Just imagine....a warm spring day. The whole place is full of fans wanting to see their favorite athletes, and how they will fare today. The beers are flowing and the hot dogs go on the grill about as fast as they come off. Seems like a perfect day at a sporting event. That is until that 15 car pileup in turn 3 happens. What? Were you expecting baseball and not NASCAR?
Sure, about ten or twenty years ago, those thoughts would have been used for "America's favorite pastime". But those thoughts are quickly going up in a cloud of dust. More and more, people are tuning away from the Yankees vs. Red Sox, and tuning in to see if Tony Stewart is going to wreck Kurt Busch. Baseball used to be recognized by the last names of players instead of the the sport itself. Not too long ago, people could say Ruth, Mantle, Ryan and Ripken, and they would know what you were talking about. In fact, NASCAR wasn't even relevant at the time. Aside from guys like Jeter and Rodriguez, baseball is straining to have those big names that pop out to the average sports fan that may not follow baseball as contently. Instead, the Major League Baseball is recognized by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco for their alleged steroid use. Bonds and Clemens have yet to be found guilty, but we all know that the court of public opinion outweighs the court of law.
On the other hand, there is NASCAR. Being more and more recognized through correct publicity for their athletes like Gordon, Stewart and the ever present Earnhardt, Jr. NASCAR doesn't have to worry about steroid use. Other than Michael Waltrip using jet fuel at the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR is virtually clean. More and more fans are getting tired of seeing mediocre pitchers getting paid millions and millions of dollars. Instead, they like the idea that NASCAR drivers don't get paid by lengthy contracts, but rather their performance on the track. Yes, they get big contracts from sponsors, but guys like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, as well as most other drivers, got those big contracts by starting out as the low man on the totem pole and working their way up. Even though millions of dollars is rewarded to these drivers, NASCAR is one of the only truly "blue-collar" sports of the major ones. Golf being the other exception.
Baseball still has its rivalries to fall back on for ratings boosts. People still tune in to watch the Yankees/Red Sox, Dodgers/Giants, Braves/Mets, and Cubs/White Sox. But more and more, people get tired of seeing four or five teams dominate a season, then some no name team win the World Series. NASCAR does have racing stables that are very dominant. No one will deny that Hendrick Motorsports (Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Casey Mears) and Roush-Fenway Racing (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and David Regan) are usually up at the front most races. But when it is one lap to go, it doesn't matter if Johnson's car is half-owned by Gordon, if he has to move him out of the way to win, he will. Rivalries are also a big part of NASCAR. Ford vs. Chevrolet used to be the biggest until all the bodies were made the same. Roush-Fenway Racing vs. Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota vs. Everyone else. Kurt Busch vs. Tony Stewart.
More fans are also being turned onto NASCAR based off of its fan base. How many times do you see a Red Sox fan share a beer with a Yankee fan two hours before the opening pitch? Rarely ever. NASCAR fans are one big community. Gordon fans will prop their number 24 flags up and have them wave beside the Earnhardt 3 and 8 flags, then share a beer and grill up some food. For 500 miles, chances are you would love nothing more than to punch that lone Robby Gordon fan in the head for not having a real driver, but then again everyone hates everyone for those 500 laps. But its the sense of almost a family before and after every race. They share their alcohol and their hangovers together.
The proof isn't necessarily in the pudding, but rather in the TV ratings. The Daytona 500 keeps gaining and gaining viewers every year, whereas viewers of the World Series keep declining. Keep in mind, that Daytona is one race, and the World Series is up to seven games. For the 500 to even compete with an average of seven games on the biggest stage in baseball, it is remarkable to see. The All-star events have changed too. Baseball saw a ten percent decreased from this All-Star Game in 2007 from 2006. Whereas the NASCAR All-Star race, which is basically a 30 car dash for about one million dollars, saw its best ratings. Obviously more people enjoy seeing drivers wreck other drivers to get that cool million, rather than Barry Bonds whiff at three fastballs from Roger Clemens.
Baseball will never go out of style. There are too many little leagues and softball leagues for that to happen. There aren't new as many tracks from five and six year olds, as there are tee ball fields. But in terms of mainstream popularity on the major league level, baseball could fall into the same breath as the NBA, soccer and tennis. The game has been tampered with and tainted too much with the allegation of steriod use on its most influential players. Five years from now, numbers 8, 20, 24 and 48 won't be recognized by the guys taking 95 mile per hour fastballs, but rather by the guys driving the 195 mile per hour race cars.
