So I'm deep into my second season of Fantasy NASCAR over at yahoo and I'm already contemplating on the travel trailer I will be buying within the next few months to prepare for the 2007 Nextel Cup season, cause them white folks be having waaaay to much fun at them races. First off I wanna send a shout out to my Homie "Days of Thunder" for getting me hooked on this stuff, NASCAR is like crack, once you get into it, it's over, I'm serious.... For years me and the fellas did the fantasy sports joint, it was our way of staying in touch. We pretty much played all the sports, football, baseball, basketball, the usual fantasy stuff until "Thunder" hit me up and with an invite to a league he was forming, a NASCAR league. Now mind you I didn't know shit about NASCAR other than a few big names, and its not that I wasn't a fan of motorsports because I love F1 and I'm deep in AMA (cause black folks like sportbikes ;) I just never paid attention to NASCAR because it seemed to be for "white folks only". Now don't get me wrong I still feel this way and that's pretty much the reason for this entry, but I do like watching NASCAR the shit is exciting, but that don't change the fact of the dominating demographic mentality surrounding the sport and its "cultural icon" of choice The stars and bars, yeee haaw!!!
The attempts at diversity by NASCAR are all good, but why in the hell would I wanna goto a race where the first thing I am gonna have to explain to my child is "what's that flag Daddy?"
Punk ass response: "Oh child that's just a part of history that these people choose to Identify with. It doesn't mean anything its just a mindset relating to a particular time when certain people in our nation choose to go their own way, and that way is carried on as a notion of pride by displaying the colors those courageous people used to identify themselves"
My response: "Child that's white folks acting really F#@KING STUPID"
How you gonna be the Hard Headed American in your own country? Its one thing to piss the rest of the world off, but you'd think we'd finally get a reprieve in our own country, a free pass from the audacity, a break, a little slack. HELL NO! Whitey don't play that!!! Lets keep it real We got dress codes in the NBA, why because they wanna cater to the demographic of their fan base, middle class white folks with expendable incomes who can afford to blow up 400 or 500 bucks on a Laker game with the kids in tow. We all remember the words of the great Larry Bird, if you wanna maintain the fan base you better get some white cats up in here (or at least get these black boys into some kinda non hip hop, gangsta ass nigga ensemble), I have talked this issue quite a few times so you'll just have to hit the archives to brush up, but the fact of the matter is---> the dominant demographic which supports (financially) the majority of our sports is "white folks".
Yahoo Posted an excellent story on the topic:
Red flag By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
After a decade of massive growth, NASCAR's popularity has slowed and television ratings have slumped. To restart its progress, NASCAR must continue to attract new fans in fresh, more diverse markets, many of whom view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism and oppression. Yet NASCAR doesn't want to alienate its loyal base, many of whom view the waving flags in the infield as a symbol of honor, history and traditional Southern pride.
The story goes into areas which on the surface seem to deal with a specific focus the flag and its symbolism, but what we are really discussing is the effects of a "collective cultural ego" and what those who are a part of that collective are will to do in the face of "Adversity". This is an absolute no brainer and for the CEO of NASCAR Brian France its also a matter of PR and job security. How do you shift the paradigm in a situation where the primary icon is the primary road block to change? The effects of Rapper's touting the Cristal notwithstanding, how do incoporate new cultures without the alienation of the core group, which as the dynamics of the country change so shall change the make up of the core. Right now there is and will be a continuing amount of tension surrounding the "icon" and its effects on the sensibilities of new customer markets. Lets take a look at some cultural "fields of view";
Average Black guy: If I see a field full of RV's topped with a particular cultural Icon how are you gonna persuade me to think that these people are the one's I wanna speed my weekends with? Let alone watch your stuff on TV. That's just plain ol' common sense....
Average white guy: I cant speak for white folks, but I have heard the tired ass line of it represents blah blah blah. If its been banned in so many places or is known to offend people en mass why are we even having this conversation? I don't see German F1 fans waving swastika's, do you? Same shit different country, guess those rules don't apply to white folks in the US.
NASCAR driver: These cats been doing this for a while and for the most part this "icon" has been a part of their culture, their fans culture. So the lack of comments coming from the drivers is just another form of "Solidarity", another way of getting around the rules. That's what your team is there for, to help you win...
The Sponsors: These are the big companies that make all the bucks and place the big ass placards all across the cars I watch every weekend. Since NASCAR has done the official PC move by "banning it" they don't have to worry about what the fans do. The typical "whitewash" (so fitting) which gives some of the most powerful players in this puzzle an easy out. You are sponsoring people (the racers) who have no problems with people (their fans) displaying culturally insensitive images weekend after weekend. That's my kinda role model, I can see the united way commercial now, helping kids by destroying their cultural fitness one race at a time!!!
Editorial note:
Some Funny "stereotypes" that exist in our "diverse" world of sports.
Utah Jazz- Who in the hell came up with this one? I didn't now Utah had a jazz thing going on...
LA Lakers- Ya'll know black folks don't swim
LA Clippers- Ditto, plus they got the boat thing going on WTF!
The Washington Bullets- anybody who knows anything about the 80's and DC knows why this hand to be the butt of some serious ass water cooler humor... You know the kinda jokes where the fat ass bigot spits game and you're supposed to laugh in order to be considered a "team player"?
I'm gonna throw in the "Indian thing" too just because I'm on a roll, and it always comes up like we made these names up? And for all of you really slick assed haters I got your Minnesota Vikings so please spare me the we have our own "cultural icons" on display as well. The reason why this space (football and hoops) is filled with imagery which may appear to be "more culturally diverse" (sans the Indian repartee) is the fact that the professionals which comprise the make up of the teams (at least in football and basketball) happen to be black... Drum roll please, and a big fat NO SHIT! So knowing this why would any good hearted plantation owner, I mean Team owner want his "staff" to be subjected to cultural connotations represented by the Confederate Flag? "Hell these boys aint gonna go for that no matter how much we payem" I can hear it now. And yet NASCAR seems to think that while preaching "Diversity" (that shit sounds really BITCHMADE) that Black folks, Asian folks, Mexicans, and all the rest of the melting pot are gonna come a running, as long as we turn the other cheek, just like at the ol' water cooler....
If you really wanna make some money off one of the largest consumer bases in the US you gonna have to get your street teams rolling... Gonna have to up your "Street IQ", black folks like cars (that's for sure) and black folks like winners (hell everyone does). So if you wanna get the scoop on how to get in, you gonna have to holla at ya boy cuz that's gonna cost yo ass a few zero's for that bit of consultation... Or you can keep up the hot ass "diversity BS" you talking on 60 minutes and on your wack ass commercials. NASCAR and DIVERSITY, fool thats an oxymoron, no doubt!!! They should put that in the oxymoron Hall of Fame, cuz I cant even say those 2 words without laughing my black ass off... The problems with NASCAR have nothing to do with the sport and that's all I have left in the advice box.
Well I guess you gonna see my ass on Chappelle show season 4 "When keeping it real goes wrong" the Black guy at the NASCAR race!!! Now don't get me wrong I'm gonna be deep in the game at my first NASCAR event trailer, BBQ, and a gang of 40's and I'm bringing my whole crew BITCHES!!! So you can keep your punk assed attempts at calling on the need for diversity, like I said it sounds condescending to say the least. Just provide me with some good quality entertainment where I don't have to be subjected to "your" culturally insensitive "last bastion" (please get over this one, like you fools are really losing something?) it represents this __________ (insert the stupidest white comment ever heard here) and has nothing to do with blah blah blah, and yo greedy asses might make a few more bucks, off of your new "black friends".
Now I gotta send a shout out to Joe Gibbs (of the Washington REDSKINS, go figure...) for trying to (or at least mentioning) the need to sponsor racers from other ethnic backgrounds, addressing issues is a step in the right direction. I also wanna give a mad shout out to my main man SWEETNESS (Walter Payton, Fool!!!) for sponsoring his own race team (that's rich folks bidness). I could go on and on about the few black achievements in NASCAR but if you reading this and you really interested you'll look it up yourself, I am sure somewhere on the NASCAR site they have 2-bits on the achievements of African American drivers.
So with about 6 races left in this seasons "chase for the cup" I have whats looking to be another year atop of the podium and bragging rights at the water cooler forever! The first year you can play the luck card the second year I'm fixing to show my natural black T.O. ass at the cooler cuz I know its gonna eat that ass up.
Yeee HAW!!!
LETS GO RACING!!!
