devilmaster
05-14-05, 02:22 PM
Whew. The excuses are fast and furious in this one.....
http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpbmdmam0wBF9TAzI1NjY0ODI1BHNlYwN0 bQ--?slug=bm-indy500051305&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Where are the crowds?
They're not here at the track. Many fans, whose lives are busier than they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago, watch much of what happens during the month on television. For most of its existence, the Indy 500 wasn't even shown on television. Then, when it began to be televised, it wasn't live.
Now there are daily practice wrap up shows. Fans can watch those, along with qualifying weekend and the race itself, from the comfort of their easy chairs.
Or they can follow the action on the Internet. That wasn't possible 10 years ago.
Further, Indy car racing isn't the only game in town anymore. Not here. Not across the country. That could help to explain the waning ratings – that along with the poor quality of the television broadcast in recent years.
Now there are dozens of events for the auto racing fan to see and follow. Ten years ago, most NASCAR fans were in the Southeast. Now they're all across the country. In the 1950s and '60s, if you were an auto racing fan and planned to attend one race, the choice was easy – it was the Indy 500. Now the prominent choices include NASCAR, the NHRA and sports cars, among others.
Not only has NASCAR expanded nationally, so has Indy car racing. Many fans are now within an hour or two of an Indy car race, making for more attractive and accessible options than attending the Indy 500.
Another reason the crowds for the 500 have gotten smaller is that large groups of fans used to go just for the party in the infield. They didn't really care who was racing. Today, the infield where fans could party has been replaced by parking lots, corporate hospitality tents and the recently-built road course used by Formula One in its annual visit to the Speedway.
That party atmosphere is still here, but it is different. It's a more conservative, corporate environment. And those wild, beer-driven Indy 500 parties of old? They're now a regular fixture in the infield of Nextel Cup races across the country.
send him a letter - http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/sports/cgi_margolis
http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpbmdmam0wBF9TAzI1NjY0ODI1BHNlYwN0 bQ--?slug=bm-indy500051305&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Where are the crowds?
They're not here at the track. Many fans, whose lives are busier than they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago, watch much of what happens during the month on television. For most of its existence, the Indy 500 wasn't even shown on television. Then, when it began to be televised, it wasn't live.
Now there are daily practice wrap up shows. Fans can watch those, along with qualifying weekend and the race itself, from the comfort of their easy chairs.
Or they can follow the action on the Internet. That wasn't possible 10 years ago.
Further, Indy car racing isn't the only game in town anymore. Not here. Not across the country. That could help to explain the waning ratings – that along with the poor quality of the television broadcast in recent years.
Now there are dozens of events for the auto racing fan to see and follow. Ten years ago, most NASCAR fans were in the Southeast. Now they're all across the country. In the 1950s and '60s, if you were an auto racing fan and planned to attend one race, the choice was easy – it was the Indy 500. Now the prominent choices include NASCAR, the NHRA and sports cars, among others.
Not only has NASCAR expanded nationally, so has Indy car racing. Many fans are now within an hour or two of an Indy car race, making for more attractive and accessible options than attending the Indy 500.
Another reason the crowds for the 500 have gotten smaller is that large groups of fans used to go just for the party in the infield. They didn't really care who was racing. Today, the infield where fans could party has been replaced by parking lots, corporate hospitality tents and the recently-built road course used by Formula One in its annual visit to the Speedway.
That party atmosphere is still here, but it is different. It's a more conservative, corporate environment. And those wild, beer-driven Indy 500 parties of old? They're now a regular fixture in the infield of Nextel Cup races across the country.
send him a letter - http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/sports/cgi_margolis