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StumblePublished Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 | 9:33 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 | 1:52 p.m.
Remember when drivers were lavished with attention because their statistical information warranted it? In an era when the sport was more grounded, NASCAR’s athletes earned fame with their performance on the track. The hype about their status as drivers didn’t seem to kick in until they had actually carved out a racing reputation.
Today, hype creates a sports star before the attention-lavished driver even wins a race. Joey Logano is but one example. After hearing, reading and viewing all of the attention directed toward him recently, I began to think I was losing track of what was reality and what was hype.
But that’s not Logano’s fault. The NASCAR-media-corporate sponsorship machine that drives the sport is responsible.
There’s no doubt that Logano is very talented and that his talent has come in a very young package. Having an 18-year-old drive in the Daytona 500 is definitely a story. We all know that sponsors want their drivers to be very visible in order to promote their products and we also understand that Logano has stepped into one of the biggest rides in NASCAR. A certain amount of attention comes with these circumstances. But a tsunami of attention lavished on any driver who has never finished first in a Sprint Cup race seems to be a bit of overkill.
The time will come when Logano has the on-track reputation to match the hype. I’m looking forward to that.
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Really? Why do you sound so surprised? You are aware, arent you, that this happens in EVERY professional sport?And are you going to tell me Kyle Petty didn't come into NASCAR with "hype" lofty expectations "back in the good old days"?
One thing that has changed since 'the old days' is the huge expansion in the number and availability of 'hype outlets'. Along with the web, satellite radio and cable tv brings hundreds (if not thousands) of portals into Na$car's hype-adelic world. I limit myself to just a few minutes a day at jayski (and bloggity of course!), just in case there are any 'news nuggets' to be found among the daily release of hype.
Logano's 'orange 20' is a high dollar sponsor situation and those dollars translate to more hype than what one finds for a second tier team. Sponsors push hype because 'if the driver is good, than the product is good', right?
Even though Mark Martin and Randy LaJoie (among others) have expressed high praise for his talent, I haven't heard _Joey_ say how great he is or how he's going to set the Cup circuit on fire...that's why I'm hoping he will turn out to be even better than the hype.
What sport isn't a business today? They are all run by corporations and television. Ever been to a live 'ball' game and watched the tv guy count down to when the game is allowed to start again? How about watching the James Caan movie Rollerball (I don't care for remakes) - we are there, like it or not!