John F has written a comment on my last post that I think is so important and eloquent that it bears repeating today. I have been particularly busy this morning with other sites and projects and was going to fob off F1 Insight with a few thoughts on Renault's possible sandbagging during testing - John's contribution is much more interesting and revealing and needs to be read by those who control the sport. Max says he reads the blogs - let him read this then:
As a red blooded American who loves F1, I think that the reasons for how NASCAR is perceived by us 'elitists' is not unique. I feel that most American F1 fans are somewhat like myself.
Monaco
"I am now 44 years old and have loved openwheel racing since I was a child. My father still thinks that racing is for rednecks. I think that was the reason for me to like another form of racing besides NASCAR. I was willing as a young boy to agree with Dad about NASCAR but not racing. I used to watch the tape delay broadcast of Indy. It was always on the same day as the race - at 11:30 at night and, until I was a teenager, I could only watch until 12:00. Dad would give me 1/2 hour to watch something that I enjoyed even more than football. ABC would then broadcast Monaco on their 'Wild World of Sports' and this is how I was introduced to F1.
"I was able to watch only two abbreviated races a year until I was 16. I was the only one of my friends who liked openwheel racing. Most northerners did not think racing was a sport at the time. They thought it was a thing like entertainment, similar to professional wrestling. So for a person such as myself, I did feel somewhat different.
"I immersed myself in everything I could read about 'my' sport. When I began to meet people who enjoy 'my' sport, I noticed that they acted and felt the same way. Because we did not get much coverage for our sport we would take whatever the papers and networks would give us.
"As NASCAR's popularity climbed CART rose on it's shirt-tails. Thus 'my' sport was becoming more popular. I enjoyed schooling new fans, bringing them out of the dark and into the light. You see, Clive, for us American fans, we are just not used to getting what we want when it comes to openwheel racing, F1 or otherwise. I read the blogs because I feel that you guys know more then me about the sport. I feel how you feel from your writings. But also as the sport became harder to find (after the split) the internet exploded and became my highway for information. The ambivalence and social elitist feelings that Americans fans feel are related to the way we discovered 'our' sport."
I am sure that fans all over the world over get much satisfaction from following a sport as rarified and technical as F1. But John reveals how the American F1 fan has had to struggle to gain his view of the sport. He truly has a right to feel superior after so long a battle.
This also throws light upon something that always mystified me somewhat - Scott Speed's passionate desire from an early age to race in F1. It is clear that there are Americans who can and do appreciate the sport and this makes the treatment meted out to them (and to Scott) the more shameful and worthy of protest to the administrators of F1. I hope that Max does read this and is moved to have a strong word with Bernie about his heartless destruction of important races on the calendar.
The news of CVC's loss of $3 million through its investment in F1 gains no sympathy from me. CVC is a faceless investment corporation that was beguiled by Bernie into believing it could make a fat profit from our sport (yes, it does really belong to us - we foot the bill in the long run); they deserve everything they get.
F1 is now in the terrible position of being owned and run by people who care nothing for the sport itself. They are involved because they see the chance to make a lot of money. The sport exists because a minority of a minority chose to support it and they remain the best hope for its continuance as a competition between the best that humanity can aspire to, both in technology and in skill. And, while the powers that be continue to ignore the thoughts and dreams of these, the core supporters, F1 will continue to slide towards something that is not watchable, that is no more than a test facility for manufacturers and a series of artificially manipulated contests between identical cars.
John's comment is a cry from the heart that needs to be heard.
As a red blooded American who loves F1, I think that the reasons for how NASCAR is perceived by us 'elitists' is not unique. I feel that most American F1 fans are somewhat like myself.
Monaco
"I am now 44 years old and have loved openwheel racing since I was a child. My father still thinks that racing is for rednecks. I think that was the reason for me to like another form of racing besides NASCAR. I was willing as a young boy to agree with Dad about NASCAR but not racing. I used to watch the tape delay broadcast of Indy. It was always on the same day as the race - at 11:30 at night and, until I was a teenager, I could only watch until 12:00. Dad would give me 1/2 hour to watch something that I enjoyed even more than football. ABC would then broadcast Monaco on their 'Wild World of Sports' and this is how I was introduced to F1.
"I was able to watch only two abbreviated races a year until I was 16. I was the only one of my friends who liked openwheel racing. Most northerners did not think racing was a sport at the time. They thought it was a thing like entertainment, similar to professional wrestling. So for a person such as myself, I did feel somewhat different.
"I immersed myself in everything I could read about 'my' sport. When I began to meet people who enjoy 'my' sport, I noticed that they acted and felt the same way. Because we did not get much coverage for our sport we would take whatever the papers and networks would give us.
"As NASCAR's popularity climbed CART rose on it's shirt-tails. Thus 'my' sport was becoming more popular. I enjoyed schooling new fans, bringing them out of the dark and into the light. You see, Clive, for us American fans, we are just not used to getting what we want when it comes to openwheel racing, F1 or otherwise. I read the blogs because I feel that you guys know more then me about the sport. I feel how you feel from your writings. But also as the sport became harder to find (after the split) the internet exploded and became my highway for information. The ambivalence and social elitist feelings that Americans fans feel are related to the way we discovered 'our' sport."
I am sure that fans all over the world over get much satisfaction from following a sport as rarified and technical as F1. But John reveals how the American F1 fan has had to struggle to gain his view of the sport. He truly has a right to feel superior after so long a battle.
This also throws light upon something that always mystified me somewhat - Scott Speed's passionate desire from an early age to race in F1. It is clear that there are Americans who can and do appreciate the sport and this makes the treatment meted out to them (and to Scott) the more shameful and worthy of protest to the administrators of F1. I hope that Max does read this and is moved to have a strong word with Bernie about his heartless destruction of important races on the calendar.
The news of CVC's loss of $3 million through its investment in F1 gains no sympathy from me. CVC is a faceless investment corporation that was beguiled by Bernie into believing it could make a fat profit from our sport (yes, it does really belong to us - we foot the bill in the long run); they deserve everything they get.
F1 is now in the terrible position of being owned and run by people who care nothing for the sport itself. They are involved because they see the chance to make a lot of money. The sport exists because a minority of a minority chose to support it and they remain the best hope for its continuance as a competition between the best that humanity can aspire to, both in technology and in skill. And, while the powers that be continue to ignore the thoughts and dreams of these, the core supporters, F1 will continue to slide towards something that is not watchable, that is no more than a test facility for manufacturers and a series of artificially manipulated contests between identical cars.
John's comment is a cry from the heart that needs to be heard.