Current Events - 2/19/06

Today was a terrific day for sports all around. We not only enjoyed many hours of great Olympic competition but also the running of the "Great American Race." (The Daytona 500, for you non-rednecks.) So what's there to rant about?
First we have the Gold Medal performance of Shani Davis. This is the stuff that Olympic dreams are made of. A young athlete comes from relative national obscurity to realize his potential in front of an international audience and triumphs. Should it really be shoved down our throats that he is the first 'African-American' to individually medal in the winter games? Did we do this for the first Asian-American? Native-American? American of Latino decent? Can't we just celebrate that he is a gifted American athlete? Also, the press and other American skaters should just leave him alone about not skating in the men's pursuit event. You can't accuse a man of not being a team player if he was never on the team.
Secondly, we have NASCAR. (Not Actual Sport Centered Around Rednecks) I have enjoyed watching this form of entertainment for well over 15 years now and it's just as exciting today as it was then. Some people, however, take great exception to the sports' current demographic. Indeed, my local sports section today reported one man's opinion that NASCAR racing cannot be a 'truly national sport' without more diversity. Conversely, they charge NASCAR itself with making that happen by inventing and backing minority programs aimed at involving inner city youth and such with 'opportunities they wouldn't normally have.' Excuse me?? Last I checked they didn't have any programs aimed at white kids from the country. How is this unfair? If some rapper wants to start a soap box derby league for 'disadvantaged' youth, NASCAR is not stopping him. If Oprah wants to build a dirt track on the south side of Chicago she is free to do so. I am sure that the United Negro College Fund is used to obtain the necessary engineering degrees that the top teams in racing today have every day. Nobody has become a Nextel Cup star overnight because they are the 'right race.' Most of them suffered, sacrificed, starved and worked damn hard for many years to get where they are. Yet in the name of diversity, we are willing to pipeline kids through an accelerated program and pump them all up inside, only to then shove them into a world they are not prepared for and certainly don't have the experience to excel in. This isn't fair to the kids and even less fair to the people being pressured to make this happen, because they will shoulder the blame when the first thing goes wrong. It's completely unfair to those who are out there right now, sacrificing everything to try and live a dream with no corporate backing because they are not a 'minority.'
Diversity is what makes America great. Forcing diversity breeds resentment and backlash. Minorities who really wanted to be in motorsports have gotten there, without outside help, just the same as non-minorities. All it took was time and dedication. Just like all those who came before them. And they have been there for years.