Chase shouldn't diminish Gordon's runaway season
By Beau Estes, NASCAR.COM
August 28, 2007
02:58 PM EDT
Jeff Gordon is the champion of the 2007 season. It's over. There is no doubt about it.
Still, with that being said, I have mixed feelings about the impending Chase for the Nextel Cup. Not because Dale Earnhardt Jr. will likely be left on the sidelines for the second time in three years -- though I can't deny that the lack of the 8 team absolutely KILLS NASCAR. My bigger issue comes down to the fact that if we are going to go through the exercise of crowning a season champ, then how can it be anyone but Jeff Gordon?
In truth, no matter how you slice it, the 24 gang is the team of record in 2007. The points gap between Gordon and the second-place driver Tony Stewart, is larger than any other two drivers on the entire circuit. It's no stretch to say that the 24 team is lapping the field.
Still, like any other red-blooded American, I'm intrigued to see how the Chase will play out. I understand that it is contrived, as are most American sports champions, but the manufactured excitement often works. The Chase was created specifically for seasons like this. Without a Chase, so many fans would be turning their interest from the starting grid to the gridiron. For that reason alone, the Chase works. However, when we review 2007, barring a Jean Van de Velde-like collapse, I'll know the best driver this year was Jeff Gordon, even if he isn't holding the Cup aloft in Miami.
Consider what happened in baseball last season. In no way were the St. Louis Cardinals the best team of 2006. They weren't even close. Yet they worked within the framework of baseball's playoff system and managed to win a tournament-style playoff that crowned them World Series champs. This phenomenon happens all the time in our sporting landscape and it works because America loves an underdog. But the best team is often left without the title. Just ask about six editions of the Atlanta Braves in the last 15 years and don't forget to stop by Buffalo and ask some Bills fans as well. Each often had the best teams, but no rings to show for their trouble.
The alternative, of course, is to enlist the system used in Europe for their soccer leagues. Each and every year the best team is crowned. There is no doubt about it, but oftentimes there is no drama about it either. Each team plays a home-and-home with every other squad in the league. Points are assigned for wins and ties and at the end of the year the team with the most points wins. It's very simple and coldly effective, but the race is often decided well before the schedule plays out.
If the goal was simply to determine the best team in a particular year, the European soccer system is the undisputed champ. However, that is not the only goal. Sports are entertainment and in order to be entertaining over the span of an entire year, the outcome must be kept in doubt for as long as possible. Therefore the Chase works at least as far as sustained interest is concerned.
With all of that in mind, I am endeavoring to provide a new service to the NASCAR community throughout the remainder of the season. When the Chase begins, I will of course be following like along like everyone else, but I will also post a new weekly report. "The Real Championship" is what I am calling it and the idea is simple. I am not going to reset the field. As points accrue week by week I will add them as if adjustment in the standings never happened. This will allow "The Real Champion" to be crowned (unfortunately, I don't own a crown so a mention in my column will have to do).
My goal isn't to undermine what NASCAR has created. They have the right idea with the Chase. Their sport is competing with several other properties for interest in the crowded marketplace of sports entertainment. I simply want to provide a historical reference so people know, in truth, which driver was best during the 2007 season.
Pssst ... by the way, the answer will be Jeff Gordon.
By Beau Estes, NASCAR.COM
August 28, 2007
02:58 PM EDT
Jeff Gordon is the champion of the 2007 season. It's over. There is no doubt about it.
Still, with that being said, I have mixed feelings about the impending Chase for the Nextel Cup. Not because Dale Earnhardt Jr. will likely be left on the sidelines for the second time in three years -- though I can't deny that the lack of the 8 team absolutely KILLS NASCAR. My bigger issue comes down to the fact that if we are going to go through the exercise of crowning a season champ, then how can it be anyone but Jeff Gordon?
In truth, no matter how you slice it, the 24 gang is the team of record in 2007. The points gap between Gordon and the second-place driver Tony Stewart, is larger than any other two drivers on the entire circuit. It's no stretch to say that the 24 team is lapping the field.
Still, like any other red-blooded American, I'm intrigued to see how the Chase will play out. I understand that it is contrived, as are most American sports champions, but the manufactured excitement often works. The Chase was created specifically for seasons like this. Without a Chase, so many fans would be turning their interest from the starting grid to the gridiron. For that reason alone, the Chase works. However, when we review 2007, barring a Jean Van de Velde-like collapse, I'll know the best driver this year was Jeff Gordon, even if he isn't holding the Cup aloft in Miami.
Consider what happened in baseball last season. In no way were the St. Louis Cardinals the best team of 2006. They weren't even close. Yet they worked within the framework of baseball's playoff system and managed to win a tournament-style playoff that crowned them World Series champs. This phenomenon happens all the time in our sporting landscape and it works because America loves an underdog. But the best team is often left without the title. Just ask about six editions of the Atlanta Braves in the last 15 years and don't forget to stop by Buffalo and ask some Bills fans as well. Each often had the best teams, but no rings to show for their trouble.
The alternative, of course, is to enlist the system used in Europe for their soccer leagues. Each and every year the best team is crowned. There is no doubt about it, but oftentimes there is no drama about it either. Each team plays a home-and-home with every other squad in the league. Points are assigned for wins and ties and at the end of the year the team with the most points wins. It's very simple and coldly effective, but the race is often decided well before the schedule plays out.
If the goal was simply to determine the best team in a particular year, the European soccer system is the undisputed champ. However, that is not the only goal. Sports are entertainment and in order to be entertaining over the span of an entire year, the outcome must be kept in doubt for as long as possible. Therefore the Chase works at least as far as sustained interest is concerned.
With all of that in mind, I am endeavoring to provide a new service to the NASCAR community throughout the remainder of the season. When the Chase begins, I will of course be following like along like everyone else, but I will also post a new weekly report. "The Real Championship" is what I am calling it and the idea is simple. I am not going to reset the field. As points accrue week by week I will add them as if adjustment in the standings never happened. This will allow "The Real Champion" to be crowned (unfortunately, I don't own a crown so a mention in my column will have to do).
My goal isn't to undermine what NASCAR has created. They have the right idea with the Chase. Their sport is competing with several other properties for interest in the crowded marketplace of sports entertainment. I simply want to provide a historical reference so people know, in truth, which driver was best during the 2007 season.
Pssst ... by the way, the answer will be Jeff Gordon.
