Treating Danica Patrick the way we'd like to be treated

It’s easy to forget in our pop culture saturated world the ones idolized today and ignored tomorrow are in fact human. There are times those who choose to be objectified apparently forget this as well. Nevertheless, the same rules apply to them we wish applied to ourselves. Especially the one about do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Shakespeare wrote that we should be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. So it is with celebrity. Some do that which throws them into the public eye as a birthright; an inescapable name association following them regardless of where they go in life. There are those who do what they do for the primary purpose of seeking applause and hoping for acclaim. And there are people who do what they do not because it draws attention, but rather despite this unavoidable aspect inherent in the passion they pursue.

Which leads to Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

There are no more polarizing figures in auto racing than Mrs. Paul Hospenthal and Dale Earnhardt’s second son. They are both loved and loathed with equal fervor. Their driving ability, or to their detractors lack thereof, is the subject of more fierce debate than health care reform. The mere mention of their name among fans is an immediate lightning rod drawing commentary spanning a spectrum from celebratory to caustic. They’re not the It Drivers of the week. They are it, period.

Patrick is the public face of the IRL; the lone driver who puts fans in the seats. Open wheel has its hardcore followers, but in an era where it has almost completely slipped out of the sports world’s eye, let alone the public at large, she alone provides recognition. NASCAR is the only sport where someone, namely Jimmie Johnson, can win four straight championships and still walk through most public places without being recognized. Mention his name to the average sports fan and the usual response is what about the former coach of the Cowboys. Dale Jr.? Ah, there’s one even the least stock car minded fan knows.

Some idolize one or the other, perhaps both. Others seek to play the iconoclast, craving attention by ripping on Patrick and/or Dale Jr. plus their fans for the sole purpose of drawing attention to themselves by being an overaged brat. Whatever fuels their false sense of superiority.

Patrick and Earnhardt Jr. alone know what drives them to, well, drive. They know part of the deal is putting up with those who verbally tear them down at every opportunity. They also know being misunderstood by being genuinely unknown comes with the territory. One can learn only what those in the public eye wish to reveal about themselves when the microphone is on. It’s away from the spotlight, and solely away from the spotlight, where reality become known.

Alli Owens, who unlike 99 44/100% of the critics actually drives a race car, has an interesting take on things based on her experience during last weekend’s ARCA season opener at Daytona:

I noticed I had an anger being built up toward Danica and was totally frustrated about her being there. I felt like I was racing in the DANICA 200 instead of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. We have struggled for 3 years to run a full season in ARCA and finally are with a good time and was a threat all week long and never once got good recognition for it. For a struggling driver it truly hurt my feelings. It wasn't until after the race and talking to Danica that I realized I liked her as a person and it was the media that I was unhappy with.

As a person.

We forget that sometimes.

See, we’re used to seeing Danica Patrick in magazine photo shoots and press conferences. We’re used to pit road interviews. We’re used to thinking of Danica the driver. Danica the spokesperson. Danica the celebrity.

We’re not accustomed to thinking of Danica missing her grandmother who died from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

That Danica is working with other celebrities whose families have been hit by COPD to help publicize the need to be tested for the disease. The whole thing kicks off February 14th. There’s more about it at DRIVE4COPD.COM.

You see, that’s the real Danica. The person behind, or underneath if you prefer, the image and hype and all that.

That’s the Danica the fans, the real fans, root for. In the final analysis, that’s the only Danica who truly matters.

The human one.

The one deserving to be treated as we’d like to be treated.

DRIVE4COPD Race Team: Emmy-nominated actor Jim Belushi, Grammy Award-winning country music star Patty Loveless, former Pro Football great Michael Strahan, Go Daddy and NASCAR® Nationwide Series™ driver Danica Patrick, and Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner.