Sparkplug

The report was encouraging for NASCAR fans who have longed for the respect of a bunch of guys turning left for three hours. Recent Nielsen numbers revealed that this past Sunday’s Daytona 500 was viewed by 37 million people. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it? Well, the number has to be considered impressive when you look at these facts:

• This Daytona 500 was the most watched NASCAR race ever.
• This Daytona 500 had more viewers than three of the four World Series games from this past October (White Sox-Astros) and six of seven NBA finals games of last June (Spurs-Pistons).

Who cares, right? It’s a much longer list than meets the eye. There is the most obvious: people who know what a restrictor plate does for starters. True NASCAR fans are suddenly looking around wondering how big was the bandwagon that stopped by the racetrack. Add two parts Corporate America: Fortune 500s who are looking for a new sports audience with a constant presence and Madison Avenue agencies looking for a new athlete to craft an image of for many of those Fortune 500s. Throw in your friendly neighborhood civic leaders looking for ways to bring NASCAR to your city. It looks to be that NASCAR is building its audience with these players all at once whereas the other predominant American sports took years to rein them in. Does this now mean that NASCAR has become one of the major sports in our country? Better yet, have they eclipsed some of those majors?

First of all, let’s make one thing clear before reading further. Unfortunately, the recent five-part series by ESPN’s Sportscenter did not make the clear distinction between the various races. There are three unique races within NASCAR: The Craftsman Truck Series, The Busch Series and the more popular Nextel Cup Series which features Daytona. Though the popularity of the entire racing umbrella has grown, most of the attention is focused on the Nextel Cup. NASCAR has mistakenly been synonymous with the Nextel (once the Winston) Cup in the media. What else is new?

Just as the other sports, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing built its earliest stars through a grassroots following and a unique ambiance. Most look at Johnny Unitas as the first superstar of the NFL and teams fed off of the tailgating elements prior to the contests. NASCAR found that it could built itself the same way. Richard Petty would be considered the Johnny U of stock car racing, and the Petty name is synonymous with STP (one of the most longest-running and lucrative sports sponsorships of all time). Its deep Southern roots cultivated a similar feel at the track: you’re there for an experience from the parking lot to the stands. Yet, the drivers were considered everyman and because they were predominantly Southern, most up in media markets such as NYC, Chicago and LA thought of NASCAR as a sport full of hicks, trailer-park trash and holdovers of the Confederacy. It was as much a novelty to Northerners and some Westerners as hockey is to the Bible Belt.

Though the 1970s brought about some progression in sports marketing, it is starting to take notice three decades later. The sponsors at the time were North Carolina-based R.J. Reynolds (to promote Winston cigarettes) and Goodyear. Admist controversies of having alcohol sponsorts such as Jim Beam and Smirnoff, NASCAR has been able to lock down any Fortune 500 company it wants. The trend had gone from using drivers in any of the three series as platforms to financing the driver’s team and essentially, the business of stock car racing. Tide and Home Depot not only outfit the cars and uniforms of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, but they are responsible for the research and development of their race cars. It is now discussed at length now because to the casual fan and non-fan, the sport has come out of nowhere.

So the questions are asked: is NASCAR a major sport now? You would have to consider this so despite any bias. Personally, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a racetrack in Oklahoma and a track in Bristol, CT. Yet, I could tell you that through major network deals with FOX, ABC, NBC, TNT and Speed Channel, it’s taken the hold that the NHL failed to. Speaking of the NHL, during the lockout season, networks and channels scrambled for content that would deliver some sort of audience and turned to entities such as Arena Football, Major League Lacrosse and of course, NASCAR. The latter took great advantage of the diminished audience the NHL abandoned and provided a growing sports segment. Momentum has built into this year as the Association has hoped to expand their audience. Just as the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and the NFL league office created Football 101 and merchandise for women, NASCAR has devoted webspace to filter the testosterone a bit. Endorsements and TV appearances by Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have added some sex appeal to a sport formerly known for Skoal-chewing, backwoods-y types. Its Hall of Fame has been courted to several cities around the country including Atlanta (which doesn’t have much to do with the sport) and Charlotte (which does). Even the year-end awards ceremony takes place in New York as a courting tactic to build a track in Staten Island. From this, one would assume that the popularity has grown past other sports such as the NBA and even baseball. Don’t be so sure. The NBA’s national popularity is much more debatable than advertised as it is more an urban sport than anything else. Baseball is helped and hurt by the fact that there is such a long season, allowing for great attendance numbers despite questionable ratings. The verdict is still out to see where NASCAR lies, but there is no doubt who they want to be: the next coming of the NFL.

(For more on the sport's history, this is a good reference.)

Say What?!?!: Apparently, we are supposed to be glued to the seats when it comes to the Winter Olympics, especially with the 2006 American contingent. I’ll just say this now, it is the worst of all time. Charles Barkley was chided for hanging on the rim in a game against Spain and ridden for some hotel fun. Yet, because he was Charles Barkley and it was the first pro-filled basketball team for the US and because it was the Summer Olympics, it gained much more backlash. Yet, Barkley and others who have had a mishap here and there in the Olympics brought home some gold. Bode Miller and all of these other yahoos aren’t even good enough to be mediocre, but because of the ultra-nationalism of the Olympics, shouldn’t we be a little ticked off? Even if it’s the Winter Olympics, we should wonder how were they supposed to honor the American flag if they makes excuses, whine and compete with a hangover. Someone should remind these people that millions of dollars and time were not dedicated for people to watch sixteen days of college kid-like recklessness.

Solid

Recent Super Bowl contests have been overloaded with empty sweets like a Coldstone ice cream (and I am a fan of the cold stuff), leaving many fans with cavities, stomach aches and weary eyes. Football is my first love outside of family, so as the NFL Championship Game (d)evolved into the Madison Avenue concoction we know of today, I had grown more and more disturbed by the influx of casual fans that descended onto our living rooms as if the game was gift-wrapped for them and them alone. Sadly, there has been some truth to that as the blending of advertising, music and sports put the country’s most watched event into a tale spin. After New England and Philadelphia bought sleep apnea sufferers to slumber last year, the Super Bowl needed a wake up.

For the first time in years, the Super Bowl was being billed as the Super Bowl, not the extravaganza we have seen over time. I can't remember the last time that the game, the true centerpiece of midwinter, was promoted more than the halftime show or the commercials. The largest part of this is due to the fact that this was the fortieth such contest, something that should be treasured as professional sports have done their best for other major anniversaries. The NFL and ABC did a great job for the most part, keeping most commercials around the matchup of Seattle and Pittsburgh while devoting one or two spots to the halftime show. Until last year, it was a bigger deal to know the halftime performers and which commercials were the biggest successes in the first half. Some of us could recall that first class Monday morning when the teacher/professor asked what was the favorite commercial. Of course, this meant more because until the turn of the century, most of the contests were decided before the third quarter. Most of the people in your living room couldn't tell you the difference between Ben Rothlisberger and Uncle Ben's Rice, so they weren't paying much attention as is. Football fans would be disappointed if the game was a total rout not only because the decisiveness, but because there were those people who only came for the free food and the commericals.

This wasn't their Super Bowl. Finally.

Of course, if you asked me which was my favorite commercial, for the first time ever, I couldn't tell you. There was nothing memorable about anything except the game. There was more controversy about the officiating than there was about GoDaddy.com's thirteenth version of their 30-second ad. I agree that there was way too much hype about Jerome Bettis' homecoming and the game's Nick and Jessica... I mean, Jerramy Stevens and Joey Porter. However, for those of us that watched throughout the entire season, you swore that this season's Seahawks were the greatest team to ever play football west of the Mississippi in the manner they were being touted by the talking heads. Shaun Alexander was viewed more than anyone this season except for the Colts and Seattle's cry for respect could be contradicted by the fact that they owned the highlight reels and played three nationally-televised games. Pittsburgh was left for dead after losing three straight to fall to a 7-5 record. After backing into the playoffs, they suddenly defeated the top three teams in the AFC on the road, games they were true underdogs. The Steelers had to be talked up because they weren't supposed to be in Detroit.

On that note, I will say that it was an all-around good game. It wasn't one of the classics that football fans have appreciated in the last few years (Rams/Titans, Patriots/Rams, Patriots/Panthers), but we have to be careful to overrate them (Broncos/Packers, Patriots/Eagles) or completely dismiss it (Packers/Patriots, Broncos/Falcons, Ravens/Giants, Bucs/Raiders after Gannon's INTs in the third quarter). It was a solid way to end another mediocre season as these playoffs reminded fans why football is the preeminent sport in the United States.

Say What?!?!: Next season has many plots of intrigue that have little to do with what happens on the field. While Reggie Bush's first NFL game will be hyped as much as LeBron James' first NBA contest, there are a couple of things that fans should look out for outside of the Draft and Brett Favre's retirement watch. The Saints will return to New Orleans much sooner than planned... so said as of last night. It will be the first sporting event in the city since Katrina hit, but how will the league, team and players continue to handle the most unique situation in the league's history. Is the Superdome truly going to be ready, especially considering that the Hornets won't return to the city until 2007? Will the Saints come back for good? Probably a little more on the minds of league executives, unless the NFL wants to look as bad as New York's MTA this past December, the labor talks will be discussed and dissected throughout the season unless both parties can work it out sooner.

Burdened

The phone call came from my soon-to-be former editor. "Knicks-Lakers Tuesday night?" Absolutely... hell, Knicks-ITT Tech would prove to be just enough to pick up a press pass for me. The first game I covered since my return to New York City had more juice than a Florida orange grove and for once, it had little to do with the city's monomania of itself. Knicks-Lakers has long been known as NY versus LA, East meets West, Showtime against Broadway (even though, the Garden is a couple of blocks away from Broadway). Yet, absolutely no one cared about how bad the Knicks have played... in fact, media and fans counted on another beatdown just as the previous night in Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta. The story of the two highest-paid coaches in professional sports history meeting again for the second time this season with the two highest-profile mediocre rosters in the league. So what? Why was this the biggest game at the Garden in recent memory?

Hometown products Lamar Odom and Smush Parker.

Okay, seriously, KB81. Not the KB8 of the past eight seasons. Not the KB8 phenomenon that chose the hands-on education of the pros over the building blocks foundation called Duke University. Not the KB8-post Shaq, post-Colorado. From when KB81 walked into the Quite Frankly studio Monday night, people pondered the possibility of another 100 point game against the Knicks.

Knicks Fans Know... Kobe's F'n Krazy

Kobe Bryant has scored at an astonding clip. 43.4 points over thirteen games in January (only Wilt's done it better). This isn't news to anyone who knew that he would shoulder much of the proposed burdens the Lakers would face this season: the return of Phil Jackson and his exercises in freedom of Zen-like banter on his players, the youth of the team not yet being served, defensive liabilities that could slow them in a weaker Western Conference, Year 2 Post-Shaq, Post-Colorado. Yet, did anyone expect this?

In his Quite Frankly interview, he talked about the respect he has gained from his peers throughout the trials (literally) and tribulations of the past three years. Allen Iverson, the anti-Kobe until Kobe, called him a straight assassin with the manner that Bryant is attacking the rim this season. Maybe A.I. meant a little more than that. Last season, KB81 seemed irrelevant without Shaq in the post, without veterans such as Rick Fox, Gary Payton and Karl Malone to rein him in at practice. A lost season in his mind and in his game, depsite averaging under 28 PPG. What made him come back like this? He says he doesn't really know. So we speculate and find that it could be that he sees much of the same situation that he inherited last season. Or maybe he figured that he could score enough to push LeBron James out of the Nike lexicon for a few months. Maybe his scope has changed since putting his hand into Katrina relief efforts as many of the other NBA players who responded like they were EMTs themselves. Maybe we could entertain the thought that when he "accepted" the return of Jackson that he would find his own best-served revenge, playing as a rebel within the heralded Triangle offense.

Or he can still hear all of the boos, even if they sound like "M-V-P! M-V-P!"

He is without a doubt the best player in basketball today (even contradicting 'Ticket" from earlier in the season). He is also the most hated athlete in sports today. Think about it: all of Barry Bonds' detractors point to his surly presense towards the media in addition to his on-field exploits, yet, baseball does not have the global reach as the NBA does. Soccer players whose personalities cross some of these global planes don't cross over here much, where our own national arrogance wouldn't allow for these players to be loved or hated or even cared about. The same can go for most other sports from the NFL to alpine skiing to cricket: scope doesn't allow for them to be noticed in most countries. Yet, for those who love this expanding global entity called the NBA, there's a conflict on whether to love or hate Bryant, as baseball fans wrestle over Bonds or NFLers over Ray Lewis. For the proverbial majority that despises the National Basketball Association, he reflects much that is wrong with the league. Criminals, thugs, hoods... rapists. He was once as clean-cut as they come; the anti-A.I. He was acceptable, non-threatening and most of all, quiet.

The energy he once used to craft his image is spent crafting another scoring masterpiece. The need to be vindicated resides on the hardwood now, even if most of the crowds around it won't do so. Kobe Bryant isn't acceptable as he once was and many opposing guards think he's pretty damn threatening. Yet, he's still quiet.

Just like a straight assassin is supposed to be.

Say What?!?!: So as previously mentioned, life has moved me back home to NYC. And what was the first sports story outside of Bryant's 81 points that made me take notice?
None.
The media overall is indebted to Bryant's game as of late without actually saying so. With the Super Bowl Media Week being as eventful and meaningful as a Colin Ferrell flick, many writers have been drawn to this must-see-kobe-tv. The "how much will he score tonight" factor to each game and each off-day practice has continued to be a forefront in places before the upcoming NFL championship since he humiliated the Toronto Raptors franchise. Until then, training for the World Baseball Classic begins in less than two weeks.
By the way, there's nothing wrong with ITT Tech, but they probably would beat the Knicks, Raptors, Sonics and Hawks this season.