A Voice For The Fans ~ Simplicity 8/5/2014 |
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and as always, a warm welcome as well to our
assigned reader, somewhere within the confines of the Fan and Media Espionage
Center in Charlotte, North Carolina... we think.
This
scribe has seldom had a problem with employing the KISS principle, i.e.
"Keep It Simple Stupid." If you recall, I
even agreed, not to the need for, but at least to the method of counting points
by onesies instead of the old Latford
system that had been in place for over 30 years... before Brian. It was said
the change reflected a desire for simplicity... you know... something the dumb
fans could understand. I cannot speak
for everyone, but this dumb fan understood the Latford
system just fine, and in over 30 years, I never heard a friend or fellow race
fan lament the difficulty of understanding it, with one exception.
That
exception was the fact that under the Latford point
system, it was possible for the first and second place cars to score the same,
if the second place car earned the extra bonus for leading the most laps in the
race. That prompted many fans and media members, this one included, to ask for
a more substantial bonus for winning a race. Be careful what you ask for, lest
you get it. Somehow, that simple (we thought) suggestion became something
unasked for, unimagined and unrecognizable when filtered through the brain of
the new Emperor.
What was
suggested, well over a decade ago, was merely a bonus for winning a race...
every race, not just the last ten. Simple, right?
Apparently not! What we got for our efforts was the thing we were instructed to
call "The Chase." At the time, it was not to be called a Play-off,
because after all, that would be ridiculous. How could it be a playoff when
each race is the same cars racing in the same series? Whom
would one play off against? So, no play-off... in the
beginning. Now, it is referred to as a play-off daily, and with great
abandon. This will be the 11th year for the Chase, and the 11th version of
same, as every year, the rules have been "tweaked." Last year, you
might recall that when the rules didn't get the Emperor his way, he stepped up
to a microphone and changed them on the spot, arbitrarily decreeing that the
#24 would be a 13th entry in the 12-team Chase... "Because
I can."
Gentle
readers, if your scribe didn't care for the idea of a playoff when there is no
one to play off against but each other, those three words sealed the deal. To
me, the Chase was, is and will remain forever meaningless. And then... just
when you thought it couldn't get any worse, along comes
the Emperor, sans wardrobe as usual, with more and greater changes for his now
monstrous creation.
Remember,
this was the man that wanted it simple, yet what we have now is something that
makes a course in calculus look like a breeze by comparison. Some fans have a
bit of difficulty making sense of the difference between driver and owner
points, let alone manufacturer's points, but now we have a whole new
category... Chase points. Seriously, if you go to nascar.com and hover over
"Results and Standings", on the right-hand side of the menu you'll
find four categories listed beneath Sprint Cup Standings.
Jim
keeps track of them on our Home Page, which is great because quite frankly dear
friends, I have no idea how to do that or why I would want to. I guess someone
thinks it makes us more like the NFL, when near the end of the season it's all
about "if" this, "if" that, and a whole lot of mathematical
possibilities, only a couple of which might be described as
"probabilities." Being the simple person I am, I never let that
bother me either; I figured out many years ago that it would all straighten
itself out without me, and eventually there would be two teams in the Stupor
Bowl. [SIC] They have their name copyrighted, and others are not allowed to use
it legally without express permission. Am I the only one that wishes "The
Chase" was also under copyright... so we couldn't mention it?
There
was one huge point made in the last paragraph. Did anyone catch it? The NFL
eventually gets down to two teams. How do they do that? Through the process of
elimination... lose a game and you're out. Better luck next year. The Emperor
likes that idea, so now the Chase will feature eliminations... NOT! Sleight of
hand and twist of tongue do not make it so. When we get to Homestead, there
will still be 43 cars in that field, assuming they can find that many still
interested, or sponsored.
Supposedly,
in that world where the Emperor lives, which I like to
call "Make believe", only four drivers will have survived his version
of eliminations, and out of those four, a Champion will be crowned. Alright
gentle readers, while we're making believe, let's imagine a big wreck around
lap 12, involving all four of those "Survivors." They cannot return to the race for varying
reasons, and eventually finish 40th, 41st, 42nd and 43rd. He who is judged to
have earned the 40th position will be awarded the Sprint Cup Championship,
supposedly for the year 2014. Call me crazy, but that violates my sensibilities
and mortally wounds my common sense.
It is
decreed herewith that in the world according to PattyKay, the Homestead track
might have a Champion that finished 40th, but the 2014 season will have none. I
am a race fan, pure and simple. I don't need a convoluted system that in the
end is meaningless anyway, to distract me from my enjoyment of racing itself. From
this time forward, each and every race will stand on its own merit, which will
be determined strictly by how much enjoyment it brings to this viewer only. I'm
making it a personal thing... a thing that doesn't involve naked Emperors or
meaningless rules that can be changed on a whim. Ding! Dong! The wicked Chase
is dead!
#ERASETHECHASE!
And with
that, it's time for our Country Music Closeout. This week, let's begin with one
from Hoyt Axton, who just happens to be starring at the moment on my car's CD
player. This is one I've always loved in his repertoire and the video is
definitely a winner, featuring a lot of familiar faces from Hazzard
County Georgia. Please enjoy Hoyt doing "Speed Trap."
The next
one shows the softer side of Hoyt Axton, as he offers up his version of a grand
old Civil War favorite, "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Please enjoy:
Hoyt was
a rather unappreciated artist while living, though I've never been quite sure
why. He's done many songs that I absolutely adore listening to, and one of them
is called, "Oh I'm a Good Ol' Rebel." Please accept my apology for
not playing it here, but I know my audience, and I know that while some of you
would love it, others would be "Offended" by the lyrics. It's on
YouTube, but remember, you were warned.
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~ PattyKay