NASCAR

No, I haven't gone over to the dark side like so many other's in this bizarre place we call the USA. Do you realize that NASCAR is actually the fast growing spectator "sport" in the country? I put sport in quotes because I firmly believe that in order for something to be a sport there has to be a ball or a puck or some other projectile that has to carried, kicked, shot or thrown into a goal of some type. The other critical criterion is that there has to be an opportunity for the players sweat to mingle in some fashion. Given that criteria, NASCAR is not a sport. Bowling and Tennis are marginal. I would call them games. Track and Field, gymnastics, swimming would all fall under the heading of Athletics. I have no idea where to put car racing. To me, it is just another example of the complete idiocy of American society. What other country in the world do people celebrate burning gasoline at a very high rate? Think about how ridiculous this is. We know how expensive gas is. We know we have an issue with CO2 emissions polluting our environment. So we have a "sport" that wastes fossil fuels at an alarming rate and we (the generic we) are driving our own cars to watch other cars waste gas. Jeez. Talk about a lack of perspective. What is going on here? How can we talk about energy conservation or dealing with climate change when we, as a society, embrace with a passion that borders on worship a "sport" that indulges in the very excesses that are causing these issues? It is as if we ignore the problem or worse yet laugh in the face of impending doom, we won't be affected by high fuel prices or pollution. More stories from Paul Gavin. Info on novels Paul Gavin's Storefront. Technorati Tags: Fiction, Online Book, Chapter, Rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Fiction, Blook, Chapter, rebeleyeball