I’m not talking about that tired old argument about why someone would watch cars drive in circles. The same type of logic could be applied to why would someone watch 2 women spend hours hitting a fuzzy ball back and forth over a net or why why would someone watch a couple of men with 16 pound balls and wrist thingies use those balls and wrist thingies to try to knock down ten motionless pins while swilling Miller. If you put it on TV, someone will watch it. That goes without saying.
What I want to try to figure out is the growing popularity of NASCAR. What was once a redneck sport followed almost exclusively by men with beer guts, pickups, and rebel flags whose wives had jeans two sizes too small and tweety bird tatoos on their breasts, and who could kick their husbands’ asses, is now mainstream–or at least almost mainstream.
People with several initials after their names and all their teeth are now watching NASCAR. It is unprecedented.
I have a few theories I would like to investigate with the great minds of this board.
Theory 1) The rising popularity of NASCAR has less do with NASCAR itself than with the rising popularity of redneckism. People want to be rednecks, or at least associated wth rednecks, but they want to be able to do it without giving up dental hygiene. NASCAR is an easy solution.
Theory 2) God is so pleased so that they got rid of cigarette sponsorships, that He blessed them with wide-spread popularity and success.
Theory 3) A few years ago, evolution came to a grinding halt and began reversing itself.
Since I don’t believe in God and I have not been told by a reliable Jewish, homosexual, socialist high school teacher that option three is scientifically valid, I’ll have to go with this one. Aside from my taking up the banjo, what other evidence do you have that redneckism is on the rise?
Re: Re: Re: Let’s try to explain the popularity of NASCAR
We were laughing over lunch one day about a show on TV broadcasting live bass fishing. As boring as that seemed, we figured it was probably far more exciting that a show on dead bass fishing.
NASCAR is popular because of the crashes and cars slamming into one another. It’s also the reason why you see rubber-neckers on the highway slowing down to view a wreck alongside the road. Also explains why unicyclists like to view ‘crash’ videos.
My observation is that it is popular because it mirrors the way they drive on the freeways in Georgia – Always tailgating just like NASCAR.
They are trying to get a NASCAR track built somewhere in Oregon or Washington. One community just north of Seattle already nixed the plans for a NASCAR track due to the heavy traffic it would cause because of all the people trying to get to and from the races. There was also the issue of noise for those who lived nearby the planned track. They’ll keep looking for a place for the track and eventually they’ll find a suitable location.
If we do end up with a NASCAR track in Washington I’m just hoping that my observed positive correlation between freeway driving behavior and NASCAR driving behavior does not hold true for the freeway drivers around here.
NASCAR recently made to the Chicago area.
(by means of a new track)
There was LOTS of people who didn’t want it in thier nieghborhood.
They eventually built very high walls to contain the sound.
(I heard it still bothers locals)
I can’t imagine how loud it is inside
I personally can’t watch it.
My eyes bother me after 5 minutes of watching.
(I have eye muscle issues)
When I go up north to go hiking/fishing/camping, the locals watch with a ‘glaze’ over thier faces and a beer in thier hand. Eventually the bar closes and they do thier own version of ‘drunken NASCAR’ on the way home. If they don’t hit a deer on the way home, or drive into the ditch, they will get up and do it again the next day.
(I’m talking about weekends)
I have no reason for it’s popularity except for …
It’s another reason to drink beer.
(… and chew Skoal)
I wont comment on that one …
(I can’t wait to hear from our members from WI on your comment )
There are very nice people ‘up there’.
Unfortunately, not a whole lot to do in the evenings.
(if your not married, or if your married and not happy, or if your bored, etc …)
Oh, I just realized … you could blame local TV broadcasters.
(For not providing better entertainment)
Or, you could blame TV in general
Only way i am associated with nascar is, are the wrecks, that is seriously the only reason ill watch most racing events is for the wrecks.
Mean as that is, cause i know ppl getting in the wrecks can easily be killed and injured, i find the rest of the race to be very tideous, so the only part ill check in on for races are…
Highlights - did anything really amazing happen?
Wrecks - how many cars? how bad was it? was there pretty explosions?
and 3. Who won - was it a close race or did he win easily?
thats pretty much it, so unsted of watching a 2 hour race where the cars are going over the same course agian and again, i like to narrow it down to about 5mins fo what i find to be most important =p
Never having been to the USA, I was not fully educated by the above Redneck definition, and in my ignorance felt I needed to know more. A short troll around the office suggested Brits in general thought rednecks were Canadian. The following link largely satisfied my thirst for knowledge, and probably will do the same for any other reader who lusts for such a dubious educational experience.
It appears to be a fairly serious attempt to define the word and its origins.
That’s quite interesting because in Afrikaans a ‘rooinek’ (very literally ‘redneck’) refers to an English speaking person.
This dates back to the Anglo-Boer War where the light-skinned British shoulders would get their necks sunburnt in the South African sun.
It remains as a disparaging term for English speaking people irrespective of their country of origin, even if they are South African.
PRE-EDIT EDIT: I only now noticed that this is mentioned right at the bottom end of that article.
