There was something I noticed while at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday that I found interesting.
Having covered dozens of NASCAR races, I have several habits I like to engage in. One of those is simply watching the crowds wandering around the infield, pit road and the garages on race mornings.
Arriving at the track hours before the race is another habit, owing in large part to my distaste of sitting in traffic. Sunday morning just after sunrise as I arrived, I noticed metal detectors set up just outside the fan zone area where, among other things, the media center is located. Those of us in the media had been given fair warning that there may be some delays getting into the track that morning so it wasn’t a surprise.
The same sort of metal detectors were also set up inside the media center. While going through this process to get into the infield is rare, it was something I’ve been through before; after all high-profile dignitaries visiting a NASCAR race aren’t all that uncommon. Presidents, presidential candidates and their families have attended races forcing those of us who are there to report on the race the relatively minor annoyance of walking through metal detectors.
Sunday morning the occasion was the visit of the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden the wife of the Vice-President.
A few hours after I arrived and got set up, I stood outside the media center and watched the growing crowds arriving and filling up the fan zone area. One of the things I noticed Sunday was the diversity of the crowd. As always with a visit to South Florida, there seemed to be a larger than normal Hispanic representation in the crowd, but I also noticed several African-America families blending in with the crowds of normal everyday people
I thought to myself it was the same kind of scene you would witness anywhere in America. I had to give props to NASCAR, after all they have strived for diversity for years and Sunday morning I felt I was seeing an example of that. This was reinforced when I saw what appeared to be a Muslim family walking by. There was a dad, a mom, complete with head scarf and two young boys who appeared to be brothers. One was wearing a Jimmie Johnson t-shirt and I had to smile; after all in the course of 15 minutes I had seen a melting pot of people from all walks of life all there to see what turned out to be a terrific race.
All in all I felt that it was a great show of the diverse crowds that NASCAR has wanted for years
I would later watch as the First Lady and Dr. Biden were given a tour in the garage area. Of course they were ringed by Secret Service, but just beyond that people pressed up against the fence, cell phones and cameras held high. All of them cheered when Mrs. Obama waved.
A few hours afterwards as I sat in the press box for the prerace, I watched the introductions of an Iraqi and Afghanistan war veteran and his family along with the First Lady and Dr. Biden and a small group of children who would give the command to start engines. The track played a PSA and the program ‘Joining Forces’ supporting veterans and their families was given a mention prior to those ‘most famous words in motorsports’ were given. The engines fired and the crowd roared its normal approval. Everyone settled in for what was expected to be a great race.
It wasn’t long into the race that a brief heavy rain shower, not unusual for South Florida, washed across the tracks forcing a delay for over an hour.
It was during this delay that a buzz began among those of us in the press box. Someone mentioned that a blogger had posted a video purporting to show that Mrs. Obama had been subjected to a chorus of boos when introduced. Since none of us had heard anything like that, most of us quickly dismissed it and got on to watching the race.
That wouldn’t be the end of it however. What started as a post from a blogger began to mushroom and by Monday it grew into a roar. The extreme factions on both sides of the political aisles had taken the video and tried to use it to their own advantage. These ‘screamers’ as I like to call them, try to inject themselves into the mainstream by yelling so loudly that no one else’s voice can be heard; in Sunday’s case that voice was the voice of reason.
Since I heard only the roar of the crowds, I later listened to the video and thought I might have heard something, although it was only a whisper buried in a roar of a crowd who simply wanted to watch a race.
However, since I was there I knew that what while some outside the sport were trying to say it was a loud chorus of boos, I knew that honestly I never heard anything other than thousands of cheering fans.
Some were trying to lump all of NASCAR and its fans into the ‘redneck, sleeveless, beer drinking, confederate flag waving’ model that those outside the sport try to portray. I found that ironic and wished I could have found one of the African-American families or the Muslim family I saw earlier in the day and asked their opinion on that.
Others on the other side of the equation were bemoaning the fact that tax money was being spent by the administration to visit a NASCAR race. No mention was made of any of the visits in years past of other political figures of course, since that would have not suited their purpose. Nor was it pointed out that other political figures have been treated to their own, small, chorus of boos in years past.
So was the First Lady indeed booed? Perhaps, although I never actually heard it, there could have been a few. But anyone who has been to a large public gathering anywhere in America has no doubt heard the same thing when any political figure, no matter the affiliation, is introduced. Free speech is a wonderful thing although it doesn’t sit well with everyone every day.
In the end the highly charged political landscape in America today tried to ‘scream’ their way into the sport of NASCAR. It threatened to take the focus off one of the greatest races to end one of the best seasons in NASCAR history.
It was a whisper that tried to roar. While NASCAR and its fans may be a more diverse group than ever before, we can all agree on one thing; the sport we love shouldn't be used as a pawn in someone elses political game. There was nothing to see here, just move along.
Breaking News: Penske Racing issues apology for Kurt Busch incident at Homestead
For more NASCAR News visit CupScene.com or follow me on Twitter!
Comments