A Voice For The Fans ~Annual State Of The Vast Wasteland 7/29/2014 |
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and a warm welcome goes out as always to our
assigned NASCAR reader, who in truth may well be a computer, programmed to
react to certain words and phrases that signal the need for human intervention
and assistance. Whatever... we love computers too... sometimes. (France,
Helton, Pemberton, RTA, penalties, dictatorship, unfair, ratings, attendance,
record lows, Kauffman, Waltrip, idiot, FOX, ESPN, NBC) Just in case, you
understand...
Today
we're going to share a bit of discourse on television and "Wassup"
with that part of our sports-minded lives as it relates to NASCAR stock car
racing. Just about a year ago, these pages offered a similar
column, at that
time dealing with the impending departure of SPEED channel and how we thought
we might fare with the "New kids on the block", which of course was
the same old FOX, having merely been rebranded (Like that one Brian?) as FOX
Sports 1 and 2.
Even
though it was stated at the very outset of that article that your scribe had
learned never to assume, it soon became evident that she had indeed assumed far
too much concerning many of our NASCAR fans. I'd been writing on occasion, as
had others, about the impending TV changes for a full two years before it
became reality last August. Reasonable people all agreed that it would come as little
or no surprise when SPEED channel faded quietly into that dark Friday night, to
return, as quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." Reasonable people were oh so
WRONG! The screaming, crying out, wringing of hands and wails of pain and agony
were far beyond the expected occasional, "What happened to SPEED
channel?" Someone wasn't paying attention when school was in session.
This
year, the situation is a bit different, though perhaps equally sad and
unsettling. We have already bade farewell to TNT, an affiliate of the Turner
Broadcasting System, which has carried NASCAR racing for 32 years before
leaving last week, probably forever. No, TNT in the waning years of its
contract didn't do the best job possible, but back in the earlier days, TBS was
right up there with the best of them, and as such, will be missed with fondness
and regret by this old fan. This weekend at the Brickyard brought the first
race of the final season for ABC/ESPN. Think about that one for a minute,
gentle readers. If you became a fan anywhere in the 1980s or 1990s, the very
best years of NASCAR to my mind, then you remember ESPN and their unbeatable
on-air team of Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons with a fondness
touched by sadness that they will never again bring a live race into your home.
Sorry...
time out to shed a little bitty tear...
When the
checkers fall on Homestead this year, it will not only bring an end to that
race and to the farcical thing we know as "The Chase", at least for
this racing season, but will also signal the end of an era, because this
journalist doesn't see ESPN returning to NASCAR racing again in my lifetime.
That prediction is made easier by the fact that the network never even entered
a bid on the floundering sport the last time around. Yes, I'm sure that
Homestead this year will be the end of a lot of things... perhaps even more
than NASCAR bargained for. Time will tell.
Meanwhile,
FOX remains pretty much the same, with the only notable departure being that of
Digger, that wascally wodent that was never appreciated, never necessary and
never missed.
Personally,
I hope he wound up in Darrell Waltrip's stew. I'm a grownup darn it, and I come
to watch racing! Cartoons are for Saturday morning and the grade school crowd...
and apparently, Ol' DW.
In
fairness, I must say that many of our early worries have been addressed
amicably by this network. The FS1 channel, as predicted, just fell into the
empty spot left on most TV schedules by the departure of SPEED. No, we no
longer can see reruns of "Pinks" or "Pimp My Ride", but
somehow, this journalist doesn't find that filed in the "Heartbreak"
category. I never watched them when they were new.
One
thing I do find lacking, and it's a biggie in my book, is the extended coverage
SPEED used to give to the Barrett-Jackson Auctions. It might sound funny to
some, but I'm a car guy; always was and always will be. I love the auctions and
loved that they ran again after midnight so that I could catch anything I might
have missed while watching conflicting race coverage. We can no longer do that.
The coverage we get now is far less than what was offered on SPEED, and it
moves from channel to channel to channel until it feels we're watching the
bouncing ball at an old-fashioned sing-along.
Oh my,
watching that bouncing ball brought to mind the last time I was at an actual
sing-along that used that technique. It was at an Inn with attached restaurant
in North Wilkesboro, and filled to the brim that night with race fans there for
a weekend of racing and conviviality. When seeking the latter, there was no
place on Earth better than North Wilkesboro. When the races and the race fans
came to visit twice a year, that little town in the Brushy Mountains of North
Carolina spread a red carpet the full width of U S Highway 421 and made you not
only feel welcome, but know that you were.
Pardon
the digression... Senior Moment...
Moving
on to the "other" FOX channel, FS2, whoever is running the show seems
to have realized, after getting off to a rather shaky, or many might say downright
bad start, most of the race-related programming has been shifted to FS1.
Occasionally, FS2 does pick up the slack due to conflicts brought about by live
sports programming, but the amount and frequency of those occurrences are not
overwhelming, just slightly annoying. It tells me they're trying. Since the
parent channel won't be with us again until Daytona, let's reserve comments on
that one until they are more applicable. Your scribe knows the feelings of most
fans on that subject, but to my knowledge, they're both coming back.
Apparently, that may continue until ratings drop through the floor. No, I have
no explanation... other than some sort of blackmail.
And
then, there is NBC. If you recall, that was about the same thing we were saying
when the 2001 season began. Only later that year would we find just now poor
race coverage could be, and we were stuck with it for the next six years. Yes,
for part of that time, they had Benny Parsons, but NBC managed to gag him so
effectively that he was barely recognizable as that happy, always smiling and
joking, delightful man we all loved. It was all about whom they felt could be
mentioned on their channel and that was all about who paid up front for
advertising that was already being paid by someone else. It got pretty sticky
there for a time, and far less than legal I'm quite sure... and that part
included not just NBC but FOX as well. Ask Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores
and Restaurants if they will ever sponsor another race... then duck.
I really
must tell you that my hopes for NBC are not all that high, and that comes with
good reason. Earlier this year, I reran a column of mine from
2006, written in
the last year of NBC's original contract. It is recommended reading for anyone
that missed it in March, and may well appear as a reminder before they bow in
again next summer. For years, the only programs watched on NBC in my home were
Law and Order and the Tonight Show. Today, that number is zero. They have
proven repeatedly to be beyond untrustworthy and at times downright fraudulent
in their reporting, but gentle readers, they have money and were willing to
part with $Billions of it to buy into our travelling carnival show. That might
even be enough to buy some clothes for the Emperor.
When
it's all said and done, it is what it is and there's not much we, the fans, can
do about it. It's a rock and a hard place, to be sure. We love the racing, but
hate the coverage, and I wish I had better news for you, but I don't see that
improving any time soon. Barney Hall, God bless him, has left the racing
broadcast booth for some well-earned time of his own, but MRN is not gone, and
remains our best bet at least for the first half of next year. Then, we'll see
what sort of spread the new kids will be placing on the table for our consumption.
Jeff Burton and Rick Allen will be there along with Steve Letarte. That sounds
good, but let’s waits until we see how the chemistry works. No, they'll never
be Bob, Ned and Benny, but we might come to love them all the same. I just hope
that's all there are, and there won't be another entire crew somewhere in the
infield serving no known purpose other than to talk when we'd rather be
watching a race.
That's
more than enough for today gentle readers, and that means now it's time for our
Classic Country Closeout. Lord, there are SO many songs and so little time; I'm
always at a loss what to play next, as I love so many of them. Vivian mentioned
having forgotten what a beautiful voice Hank Thompson had, so for her... and
for me... here is one of Hank's really big hits from 1953, Yesterday's Girl.
Please enjoy...
One good
love song deserves another, and this one kinda fits except it's about a horse.
There were many recordings done of this one, but I've chosen Eddy Arnold's
version... because I think it's the best one. Here's Eddy, the Tennessee
Plowboy, singing, "The Tennessee Stud."
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~ PattyKay