ToyYoda
Team Owner
Ok, maybe hate is too strong a word, but are there any drivers that you had a strong dislike for at some point that you came to respect or even like?
The main one that comes to mind for me is Jeff Gordon. I had several reasons for not liking Gordon. For one, NASCAR and the sports media relentlessly crammed him down our throats in the mid-late 90’s, and his success rate during that time only added to the overkill. Second, his fans were kind of obnoxious (I’m not talking about anybody here, just in general). It seemed like all of the newbie fans who were coming in at that time jumped on the Gordon train, since he was doing most of the winning at that time. Lastly, and the one that probably made the least amount of sense, I always felt Gordon was the poster boy for the transition of NASCAR from the mostly regional sport I’d known up til then into its national expansion and all the negatives that came with it. I now realize that would have happened with or without Gordon, but his talent and marketability certainly didn’t hurt the transition.
Towards the last couple years of Gordon’s career however, it dawned on me that Gordon would be the first superstar driver whose career I got to see from start to finish. Not sure why, but I started to respect him after that, and actually found myself cheering when he won at Martinsville in Nov. 2015. I think he does a fine job on Fox now as well.
The main one that comes to mind for me is Jeff Gordon. I had several reasons for not liking Gordon. For one, NASCAR and the sports media relentlessly crammed him down our throats in the mid-late 90’s, and his success rate during that time only added to the overkill. Second, his fans were kind of obnoxious (I’m not talking about anybody here, just in general). It seemed like all of the newbie fans who were coming in at that time jumped on the Gordon train, since he was doing most of the winning at that time. Lastly, and the one that probably made the least amount of sense, I always felt Gordon was the poster boy for the transition of NASCAR from the mostly regional sport I’d known up til then into its national expansion and all the negatives that came with it. I now realize that would have happened with or without Gordon, but his talent and marketability certainly didn’t hurt the transition.
Towards the last couple years of Gordon’s career however, it dawned on me that Gordon would be the first superstar driver whose career I got to see from start to finish. Not sure why, but I started to respect him after that, and actually found myself cheering when he won at Martinsville in Nov. 2015. I think he does a fine job on Fox now as well.