SI Cover Rant

[Raiders Army]

So this chick, Danica Patrick gets 4th place in the Indy 500 and she gets this week's Sports Illustrated cover??? What the hell? Just because she's a chick? Who cares? Did she win the race? No. Did she get 2nd place? No. Did she get third place? No. I don't think they give a medal for 4th place in the Olympics, but SI decides to give her a cover. Jeez. Just because she's a chick. That's not even counting the other news sources covering her. I'm willing to bet that non-racing fans know who she is, but they don't know who won the race (or came in 2nd for that matter).

[Cuckoo]

I know nothing about racing, and I don't follow the Indy 500. But I have to admit that I assumed from all the coverage that she did win. Of course, I haven't watched Sportscenter in a couple of days so that's probably why I'm mistaken.

[rkmsuf]

look at the bright side....you'll not hear from her again for another year.

[TLK]

Daniclemania is running wild!!!! http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Buzzbee]

Not because she's a chick. Because she's the FIRST chick to lead the Indy 500. Because she's the first chick to finish as high as fourth. Because more people watched the end of the Indy 500 than have watched it in 20 years. Because there are people out there who are interested in a chick doing something that YOU couldn't. And because some think she's a hot chick.

[MikeVic]

Because some think she's a hot chick.

Fixed. :D

[rkmsuf]

It is a little f-cked up though that the guy who won is a footnote at best.

[Buzzbee]

It is a little f-cked up though that the guy who won is a footnote at best.
I don't disagree.

[TLK]

It is a little f-cked up though that the guy who won is a footnote at best.
Like every past winner since about 1995....

[scooper]

The 500's viewership was up 40% from last year. 40%!!! That is an unheard of increase. And make no mistake about it, Ms. Patrick's hype was largely responsible for that increase.

No, she didn't win. And the purists may be a bit peaved at the attention she is getting. But if said purists want their sport to survive and thrive, they are going to have to deal with it.

Open wheeled racing has a vaccuum right now where the stars of years past used to shine very brightly. Indy needs stars. Indy needs soap operas. All popular sports have them.

So this driver is getting attention because she's an attractive woman? So what? If it gets better coverage for the sport, it will surely pump money and prestige back into a racing league that needs it. That will in turn attract better drivers and thus further feed the need for stars.

I'm not a big racing fan, so maybe my opinion is moot. But casual sports fans like me are what Indy needs to attract. Nascar always had a strong following. It was when they achieved mainstream viewership that they surpassed the open wheeled circuit as the king of the racing world. This was fed mainly by superstars and soap operas.

For what it's worth, I'm not a Nascar fan. If I were to get into racing, it would probably be Indy.

Besides, it's like like they used Danica by having her walk out to her car in a bikini or flash the crowd or something like that. She drove a fast car and she competed. To the point of threatening to win the race. Like it or not, an attractive woman almost winning the most venerable of races is a big story.

The fact that most of us can't name the actual winner just goes to show you how far the sport has fallen.

[rkmsuf]

Like every past winner since about 1995....

so if that's the case what's suddenly the big deal about a woman finishing 4th if winning is meaningless?

It's totally illogical.

[TLK]

so if that's the case what's suddenly the big deal about a woman finishing 4th if winning is meaningless?

It's totally illogical.
It's because she is a "hot chick" (arguable) in a male dominated sport. Did Sarah Fisher get this much attention? I think not.

[rkmsuf]

It's because she is a "hot chick" (arguable) in a male dominated sport. Did Sarah Fisher get this much attention? I think not.

Too bad she doesn't look like George Mureson.

[Raiders Army]

Because there are people out there who are interested in a chick doing something that YOU couldn't.

Yeah, but I can pee standing up.

[JasonC23]

Too bad she doesn't look like George Mureson.
Who wouldn't want to smell like you, George?

[JeeberD]

It's because she is a "hot chick" (arguable) in a male dominated sport. Did Sarah Fisher get this much attention? I think not.

Did Sarah Fisher ever perform as well as Danica? Then why would she get as much attention?

[Buzzbee]

Yeah, but I can pee standing up.
As can I, but I doubt either of us could drive an Indy Car to a 4th place finish in the Indianapolis 500.

[Tara]

So this chick, Danica Patrick gets 4th place in the Indy 500 and she gets this week's Sports Illustrated cover??? What the hell? Just because she's a chick? Who cares? Did she win the race? No. Did she get 2nd place? No. Did she get third place? No. I don't think they give a medal for 4th place in the Olympics, but SI decides to give her a cover. Jeez. Just because she's a chick. That's not even counting the other news sources covering her. I'm willing to bet that non-racing fans know who she is, but they don't know who won the race (or came in 2nd for that matter).

I don't know nothing, or at least very few about Indy 500. But what you say It's completely true.
I don't stand this stuff related to being a woman. If you lady out there really want parity between men and women, better work hard and not accept to make a cover just for havig a round ass, tits and pretty face.

[rkmsuf]

just for havig a round ass, tits and pretty face.

Me likey this part.

[hhiipp]

If you lady out there really want parity between men and women, better work hard and not accept to make a cover just for havig a round ass, tits and pretty face.
I like you.

[TLK]

Did Sarah Fisher ever perform as well as Danica? Then why would she get as much attention?
Sarah Fisher took second place in her first races of her IRL career. She was on a team that wasn't the greatest and still performed decently. Fisher was a driver that was about, everything the IRL was supposed to be about. She was an American that grew up on the short tracks across the Midwest, and worked her way up to the IRL. It was a good story. Did it get attention? A little... but no where near what Danica got. I wonder why?

Danica on the other hand, hasn't won a race since she went off to Europe in 1998. Wait, I take the back... she won the celebrity race at Long Beach a few years ago :) Patrick is on one of the two best teams in the IRL, with the best engines. Her team won both the pole and the race last year. I believe that if Fisher had comparable equipment, the she could have exceeded Danica's results.

[Honolulu_Blue]

So this chick, Danica Patrick gets 4th place in the Indy 500 and she gets this week's Sports Illustrated cover??? What the hell? Just because she's a chick? Who cares? Did she win the race? No. Did she get 2nd place? No. Did she get third place? No. I don't think they give a medal for 4th place in the Olympics, but SI decides to give her a cover. Jeez. Just because she's a chick. That's not even counting the other news sources covering her. I'm willing to bet that non-racing fans know who she is, but they don't know who won the race (or came in 2nd for that matter).
Yeah! It sucks! Those chicks just get everything! And they get it served to them on a silver platter no less! First they are invading MEN'S sports and now they're taking the cover of MEN's most prestigious sporting magazine!?! With everything all those great sportsMEN accomplished in the world of sports last week, I can't BELIEVE SI would put some CHICK on the cover! And just because she can drive a wittle car around a wittle track. Un-freaking-believable. This PC crap has to stop. It. just. has. to. stop.



sarcasm above.

[Desnudo]

I don't disagree.

I don't not agree. What I don't get is what's the big deal with women in racing? I don't see it as a sport that requires brute physical strength, size, or speed, so why shouldn't a woman be able to excel at it? Probably the only reason they haven't so far is due to lack of participation.

[rkmsuf]

I don't not agree. What I don't get is what's the big deal with women in racing? I don't see it as a sport that requires brute physical strength, size, or speed, so why shouldn't a woman be able to excel at it? Probably the only reason they haven't so far is due to lack of participation.


weak bladders

[Desnudo]

diapers

[rkmsuf]

I mean they must crap their pants right?

[Maple Leafs]

With all the attention paid to athelets like Patrick and Sorenstam, I can't imagine what will happen when a woman eventually competes with men and actually wins.

[Buzzbee]

Sarah Fisher took second place in her first races of her IRL career.
Not true. In her first IRL race (at Texas Motor Speedway in 1999) she started 17th and finished 25th. It wasn't until 2001 that she finished 2nd, at Homestead Miami speedway.

As for the rest of your post, Danica certainly has the benefit of being on a great team. No arguments there. Could Sarah do just as well as Danica given that opportunity? Perhaps.

[Desnudo]

With all the attention paid to athelets like Patrick and Sorenstam, I can't imagine what will happen when a woman eventually competes with men and actually wins.

Derek Jeter won a few World Series.

[Klinglerware]

She gets the cover because she will probably drive more magazine sales than if Wheldon was on the cover--that's all it really comes down to.

I'm pretty sick of the US weekly news magazines putting Jesus or Mary on the cover instead of something more newsworthy, but they pretty much get a sales boost whenever they put out a religion cover. Nothing I can do about that, except for subscribing to the Economist, I guess...

[Raiders Army]

Yeah! It sucks! Those chicks just get everything! And they get it served to them on a silver platter no less! First they are invading MEN'S sports and now they're taking the cover of MEN's most prestigious sporting magazine!?! With everything all those great sportsMEN accomplished in the world of sports last week, I can't BELIEVE SI would put some CHICK on the cover! And just because she can drive a wittle car around a wittle track. Un-freaking-believable. This PC crap has to stop. It. just. has. to. stop.



sarcasm above.
Uh...what you don't get is not because she's just a chick...it's because she's a chick and she got the cover, but the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers didn't get an SI cover. This was Dan Wheldon's first Indy 500 win. Would your opinion be different had a Black athlete win 4th place in Heisman votes and get an SI cover and noteriety over the guy who actually won?

[Raiders Army]

As can I, but I doubt either of us could drive an Indy Car to a 4th place finish in the Indianapolis 500.
I don't know if I could or not, since I've never trained and tried to do it. I just chose a different path in life. Maybe I could get 4th place, maybe not.

[rkmsuf]

I don't know if I could or not, since I've never trained and tried to do it. I just chose a different path in life. Maybe I could get 4th place, maybe not.


that's like Kramer and the levels. "I don't want to do the levels but I could. I choose not to."

"But the bet was the levels!"

[Buzzbee]

Uh...what you don't get is not because she's just a chick...it's because she's a chick and she got the cover, but the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers didn't get an SI cover. This was Dan Wheldon's first Indy 500 win. Would your opinion be different had a Black athlete win 4th place in Heisman votes and get an SI cover and noteriety over the guy who actually won?
Apples, meet oranges.

There have been black Hiesman trophy winners. Many blacks have finished 4th before.


Now, if only a handful of black athletes had ever played football, and NONE had ever finished as high as 4th in the voting, and NONE had even come close to finishing 4th in the Hiesman voting, and then said athlete got the SI cover over the winner, then perhaps you might have a similar example.

[Raiders Army]

Now, if only a handful of black athletes had ever played football, and NONE had ever finished as high as 4th in the voting, and NONE had even come close to finishing 4th in the Hiesman voting, and then said athlete got the SI cover over the winner, then perhaps you might have a similar example.
Hmmmm....so you believe it would be okay to put a 4th place finisher on the cover over the top guy just because of race?

[Subby]

Imagine if she was gay!!!!

[TLK]

Not true. In her first IRL race (at Texas Motor Speedway in 1999) she started 17th and finished 25th. It wasn't until 2001 that she finished 2nd, at Homestead Miami speedway.


I apoloigize... not an IRL buff of any sort. Still within her first ten or so races on a crappy team, she claimed a second.... that impresses me.

I guess my problem with the Danica hype is that.... we've seen this before. There is no new ground being broken here. Guthrie, St. James and Fisher all have done this before her. All three of those ladies had better stories than Patrick.

Guthrie had a degree in physics, was an astronaut candidate as well as a being a race car driver. Guthrie put up with more crap than any person should of had to deal with while being the first woman to run the 500.

With Danica you have a decent looking driver who dropped out of tenth grade. Hell of a story http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Honolulu_Blue]

Uh...what you don't get is not because she's just a chick...it's because she's a chick and she got the cover, but the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers didn't get an SI cover. This was Dan Wheldon's first Indy 500 win. Would your opinion be different had a Black athlete win 4th place in Heisman votes and get an SI cover and noteriety over the guy who actually won?
Danica Patrick was a bigger story leading up to the race than the race itself. She was the only reason I even knew the Indy 500 was last weekend. I don't know who Dan Wheldon is. Is the fact that some dude won the Indy 500 again for the illionith time bigger sports news than a "chick" finishing 4th in the race? I'd reckon no.

Also, Klinglerware (is that some sort of odd amalgmation of really good University of Houston college quarterbacks who were horrible pros?) nailed it. Danic Patrick on the cover is likely to sell more mags than Dan "I'm not Joss" Wheldon.

[Klinglerware]

Hmmmm....so you believe it would be okay to put a 4th place finisher on the cover over the top guy just because of race?

It doesn't matter whether it is right or not. The national magazines will put out the cover they think will sell better--$$$ not PC concerns are what rule their decision-making.

The way they choose covers is similar to how one should pick answers in an IWS contest...

[Buzzbee]

Hmmmm....so you believe it would be okay to put a 4th place finisher on the cover over the top guy just because of race?
You obviously didn't read my post above where I said

"I don't disagree."


You made a post about her getting the cover over the winner. I have simply provided possible reasons and explanations as to why. Not once have I said that I thought she should have been on the cover, and YOU are the one who brought up race, not me.

[rkmsuf]

Danica Patrick was a bigger story leading up to the race than the race itself. She was the only reason I even knew the Indy 500 was last weekend. I don't know who Dan Wheldon is. Is the fact that some dude won the Indy 500 again for the illionith time bigger sports news than a "chick" finishing 4th in the race? I'd reckon no.

Also, Klinglerware (is that some sort of odd amalgmation of really good University of Houston college quarterbacks who were horrible pros?) nailed it. Danic Patrick on the cover is likely to sell more mags than Dan "I'm not Joss" Wheldon.

that's kind of the sad part though that the sport itself is not enough. it's happening more and more that the game is smaller than all the periphery.

I mean is she such a fascinating story? It's like the Larry Brown crap. I mean it's more important to talk about that than who is actually going to win a tight series.

I know this cover will sell and it's business but the fact it sells like that is the sad part.

[Cuckoo]

Imagine if she was gay!!!!


Or SUPER gay!

[TLK]

If an Afro-American driver (only been two in 500 history) had finished 4th in the 500.... would this be as big of a story?

[Raiders Army]

You obviously didn't read my post above where I said

"I don't disagree."


You made a post about her getting the cover over the winner. I have simply provided possible reasons and explanations as to why. Not once have I said that I thought she should have been on the cover, and YOU are the one who brought up race, not me.
Ah. I saw your post where you said that. I see my mistake. I apologize if you were offended. ;)

[Buzzbee]

I apoloigize... not an IRL buff of any sort. Still within her first ten or so races on a crappy team, she claimed a second.... that impresses me.

I guess my problem with the Danica hype is that.... we've seen this before. There is no new ground being broken here. Guthrie, St. James and Fisher all have done this before her. All three of those ladies had better stories than Patrick.

Guthrie had a degree in physics, was an astronaut candidate as well as a being a race car driver. Guthrie put up with more crap than any person should of had to deal with while being the first woman to run the 500.

With Danica you have a decent looking driver who dropped out of tenth grade. Hell of a story http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

No problem.

The difference is that Guthrie, St. James, Fisher et al. never finished 4th in the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500. Yes they were all women, but they never had success WHEN IT MATTERED. There's the difference. Fisher finished 2nd at Kentucky? Who cares?

[Klinglerware]

is that some sort of odd amalgmation of really good University of Houston college quarterbacks who were horrible pros?

http://www.sportscombine.com/thezone/Offense/WildBunch_TedSeay/WildBu1.gif

I can't really deny it...

[Buzzbee]

Ah. I saw your post where you said that. I see my mistake. I apologize if you were offended. ;)
It'd take a lot more than that to offend me.

[Honolulu_Blue]

that's kind of the sad part though that the sport itself is not enough. it's happening more and more that the game is smaller than all the periphery.

I mean is she such a fascinating story? It's like the Larry Brown crap. I mean it's more important to talk about that than who is actually going to win a tight series.

I know this cover will sell and it's business but the fact it sells like that is the sad part.
I wouldn't worry too much about sport. In the end, they're nothing more than games and entertainment (with a whole lotta money involved). They never have been. I reckon that sport itself has never been enough. The game is the game, always will be, and there has always, always been the periphery around it. Just nowadays it's so much easier to know about the preiphery.

Also, I am not sure that Danica Patrick is just periphery. Many great sports stories are about interesting athletes who don't exactly match convention, but struggle to compete with varying levels of success.

What's more depressing is that what you described is really going on in the news. Instead of reporting about real matters of significance, news outlets (websites, news channels, news programming, etc.) are more worried about what will sell than what's really important. So instead of meaningful reporting, we get 10,000 articles on the run away bride, who won American Idol, and the Michael Jackson trial. If that crap aint just periphery, food for the masses, I don't know what is. I'd save your tears for that.

[Buzzbee]

If an Afro-American driver (only been two in 500 history) had finished 4th in the 500.... would this be as big of a story?
Very good question. I don't really know the answer. My initial guess is that it would be a big story, but not as big as an attractive (to some) woman finishing 4th.

Part of that may be due to the fact that there are currently a great number of women that watch racing, but I feel safe saying a disproportionately smaller number of blacks that watch racing. Smaller target audience, smaller story.

[rkmsuf]

I wouldn't worry too much about sport. In the end, they're nothing more than games and entertainment (with a whole lotta money involved). They never have been. I reckon that sport itself has never been enough. The game is the game, always will be, and there has always, always been the periphery around it. Just nowadays it's so much easier to know about the preiphery.

Also, I am not sure that Danica Patrick is just periphery. Many great sports stories are about interesting athletes who don't exactly match convention, but struggle to compete with varying levels of success.

What's more depressing is that what you described is really going on in the news. Instead of reporting about real matters of significance, news outlets (websites, news channels, news programming, etc.) are more worried about what will sell than what's really important. So instead of meaningful reporting, we get 10,000 articles on the run away bride, who won American Idol, and the Michael Jackson trial. If that crap aint just periphery, food for the masses, I don't know what is. I'd save your tears for that.

I agree but that creeps into sports as well. I mean sports in and of themselves are "periphery" I suppose but look no farther to Sportscenter and such to where you need all the fluff to make it work.

In my day you'd get no playful banter, just highlights and 30 minutes a day of sports news. That's the way it was and we liked it.

[DanGarion]

Hmmmm....so you believe it would be okay to put a 4th place finisher on the cover over the top guy just because of race?
If it was a hot chick? Yes.

[Desnudo]

You can never have enough booty.

[rkmsuf]

You can never have enough booty.

there are numerous visual examples to the contrary

[DanGarion]

Very good question. I don't really know the answer. My initial guess is that it would be a big story, but not as big as an attractive (to some) woman finishing 4th.

Part of that may be due to the fact that there are currently a great number of women that watch racing, but I feel safe saying a disproportionately smaller number of blacks that watch racing. Smaller target audience, smaller story.


Plus there are more white women in the US today then black men.

[Desnudo]

there are numerous visual examples to the contrary

Pedantic. You like the booty.

[Deattribution]

Danica Patrick was a bigger story leading up to the race than the race itself. She was the only reason I even knew the Indy 500 was last weekend. I don't know who Dan Wheldon is. Is the fact that some dude won the Indy 500 again for the illionith time bigger sports news than a "chick" finishing 4th in the race? I'd reckon no.



The only reason she was the bigger story is because the media hype machine got behind her, if the media wanted - they could make a turd the biggest story of the week.

You don't know who Dan Wheldon is because the media hasn't put any hype behind him, maybe they should have started by giving him the SI Cover after winning the biggest race of his life, eh?

[QuikSand]

It's almost as if they want us to talk about and buy their magazine. Weird.

[Klinglerware]

It's almost as if they want us to talk about and buy their magazine. Weird.

Yeah, what's up with that?

[Buzzbee]

It's almost as if they want us to talk about and buy their magazine. Weird.
If that were the case, they'd put pictures of naked women in it and call it Playboy.

[Ryan S]

I believe that if Fisher had comparable equipment, the she could have exceeded Danica's results.
I am not sure I would go that far, but it is worth pointing out that both her team mates out performed her over the month of May. Kenny Brack was the fastest driver in qualifying, and it was only Indy's strange qualifying rules that kept him from pole, then dropped out with car trouble (if I remember correctly). Vitor Meira finished second, and it was not a position he lucked into after a fuel gamble.

Patrick may turn out to be a great driver, but let's wait a while before we make that decision.

In my mind, the biggest story from this years Indy 500 is that the race has fallen so far that drivers like AJ Foyt IV are allowed to compete. Back in the golden age of Indy it would not have been worth the time or expense for a guy like him to show up at qualifying. If a guy like AJ is in the field, it is time to reduce the size of the field. Don't let him come back to kill somebody next year.

If I were choosing a driver for the cover of this weeks SI, I would have chosen Jimmie Johnson over any of the Indy drivers because he won what was probably the biggest race of the weekend (in the US anyway). If I wanted to sell magazines I would stick a picture of Junior on the cover (with a "What went wrong" story inside).

[Pumpy Tudors]

It's almost as if they want us to talk about and buy their magazine. Weird.
This is the most understated yet most thoughtful point in the entire thread. Thank you, Kickstand.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I am not sure I would go that far, but it is worth pointing out that both her team mates out performed her over the month of May. Kenny Brack was the fastest driver in qualifying, and it was only Indy's strange qualifying rules that kept him from pole, then dropped out with car trouble (if I remember correctly). Vitor Meira finished second, and it was not a position he lucked into after a fuel gamble.

Patrick may turn out to be a great driver, but let's wait a while before we make that decision.

In my mind, the biggest story from this years Indy 500 is that the race has fallen so far that drivers like AJ Foyt IV are allowed to compete. Back in the golden age of Indy it would not have been worth the time or expense for a guy like him to show up at qualifying. If a guy like AJ is in the field, it is time to reduce the size of the field. Don't let him come back to kill somebody next year.

If I were choosing a driver for the cover of this weeks SI, I would have chosen Jimmie Johnson over any of the Indy drivers because he won what was probably the biggest race of the weekend (in the US anyway). If I wanted to sell magazines I would stick a picture of Junior on the cover (with a "What went wrong" story inside).
Or a tribute to Junior Johnson (one of the original stock car drivers past away this weekend). I agree the DEI self destruction would have been a great story.

[Huckleberry]

I agree this is an outrage.

Seriously, what in the hell is a racecar driver doing on the cover of Sports Illustrated?