity in running with Frank Shorter and Runners World magazine back then. soccer, wwf wrestling, boxing, they all have their temporary moments then fade back into only being popular with a small segment of society. the whole redneck thing of the comedy tour, video shows, movies, nascar, etc is enjoying temporary popularity thanks to a niche jeff foxworthy found a way to exploit.
The riginal poster had it right. and you can see by the resposes he got from the nascar fans.
If you would just take a closer look at what he wrote you would all see that he was talking about the “FANS” and not the participants in the race.
Thank you for proving his point.
Just remember this, my friend…
It only takes one ball to play baseball, football, and basketball…
golf is really exciting to watch.