tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post8760163598520951895..comments2023-10-31T06:31:41.395-04:00Comments on Bottom of the Barrel: Frank Deford Wishes Life was Still Like the Movie "Grease"Bengoodfellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-38078542747669636122012-04-05T08:56:58.640-04:002012-04-05T08:56:58.640-04:00HH, I did think about the massive demographic shif...HH, I did think about the massive demographic shift with the baby boomers also. I thought the shift couldn't have happened this quickly over the past 10 years. NASCAR had great attendance just a decade ago, or less. I find it hard to believe demographics could change so drastically in just a decade. I could be wrong though. I have no proof. It just seems like the economy is a more viable reason. <br /><br />I grew up in the heart of NASCAR country. I lived 25 minutes from Charlotte Motor Speedway and I never went to a race. It is on my bucket list, so I can say I went to one, but I'm not in a hurry to go to one. I would worry a/b many of the reasons you didn't like the race. I would probably have to watch a race on television to know what is going on. I tend to have some sort of semi in-depth knowledge of what is going on to enjoy a sport. I think a NASCAR race would be better on television because you may be far away from the race at the track. <br /><br />You are correct there is a difference in no one learning a skill and no one having to learn a skill. I used to change the oil in my car, and I know how to do it, but I don't do it anymore because it is much easier for someone else to do that for me. I think there are still gearheads, they just don't necessarily fix their own car if something goes wrong if they can afford to pay someone. I am sure some do, but others don't. <br /><br />I completely play with my iPod in the car because I want a different song on, not because I'm bored. It adds fun to the ride, but I would certainly get in my car and drive to work if I didn't have a radio. <br /><br />Even if you have said it before, it is still true. I check the Internet while I watch television. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching television.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-28997274442305713302012-04-04T18:12:06.483-04:002012-04-04T18:12:06.483-04:00I always wanted to go to a NASCAR race just to see...<i>I always wanted to go to a NASCAR race just to see what it is like, but I also don't think I would enjoy it very much. </i><br /><br />Grew up in Texas near the Texas Motor Speedway, got a chance to go to an Indy Race and a NASCAR race.<br /><br />They're boring as fuck.<br /><br />Because of the speed that the cars are going, it's damn near impossible to see anything. Then you add in the fact that 1/2 the race happens half a mile away from you and you get something that might be worth watching on TV, but not paying money to go see.<br /><br />To be fair, that's true of most sports, baseball in particular where there's a lot of downtime. The difference is that instead of grabbing a beer and talking to the people around you, you're more likely to be terrified by the person sitting next to you.<br /><br />I'm not a huge fan of NASCAR or Indy, but I like cars and I'll watch the occasional race or two, but holy shit you could not pay me to go back to a race.<br /><br />The first five or six laps are awesome, you hear how loud it is and you see how fast they're going and it's actually a really amazing experience.<br /><br />Once the excitement of seeing it wears off it's just noise (headaches!) and things moving too fast to actually see anything happening.<br /><br /><b>There are no more gearheads growing up in America.</b><br /><br />This is absolute mother fucking horseshit.<br /><br />1) One nice thing about America's economy is that if you grew up in the lower middle class (or higher), you didn't have to fuck around with your car, you took it to your mechanic. <br /><br />It's like saying "no one builds their own electronics, so there are no more engineers." <br /><br />There's a difference between people not having to (because they can't afford to pay an expert to do it) learn a skill and no one learning that skill. I know a ton of people who are gearheads, they just do it sparingly when it's necessary.<br /><br />2) Does it help if you're really into cars? Sure, but that just adds a layer of interest to the race.<br /><br />It's like when I watch a football game with friends who didn't play football growing up. We all watch it and we all enjoy it. Sure, my ability to recognize defenses and call plays and analyze things is something that makes the games more enjoyable to me, but fuck if I'm telling someone "unless you know what the A gap is, you just go ahead and change the channel."<br /><br /><b>Sure, younger people still view automobiles as a necessary evil to get from A to B</b><br /><br />Again, just because I don't know how to fix my engine doesn't mean I don't enjoy driving. I love driving, it's probably the most fun I have all day (traffic willing). There's absolutely nothing that says that if you don't know everything about something, you can't enjoy it.<br /><br />I'm a PhD in engineering, I love science, but I have no clue how the space shuttle does what it does (in depth). Fuck Deford for implying I can't enjoy watching shuttle launches on youtube because I don't know everything about the shuttle.<br /><br /><b>plug in their iPods, change CDs or fool around with the GPS.</b><br /><br />These aren't things we do because driving sucks, these are things we do because they make driving better. I also don't know one person on the planet who goes "Oh man driving sucks, let me play around with my GPS." You play around with your GPS because you're lost (not fun) not because you don't enjoy driving.<br /><br /><b>They otherwise want to talk on the phone, eat and drink,</b><br /><br />I know I've said this before Ben, so please bare with me:<br /><br />If you can apply a sentence to anything else, then it's not a good argument.<br /><br />There are literally THOUSANDS of things people do while on the phone, eating or drinking. <br /><br />Going out to lunch with your friends clearly means you don't enjoy spending time with friends.<br /><br />Watching a movie? Don't get the popcorn or soda!<br /><br />Going to a baseball game? You better not get a beer or a hot dog.<br /><br />And they wonder why newspapers/magazines are dying?richnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-67287259929437058192012-04-04T15:56:49.514-04:002012-04-04T15:56:49.514-04:00Here is the problem with this finding...younger ge...<i>Here is the problem with this finding...younger generations didn't want to mess around with cars in the early 2000's when NASCAR was peaking in attendance and popularity. Why was attendance great a decade ago, but is flattening out now? Am I to believe a decade ago the younger generation liked to mess around with cars, but the demographics have changed very drastically in the last decade?</i><br /><br />Actually, with the baby boomers aging and hitting retirement, we're going through a massive demographic shift. Not sure if that's relevant (I don't care enough about NASCAR to study it) but it's possible that the NASCAR demographic has passed the peak age of NASCAR attendance and they have to get used to permanently lower attendance numbers.HHhttp://www.twitter.com/kingharisnoreply@blogger.com