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Question

Dragged A Jeff Gordon Beanie Around Lately?: A Reality Check
Holding a Pretty Wheel · Amy Henderson · Friday July 13, 2007


You know the guy (heck, maybe you ARE the guy). He parades around the track with the little Jeff Gordon doll in the noose dragging behind, just hoping someone will kick it around. He (or she) boos Tony Stewart vehemently during driver intros. He calls Jimmie Johnson all kinds of unprintable things that have nothing to do with his racing ability. He is pretty vocal about whether Jack Roush is well, a nice guy or not. He has already decided that he will no longer be a Junior fan because Junior is going to drive for Hendrick Motorsports.

There is a small but vocal group of race fans who seem to have more fun hating one driver or another than they do cheering for the drivers they do like. They appear to attend races with the singular goal of booing a driver (or a select group). In fact, they boo louder than they ever cheer-at least until the guy they were booing gets in a crash. If-heaven forbid!-the guy they were booing actually wins-they shower him with beer cans, many with a good portion of the beer still inside. At Indy last year when Johnson climbed from his car to retrieve the checkered flag he’d dropped-a few cans were aimed at him-no helmet, no car. Those people are race fans?

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t understand this mentality. Not that there aren’t drivers that I dislike strongly-there are-but I just don’t get the animosity. Not only could booing during driver introductions be the last thing a driver hears other than the roar of the motor and a grinding crash, but it seems to be missing the point. Many of the drivers who are routinely booed, including the late Dale Earnhardt, have said that the boos merely pump them up to compete (pretty sure the guy booing Kurt Busch isn’t trying to actually help him, but he just might be). In fact, Earnhardt said that he’d be more worried if the boos stopped-because that would mean people weren’t watching him. That’s right; to the drivers, silence hurts more than sound. The drivers who routinely get this treatment are also routinely winning races. Maybe the boos are fueled by jealousy. Hmmm…

Why someone would hate a driver so much it overshadows being a fan of someone, I have no idea. Nobody likes losing, but why does someone’s hard work and winning have to be a reason for outright meanness? Is disdain for someone’s car owner really a reason to wish him hurt (yes, I’ve heard that!)? There are drivers I don’t respect because of their on-track tactics, but I don’t understand the outright animosity for some, especially those who go out of their way to drive clean. There are car owners I don’t like, but I would never quit cheering for my drivers if they went to their organization thinking it was their best career and life option. It’s not like they ran off with your girlfriend, keyed your truck and killed your dog. (Incidentally that can be remedied, I hear, by playing country music backwards.) All they do is race, try to please their demanding sponsors and fans, and still try to have a personal life. That’s it.

Not only is the booing ridiculous, dead silence would send a much more effective message, but the wearing of derogatory t-shirts and dragging around miniature effigies is also. I mean, that stuff is expensive! Personally, I’d rather spend $25 on an item in support of my driver than on a beanie, a t-shirt, and a piece of rope, all for some guy I don’t even like! Ditto spending time on Internet message boards slamming them. Wouldn’t that time be better spent on writing about how great their chosen driver is? Especially if their guy has haters of his own! What goes around, comes around, pal.

It kind of makes me worry about our society in general. When did being hurtful, in front of children no less, become not only apparently acceptable, but fun? Are we really so insecure in ourselves that we need to put other people down to feel better? Sure we’ve all made a remark about someone-but the fans I’m talking about do it not only in front of other fans and their children, but the drivers and their children. How do you think that driver’s wife and kids feel when he hits the wall, and before he can indicate that he is even okay, people are cheering his misfortune, not even knowing whether or not he’s been seriously injured. Some have even gone so far as to say to a driver’s family, “I wish he’d crash and burn” or the like. Is this what kind of people we’re bringing up today?

Seeing little children doing this is even worse. Children, as the saying goes, have to be taught to hate. And, judging by the scene in the stands, legions of them are being taught just that. That’s downright scary. This kind of behavior toward one person could easily blossom into a group of people and then what? Great parenting there. Aren’t we better than that? Aren’t we?

My advice to these bitter fans would be to be a decent example for the kids at the track. Cheer your guy loudly. Proudly display his merchandise, even drink a beer toast to his victory. But keep the boos, the derogatory comments, the little beanies and the beer cans to yourself. Remember who’s watching, and act like responsible adults. Love your driver, even if nobody else does. Just don’t hate mine or anyone else’s and have a little class and realize that he’s human, too. And so are those kids who are watching and learning by example-and who want to be real race fans when they grow up

I know it's very long..but it's well worth reading..hopefully it will ~sink in~ and change the way haters act.

CHEERING LOUDLY FOR YOUR DRIVER RULES !!!!!!

As much as I would like to take the ~credit~ for writing this article..I didn't
I read it on frontstretch.com the writer is Amy Henderson. I thought it was fantastic and wanted to share with you guys and see what you thought of it.

Answer 1

I'm not going to post a lengthy answer. Y'all know how I feel about all of this. All I'm gonna say is... Well said.

Answer 2

All I'm going to say is I personally don't boo for the drivers I don't like...but it's other people's right to do so. Just don't throw anything at my driver when he wins. I mean, like all the drivers say...as long as they're booing at least they're paying attention to us. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have always said that when they don't get anymore cheers or boos they know they've lost the interest of the NASCAR fans and that maybe they should think about retiring. (Of course not in those exact words, but close to that effect.)

Think about the driver that got the loudest boos before he was killed, that's right Dale Earnhardt. AND, who's merchandise still sells MORE than some of the top drivers in Cup racing today....yet again, Dale Earnhardt. He was the most hated driver on the track....but he was ALWAYS and WILL always be the most respected driver in NASCAR.

So, the boos don't bother me...heck sometimes that's the only way I know who's been anounced during driver intros. If I'm busy or talking to a friend, loud boos let me know that it's either Tony or Jeff. And of course loud cheers let me know that Jr.'s come out on the stage.

Answer 3

Well put and remember someday one of those little kids listening to you boo their driver could be in a car and want to retaliate just because they grew up hearing it. Nascar is a great sport and you will never make everyone happy. Lets just all try to make it a good experience for as many as we can. At any sporting event you have people cheering booing throwing things etc. When hockey players get in a fight do we say hey wait stop them?? No we root it on. Alot of comments and words are uttered without thnking them through. They are what comes to mind. All fans are different and every driver will never have 100% of the fans. Show some kindness tho to the drivers just starting out and cheer them i would hate to hear all the fans boo one driver cheer loudly the next and just sit there when it was my turn and not hear anything.. I totally disagree with throwing things at the drivers not only risking hitting innocent fans but if they won they fought hard to deserve it. The merchandise is way to expensive to drag around.. i would rather buy my drivers stuff and proudly display it then drag something around to try and get a rise out of people. Tickets are expensive enough lets enjoy our hard earned money spent....

Answer 4

I'm still very uncertain. He would be a good replacement for Torres when injured, but a replacement isn't what we need. We need a natural winger who will feed to Torres, and I don't see the point in paying 30 mil for a player who'll just play out of position. He'll always come second to our current attacking force (Stevie and Torres) and I think that most Liverpool fans would agree that they're a partnership that we can't afford to alter in anyway; so why pay such a large sum of money for a 'back up' striker? Jayde makes a good point, 4 2 3 1 has been our strongest formation, and bringing Tevez into the team would completely change that. Ultimately, he'll just end up on the bench waiting for a player to get rested or inured. He's already stated he wants to play regular football, so I honestly don't think Liverpool is the place for him.

Answer 5

As with the first answer, I too have experienced the fear of threats and extreme ridicule from simply supporting my driver. I was only about 12 years old when I was leaving Talledega after a Earnhardt Jr. victory and was cussed out by one of his fans. His driver had just won the race, yet he still felt the need to curse at a child for pulling for someone else (Gordon). I have yet to go back. Now I'm not saying that all Earnhardt Jr. fans are like that (my best friend is a Jr. fan) and I'm not saying that their aren't Gordon fans that are like that, but the extreme hater fans put a notorious reputation on undeserving true fans. But how do you stop it? They can't see that what they are doing is wrong. They are like small children that will keep doing something unless told by someone they respect (which may be no one) that they are wrong. So the true fans need to step up at the races (and at the HOMES) and teach all these fools sportsmanship. You don't have to stop the dislike of a driver, but something has to be done about all the hate.

Answer 6

Wow that is really long!!!
In that really long lecture you are 10000000000000000000000000% ccorrect!!!!!
I hope this reaches some haters!!!!!!
If you want to Watch a race or go to one buy your driver stuff wear it proud cheer loud for your driver but don't make fun there drivers by buying derogatory stuff and booing, and throwing stuff on the track like beer cans aimed at a driver you do not particularly like!!!
If you do the derogatory stuff kids will see this and possibly follow!!!! Then you are teaching kids to be bad nascar fans!!!!! If you dislike or hate a driver keep to yourself and cheer for your own driver!!!!! Would if you were at the race when Earnhardt died in a crash!!! And you were saying crash and burn Earnhardt!!! And he died like he did!!! how would you feel about that????? For one rest in peace the king!!!! For two i would never do that!!!! For 3 i hope no one will ever say that at a race!!!! Crashes are series!!!!!
They are not just hey that's funny ha ha!!! They are serious!!! How would you like it if youre driver won and a couple of bad fans threw beer cans at your drivers helmet or head and did not get caught!!!! For one never through beer cans!!! Have you heard of the saying treat others they way you want them to treat you!!!! Or what goes around comes around!!! Most likely if the haters do not stop there will be a lot more beer cans on the track aimed at different drivers!!!!!! There is a easy way to fix that cheer loud and be proud of youre driver!!!!!
I hope this sunk in to some of you haters or nonhaters!!!!
Have a nice day!!! (=

Answer 7

EXCELLENT! WELL SAID......an example...at the Coke 600, I had to bring my daughters home after 100 laps because of the rude, overly drunk fans behind us, harassing us because of our driver.Live and let live AND PLZ ALL YOU HATERS.....if the driver you dislike crashes, PLEEZE DO NOT CHEER!! That is the most horrible thing ever. My daughters were shocked to see that. A driver could be killed and when I told these 'fans' behind me that what they were doing wasn't right...I got the FU, right in front of my girls. Just because I supported my driver. Its almost not worth going to the track anymore. I spent big bucks on the tickets only to have our day ruined.

Answer 8

Wow, that was great and there are so many parallels to this forum it isn't funny. It's one thing to support or brag up your driver but you shouldn't have to attack another driver/owner/team to do it. WAY too many people spew some of the most hate filled rants I've seen pertaining to any sports figure in the NASCAR section of YA. It's kind of like the bully in Jr high, he obviously didn't feel good about himself so he wanted everybody to hurt along with him. I suppose if your driver is Kirk Shelmerdine, for example, there's not too much to cheer about. What's the end result, you create a ton of accounts on here, each with a different driver or team to yammer about. And unfortunately, as mentioned in the article above, this is a learned behavior. Just as if coming from an abusive upbringing, a learned pattern is repeated in the next generation. Let's try to teach our kids to be the next great generation of race fans. Stop the hate, free the 8 and Have a GREAT day : )

Answer 9

I know I will get a ton of thumbs down because I will give a honest answer (that doesn't agree) to a good question. I totally agree that throwing beer cans or tossing gays slurs at particular dirvers and wishing someone gets hurt is childish and disrespectful to the sport. But booing is hateful? C'mon, that just ludracus. Hate is too strong of a word, in fact I probally only actually hated one person in my entire life. I understand if there are f-bombs associated with those boos, but booing by itself? And I should just be silent when a driver i dislike is announced at driver introductions, wheres the fun in that. I can't imagine myself cheering loud and proud (I always do)when Harvick's name is called and then sit there and be quiet when kurt busch comes out right after him, oh and then, cheering wildly when jeff burton is intorduced. Booing for drivers you dislike is part of the passion of being fan, and the passion of the fans is what makes Nascar great. Are going to tell me the majority of Redsox fans are hate mongers because they boo every Yankee that comes to the plate? While there is a level of idiocracy when it comes to some race fans (particular the ones that throw stuff on to the track), not everyone who boos a driver is lacking class. we are great fans just you, we just express ourselves in a different way. Eve though I disagree with you, I gave you question a star because it invokes thoughtful answers and thats what this forum should be about.

Answer 10

When I went to my first race the only part that disappointed me was when Jeff Gordon came around and got booed very loudly. All I did was take a picture. I wasn't able to cheer for him because the person driving him around the track was going really fast. I was so ashamed of myself . I was hoping he didn't see me not cheering for him. I didn't want him to see me not supporting my driver. I was wearing a Jeff Gordon t-shirt, hat , and jacket. I don't care if people stare at me and think I am crazy or make threats at me or even throw things at me. I will always support my driver for now on. Everyone should support their driver no matter who the driver is. That story I will always remember. Thank you for writing that!

Jeff Gordon RULES!!!

Answer 11

every body has the right to cheer or boo a driver! of course the booers are just bad sports! can't like a winner, because they are loosers themselves! but the fact that we can boo or cheer our driver, makes this the greatest american sport there is, for all of us free to be you and me americans! but throwing beer cans is just wrong! the loosers who do this are just gonna ruin it for everybody else, when they no longer let us fans bring our coolers to the track! and charge 10 bucks for a beer! then we will see who is throwing things! like a very expensive empty plastic cup that doesn't fly any further then the seat in front of you!