SoCalPVguy
4th December 2007, 00:53
Dale Jr. ?????????????????????????????????????/
If I was DE, Jr. I'd be on my cel. reaming that guy out right now. No mention of oversaturation, suspician of "the call", etc.... Just one driver's fault....
Here's the link...
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/SPORTS/712220403/1010/SPORTS
When in doubt, blame Dale
By Mark DeCotis
special to news-press.com
Originally posted on December 02, 2007
So, after much tap dancing and tango, and after much soft shoe and spin, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France admitted that, yes, the sport's TV ratings are down. But there's a real good reason: Dale Jr. had a bad year.
Talk about putting the weight and the burden for carrying the sport on one guy among 43 who race for their daily bread 38 weekends a year, and ignoring the obvious — which we'll get to in a moment.
Here's what Sir Brian, speaking to a Reuters media forum in New York on Thursday, had to say about Dale Jr. and the roughly 13 percent fall in ratings: "It would have helped if he (Dale Jr.) would have been competitive. He didn't win an event, and he certainly didn't make our playoffs. And that's unhelpful if you're trying to build ratings."
So there you have it, and Junior, if there were any doubts about your standing in the sport, the boss dispelled them, but at the same time sent a message that should resound from sea to shining sea: Get on the stick, son.
The sport depends on you.
Never mind that Jimmie Johnson won consecutive championships for the first time since Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon in 1997-98, and Johnson won 10 races, including four straight down the stretch of the playoff to reduce Gordon's remarkable year to dust.
Obviously, it's all about the Earnhardts.
After giving Johnson his props — "Jimmie's in the early stages of what may be a dynasty," France said. "He's back-to-back champion in the stiffest of competition" — France just as quickly yanked the rug out from under the Hendrick Motorsports ace:
"But has he gotten to the status of Dale Earnhardt Sr.?" France asked. "Of course not. It takes a long time, and your personality has to come out there, too."
If anything, Johnson, who long has let his driving do his talking, has been criticized for a lack of spit and fire, and dash and splash. After all, all he does is win.
It can be argued that France's words mark the first salvo in the sport's long overdue move to pay homage to those who came before as part of its extension of an olive branch to longtime and traditional fans who are leaving NASCAR in droves.
But to throw your two-time champion under the bus in the process?
But then again, we are talking about Dale Jr., the sport's crown prince.
Perhaps the fact that Dale Jr. will join Johnson, Gordon and Casey Mears (remember him?) at Hendrick next season has escaped France. A real good year could be on the horizon. Then what will the excuse be?
Meanwhile, Johnson can be forgiven if he wonders in his solitary moments just what he needs to do to earn his creed. After all, he's won 33 races, 16 more than Earnhardt in 72 less starts (219 to 291), and did we already mention the two ... consecutive ... championships?
Don't feel bad, Jimmie. It's much easier for Sir Brian to blame Junior than to have to think about all the other possible factors for the decline in TV ratings, such as:
• Later East Coast starting times that intrude into dinner hours and family time.
• The perceived glut of commercials, missed re-starts, fawning announcers and, depending on your perspective, overcoverage of certain drivers and undercoverage of others.
• An overabundance of 400- and 500-mile races that can take forever to run.
• Less than compelling — more than a few would say boring — racing.
• The introduction of the new car that while, for all the right reasons, safety being paramount, has resulted in even less competition.
• The perceived abandonment of the sport's Southern roots, and the reality of only one date at Darlington, none at Rockingham and two in California and Phoenix.
And for the xenophobic among us:
• The entrance of Toyota into Cup.
• The invasion of foreign-born open-wheel racers.
Solving the first six issues will take time, patience and persistence — the final two are beyond hope — and perhaps even a more than perfunctory attempt to reach out to all its fans, current and former. Putting the onus on Earnhardt Jr. sure is easy and makes for irresistible fodder for the arguments, discussions and dissection that are the lifeblood of the sport.
But really? Junior had a bad year. C'mon.
If I was DE, Jr. I'd be on my cel. reaming that guy out right now. No mention of oversaturation, suspician of "the call", etc.... Just one driver's fault....
Here's the link...
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/SPORTS/712220403/1010/SPORTS
When in doubt, blame Dale
By Mark DeCotis
special to news-press.com
Originally posted on December 02, 2007
So, after much tap dancing and tango, and after much soft shoe and spin, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France admitted that, yes, the sport's TV ratings are down. But there's a real good reason: Dale Jr. had a bad year.
Talk about putting the weight and the burden for carrying the sport on one guy among 43 who race for their daily bread 38 weekends a year, and ignoring the obvious — which we'll get to in a moment.
Here's what Sir Brian, speaking to a Reuters media forum in New York on Thursday, had to say about Dale Jr. and the roughly 13 percent fall in ratings: "It would have helped if he (Dale Jr.) would have been competitive. He didn't win an event, and he certainly didn't make our playoffs. And that's unhelpful if you're trying to build ratings."
So there you have it, and Junior, if there were any doubts about your standing in the sport, the boss dispelled them, but at the same time sent a message that should resound from sea to shining sea: Get on the stick, son.
The sport depends on you.
Never mind that Jimmie Johnson won consecutive championships for the first time since Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon in 1997-98, and Johnson won 10 races, including four straight down the stretch of the playoff to reduce Gordon's remarkable year to dust.
Obviously, it's all about the Earnhardts.
After giving Johnson his props — "Jimmie's in the early stages of what may be a dynasty," France said. "He's back-to-back champion in the stiffest of competition" — France just as quickly yanked the rug out from under the Hendrick Motorsports ace:
"But has he gotten to the status of Dale Earnhardt Sr.?" France asked. "Of course not. It takes a long time, and your personality has to come out there, too."
If anything, Johnson, who long has let his driving do his talking, has been criticized for a lack of spit and fire, and dash and splash. After all, all he does is win.
It can be argued that France's words mark the first salvo in the sport's long overdue move to pay homage to those who came before as part of its extension of an olive branch to longtime and traditional fans who are leaving NASCAR in droves.
But to throw your two-time champion under the bus in the process?
But then again, we are talking about Dale Jr., the sport's crown prince.
Perhaps the fact that Dale Jr. will join Johnson, Gordon and Casey Mears (remember him?) at Hendrick next season has escaped France. A real good year could be on the horizon. Then what will the excuse be?
Meanwhile, Johnson can be forgiven if he wonders in his solitary moments just what he needs to do to earn his creed. After all, he's won 33 races, 16 more than Earnhardt in 72 less starts (219 to 291), and did we already mention the two ... consecutive ... championships?
Don't feel bad, Jimmie. It's much easier for Sir Brian to blame Junior than to have to think about all the other possible factors for the decline in TV ratings, such as:
• Later East Coast starting times that intrude into dinner hours and family time.
• The perceived glut of commercials, missed re-starts, fawning announcers and, depending on your perspective, overcoverage of certain drivers and undercoverage of others.
• An overabundance of 400- and 500-mile races that can take forever to run.
• Less than compelling — more than a few would say boring — racing.
• The introduction of the new car that while, for all the right reasons, safety being paramount, has resulted in even less competition.
• The perceived abandonment of the sport's Southern roots, and the reality of only one date at Darlington, none at Rockingham and two in California and Phoenix.
And for the xenophobic among us:
• The entrance of Toyota into Cup.
• The invasion of foreign-born open-wheel racers.
Solving the first six issues will take time, patience and persistence — the final two are beyond hope — and perhaps even a more than perfunctory attempt to reach out to all its fans, current and former. Putting the onus on Earnhardt Jr. sure is easy and makes for irresistible fodder for the arguments, discussions and dissection that are the lifeblood of the sport.
But really? Junior had a bad year. C'mon.