This past Sunday (Feb. 19), we watched another Daytona 500 grab our collective attention, hold us to its whims for over three hours, and then produce a caution-flag finish that felt a little anticlimactic.
Of course, that last sentiment may not be everyone’s, but it certainly seemed to be a popular sentiment.
Seeing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earn the big trophy did not come as a surprise to many, but it did not elicit the kind of stars-shining moment that the Daytona 500 is seemingly supposed to offer. Instead, the journeyman driver, now with three wins over the course of his 12-year career, parks his car in Daytona for all to see over the course of the next season.
That Stenhouse has wrecked so much that he endures a litany of nicknames extolling his accomplishments is something to be skipped for now. Instead, the goofiness of plate-racing has again given way to a winner that appears to be more of a long shot than a superstar. If NASCAR is hoping that the latest car has really brought parity to the sport, then perhaps this win is a further indication of its merits.
The notion of parity is meant to be one that helps sell the sport to both fans and investors – teams, sponsors, and networks. And if selling the sport to the masses is the vital element, which it is in any commercial enterprise, then how was the broadcast so…
Basic?
For everyone not present at the sold-out Daytona International Speedway, the way to pay attention came through TV, radio, and social media. The dominant mode being, of course, TV – for which FOX pays a dump truck full of gold coins (and the reason that the broadcast is bloated with commercials).
While the commentators enjoy the wrath of fans, this is not the moment to go after Mike Joy, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Chris Myers, Jamie McMurray, and the rest of the assorted crew stationed all around the track. For sure, they deserve critical engagement and they were hardly stellar for kicking off NASCAR’s diamond season. (By the way, did you notice that NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary?)
No, instead, the focus here is on how simple the broadcast looked. One of the wonders of TV is how it advances. Airing sports has come wonderfully far since Thomas Edison and his crew began filming games at the turn of the 20th century, moving beyond single-camera shots and curious angles.
After WWII, MLB recognized that the center-field shot was integral to making baseball a…
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