Will It Really Be a New Beginning?

So... Sao Paulo race weekend is next weekend.  At this point, I (along with all of you) should be jumping for joy because we'll actually have something to talk about after spending months grasping at straws of conversational topics.  There's one hitch in this scenario:  I'm not jumping for joy.  It's not because I don't have the energy.  On the contrary, I rarely lack it.  No, dear readers, a legitimate reason exists.  As one who follows multiple racing blogs, hangs around on the IndyCar Nation forum, and keeps up with the twittersphere, I have kept tabs over the off-season.  Here's my list of reasons to not be excited:

1.  Graham Rahal doesn't have a ride.  Before I get cyber rotten tomatoes thrown at me for mentioning this again, hear me out.  As a fan, I'm incredibly disappointed that he doesn't have a ride.  However, I refuse to jump on the bandwagon that blames teams for not picking him up.  He did have an offer and decided it wasn't in his best interests.  As much as I'd like to see him race, he knows his situation and the climate of the IICS better than we do.  Remember, he's on the inside and we're not.  Also, I won't join in with the crowd that deems him the savior of the IICS.  He's not.  I will, however, contend that he is the future because he is young and feasibly has a long racing career in front of him.  At this point, I reside in the "let's wait and see what will happen" camp.

Now, for the most pronounced reason.  2.  Fans won't let this be a new season.  What, you may ask me? Have you lost your mind, Catie?  That post-tonal analysis (music theory concept that I'm NOT a fan of) must be impairing your reasoning skills!  Well, not quite.  Here's the thing: season predictions are made and complaint after complaint about how things were last year surface.  You know, the usual, "red cars will dominate again" and "it'll be between two teams again."  To be honest, that's a terrible outlook. I don't care whether or not it's true; it's still terrible.  Yes, with spec cars, everything is likely to be a repeat performance.  If that's how you think, you might as well call this IICS 2009, part 2.  Well, it's not. We have new drivers, different rides, many personnel changes, and while the overall outcome might not look too different, a whole new set up possibilities awaits.  Consider all the positive announcements that were made over the off-season.  Fresh faces are becoming involved in the series, whether as drivers or leadership.  Changes like that are exciting.  In spite of that, the way fans talk, the IICS is dead and we may as well give up hope that we'll ever be something special.  The real problem is that the IndyCar Nation is a very skeptical core fan base.  It's knowledgeable in the history of the sport and understands the role politics between owners and the sanctioning body has played in changing the course of the sport.  

It's time to let each season grow to its best potential without piling the ghosts of past seasons on it.  2010 is its own season.  Sure, the past has its influence and should.  I can't say this well, but a quote from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" does.  In a bit of advice given to Toula by her brother, Nick, he says, "Don't let the past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become."  We have a rich history that should be celebrated (and usually is quite eloquently by George Philips at Oilpressure) and keep things in perspective (with a lot of help and humor courtesy of Roy Hobbson at The Silent Pagoda).  At the same time, we need to let the future be itself.  The past will continue to be a part of the IICS, but it needs to grow and change too.  That's where the fans come in.  We tend to hold on to the past so much that we hinder the progress of the future.  So cut it out, will ya?

Affects of social media on fan perception of drivers

As I was pondering what to write about, I started listing off the possibilities in my head.  My train of thought went like this:
1)  favorite drivers
2)  what about them
     a) skills
     b) how they conduct themselves
3)  why do I care about how they conduct themselves
4)  effects of social media on fan's perception of drivers
5)  wow, that could be a blog entry possibly worth reading
6)  my list looks like a rough outline for a paper.

I feel that it's safe to make the assumption that most fans have a favorite or few favorite drivers they cheer for.  (If this is not the case, I EXPECT a crap-ton of comments telling me that so I won't make a faulty generalization about that again.)  My favorite happens to be Graham Rahal.  I can't tell you how that started, although I think it had something to do with him being young and showing some promise.  What can I say, I was a 17 year-old girl.  :)  However, I didn't really toss all my "fan-eggs," to coin a new term, into his basket until the Indy 500 last year.  Since then, I've been hooked.  I've watched his progress and, thanks to the internet, gobbled up every bit of info about him that I can.  Before anyone informs me that I am slightly obsessive, I'd like to pose this question:  isn't that what being a fan is about?  Think about it.

When I pause to think about why I'm a fan of Graham, I come up with a few reasons.

1. He has the skill.  As evidenced by his improvement on ovals and overall consistency, he is honing his craft.  
2. He makes you want to cheer for him because he's not Marco.  He's not a whiny brat who relies on daddy to give him a ride.  Also, he takes responsibility for his actions.  
3. Watch this, especially 3-4 minute mark.  When I saw this, my respect was gained.  

As I look over this list, the definitive things are 2 and 3.  A thought occurred to me:  since when has all this other crap become important?  I mean, why am I even considering something other than skill?  Why do I care how a driver conducts himself/herself?  Dear possibly non-existent readers, I believe social media has brought about this change.  Before youtube, facebook, twitter, or fan forums existed, fans had to either rely on word of mouth, driver interviews, or meet a driver in order to know what they were like.  Social media has altered our perceptions of drivers.  Without all of this media at my fingertips, I wouldn't have reason 3 on my list.  Also, reason 2 would be far more limited.

Due to social media, fandom is changing just as our perception of drivers is changing.   Greedily, fans search for whatever they can find out about their drivers.  Why?  For me, it's so I can gain a better understanding of who they are as people.  I want to know that the guys and gals who drive those cars are real; I want to know that they're just like me.  In the age of social media, we do know these things.  These drivers aren't just drivers; they're real people too!  When they're perceived as people, they are judged as people as well.

Since we have access to drivers' lives due to social media, it opens the door for criticism or praise of how they conduct themselves.  This concept is clearly seen in fan forums.  On the Indycar Nation forum, Marco Andretti is NOT a favorite.  If you search for Marco, I guarantee you will find more negative posts about him than positive ones.  Searching more carefully, you'll find that some negative posts come from people who used to be his fans but are now put off by his attitude (I fit in this category).  Now tell me that social media hasn't changed driver perceptions...

Note:  I hope this opens up some discussion.  Probably won't since nobody comments this, but I can dream, right?

IICS Fans and Dichotomous Thought

Hey soon to be readers.  This will be my first of many rants.  For those unfamiliar with me when I rant (which will be nearly all of you), I tend to come up with irrational ideas and then rationally argue against them while still clinging to the irrational.  This amuses my boyfriend to no end.  Hopefully this one doesn't end up like that.  Here goes.

I was perusing the IndyCar Nation forum today as I do every day and read the new posts on the topics that interest me.  One topic, that was originally was about car numbers, has been hijacked into a driver vs. team slugfest.  You can read the whole thing here (page 1 is irrelevant unless you really do want to read about car numbers).

For awhile, this was rather relevant: car numbers are an easy way to recognize drivers and since drivers change teams often, this can produce a problem regarding recognition and fan-gear (I think that's another blog, though).  However, when the "casual" fan vs. "hardcore" fan was brought into the mix, it made me pause a moment.  Based on one poster's definition, I am only a "casual" fan because I think of drivers more than the teams.  Wait, what?

Here's the problem with that theory:  it is dichotomous in nature.  The concept of a "fan" is not dichotomous.   I offer myself as an example; I'm pretty sure I don't fit the mold of a "casual" fan.  
1.  I've actually been to more than one race and more than one track.
2.  I post on the forum frequently.
3.  Check out my blogroll.  There are many racing blogs there:  I read them and sometimes comment.
4.  I've been watching races on TV or online since '98(first CART, then CART/IRL, then IRL, then ICS, finally IICS) when I was just a kid.
5.  When I go to any kind of car race, I take lap times on my cell phone.
6.  I'm blogging about it (!!!).  
Where do people like me fit into this picture?  I know I'm not a gearhead or anything like that, but I can tell you who drives what for whom and in some cases, who drivers have driven for in the past.  Ex:  Before driving for AGR (now AA), Tony Kanaan drove for Mo Nunn Racing and Tasman Racing.  The "casual" fan just gave me a crazy look and said, "Who cares?"  That's my point, though; a "casual" fan wouldn't understand why that is important.  

I'm willing to wager that I'm not the only fan that has followed open-wheel racing for awhile that fits into this middle-of-the-road category.  So, open up your minds a bit and break out of this dichotomy.  Figure out where you fit in the mix.  If you care to, leave a comment with where you think you fit.