Posted on 06/12/2005 7:41:36 PM PDT by Perdogg
Danica Patrick … yes, Danica Patrick … right here on our stage, Danica Patrick … oh, and have I mentioned Danica Patrick?
Yes, it's the Danica Patrick 500 tomorrow on ESPN, and if there are other drivers, we'll be damned if we know who they are.
And you know who we should feel for here in this potentially gruesome situation?
I'll give you a hint. Her initials are Danica Patrick.
The official name for Patrick's first race since Indianapolis is the Bombardier Learjet 500, which would be a cool name no matter who was driving.
But given the supernova of publicity surrounding all things Patrick, one forgets that she finished fourth at Indy; was not the first woman ever to drive the famous race; and media blitzes like these very often turn out badly for the recipient.
Understand here that Patrick wants to be a driver, first and foremost. Rich and famous, sure, but she would like to be evaluated as a driver first.
That means her honeymoon (for lack of a better word) will be fairly short.
You see, as a skilled woman, she would have some time to grow into the profile being constructed for her, but as an attractive woman with show business links (David Letterman) and the next-big-thing machinery at her back, she is also going to be held up to the Anna Kournikova yardstick, which, put crudely, is this:
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, she's hot and all, but she hasn't won anything."
It's a cruel pigeonhole, as clichéd as it is cramped, but you can bet it's on the table already. On the cover of Sports Illustrated. The story of her trip to England to learn the Formula 1 game. The refreshing burst of good publicity she shined on the dinosaur that was the Indy 500. The wing of her Indy car on eBay drawing extraordinary interest from the too-much-disposable-income crowd. Hell, her driving resume. Taken together, the noise surrounding her emergence is what it ought to be, given the tenor of the times and her evident gifts.
She is, in short, the front and center motorsports story of the year, even if Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart want to enter demolition derbies against each other. An easily recognizable icon of searing eyes and long black hair, her name already shortened to one-name status. It's all come as fast as Turn Four.
But the backhand comes even faster.
If she wins, hey, she could be Tiger Woods, and it's all good.
But if she doesn't, the "What's Wrong With Danica?" stories will come with dyspeptic ferocity. Nothing offends quite like being perceived as an overhyped fraud, and to the media's general shame, they bestow overhyped fraud status after only a few sightings. There is no reason to think Patrick will be spared just because she's, well, Danica.
None of this should be Patrick's problem, of course, but it is. It's like falling down a flight of stairs – blaming gravity on the way down isn't going to break your fall.
She has already been criticized for not being 50 pounds heavier than she is, which sets centuries of weight-based sexism on its ear. Her shadow has obliterated Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who has had the good grace and self-preservation instincts to be nothing but complimentary in return.
But at some point (read: either now or soon thereafter) she will have to win a race. And then another. And then more after that.
You see, while there may be some cache in being a pioneer, it's still better to be a winner. And to be both … well, then all the hype will have been both prescient and worthwhile.
Is the risk-reward ratio fair? Well, yes and no. Yes, because the reward is so spectacular. No, because this is not an issue that men face as readily. They get to grow into their gigs at a slightly more leisurely pace, and their youth is forgiven as just another bar to clear.
But because Kournikova became the living, breathing example of fame before finish, Patrick will be held to the same standard, only in a greatly collapsed period of time. If she's as good as everyone says, she'll win races. If everyone's wrong, though, it's not everyone who has to pay. It's her.
So while she whizzes around Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, controlling the air time of the telecast the way Woods dominates golf tournaments by simply entering them, keep in mind what's at stake here. The shelf life of tolerance for Danica Patrick will be harshly short … until she wins.
Rest assured, this is not a revelation to her and she's played along without irritation. But there's nothing to be done to change the dynamic, for hype threatens as much as it offers. So Danica Patrick is on the clock, and not just Saturday. This is her world, and we're all a little too welcome to it.
Ray Ratto is a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle and a regular contributor to ESPN.com
I loved that spin out she did and then kept on going. Hadn't ever seen anyone do that before.
She needs lots of work as an IRL driver.
After the race Saturday, which she came in 13th, she was the second person interviewed by ESPN - She looked pale and angry. I hope she is not trying to shoulder all of this press attention.
However, what made me angry another rookie finished ahead of her and got O attention.
read the article a few days ago. sums is up
The race last evening was just two weeks from the 500.
This has happened with many other female drivers.
Give me a second - there was a guy that did a bigger spinout in the 80s. Think it was Danny Sullivan. He went down the front straight sideways for about 5 seconds. He went on to win.
She flashed them!
If she just wants to drive, then she should skip the semi-nudie sexy pictures.
With all due respect, I just hope her presence doesn't make a mockery of the sport. :)
Missed that one. THis one, however, had an inside camera view as it looked to the driver. Quite impressive.
After watching a season of NASCAR last year, that's no longer operative. These guys (and gals) have to be tough just to go the distance.
Annika Sorenstam is a great golfer, but she can't hang with the top males in that sport.
Perhaps Patrick is different, but, as she herself said "I've got a lot of practicing to do."
Semi nudie sexy pictures? where?
Couldn't be simpler.
No she shouldn't. All must be revealed!
She finished fourth at indy, and 13th last night; not too shabby I would say.
Bzzzzt. Error-Error, That description reminds me of Kevin Cogan. From the middle of the first row, took out Five cars if I remember it right.
I'll give you a hint, if you go to images.google.com, and search for Danica Patrick, there will most likely be pictures of her.
1985, 20 years ago, Danny Sullivan spun in duel with Mario Andretti between 1 & 2 on lap 120 and went on to win the race.
Danica's not that special.
A babe yes, but not that special. Like the article said; she's gonna have to win something.
Where I grew up (Indianapolis) it was not uncommon for a friend's father to have a race car parked in the garage or in a barn somewhere. These cars were "leftover" from the time their owners raced them, or owned them for racing, and they were still functional. However, they were rarely driven since they were so terribly difficult to handle at low speeds (under 80 MPH for example), and you had to have more than your fair share of upper body strength. Few people start out with the combination of physical features that enable them to easily drive race cars. Few people survive that business unhurt one way or the other.
I know that.
Thank you.
My comment was said in jest.
She has talent. However, she should be treated no better than any other rookie.
Overhyped novelties are like that...
Finishing fourth is not shabby.
Finishing at the back of the pack for drivers who hadn't lost laps is not good.
With the plethora of photos, it makes one think that she may be the Anna Kournikova of motorsports....
40% is worth millions of bucks for the next race next year.
I agree. however, there are certain segments of the male population who would then criticize her for not being feminine enough. This doesn't mean she has to flash her butt. Only if she wants to. ;)
Do we have comparable photos of Anna available?
She's already being compared to her.
Finishing on the lead lap is respectable.
BTW, I checked, and there's nothing showing her on a car.
I am sure that we can find score more babes like this and form an all-female racing organisation. Think of the RATINGS! I am certain that scientists could develop nomex bikinis as part of their kit...
Have Photoshop, will travel. :-)
Besides, you KNOW that you are a car guy when you pay more attention to the car than the hot woman in the pic...
I'm sure air brushing had a little something to do with it.
LOL
Ummm... Photoshop?
FReeper men aren't that shallow.
"FReeper men aren't that shallow."
Are you sure that you are logged into FR? ;-)
Sorry, our baser instincts are working just fine, thank you very much. ;-)
She will rake in the endorsements though, and good for her.
Fact of life: nearly-naked pics always sell to one magazine or another, and drum-up short-term attention/notoriety.
Q: do IRL drivers GET endorsements for racing 4/4 and 3/13 and spinning and interfering with other drivers?
the excellent program "MS Paint" has a large number of shades of brown. I'm betting they used a more techier program, but that and makeup
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