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Never been a NASCAR fan. Not my thing. However, my Mom has been a fan since before Inwas a thought.
Richard Petty was her favorite driver. I remember him coming to Jax, FL when I was about 11-12 for a meet & greet w/ fans at a dealership on the Westside.
I was looking...
Richard Petty was her favorite driver. I remember him coming to Jax, FL when I was about 11-12 for a meet & greet w/ fans at a dealership on the Westside.
I was looking...
...forward to meeting him, not b/c I cared, bit b/c my Mom did, & was excited for for her, my Sister & myself to meet him.
It was like mid July, in Jacksonville. The line was MASSIVE. We waited for HOURS in the sweltering heat. Richard was inside, & was only supposed to be...
It was like mid July, in Jacksonville. The line was MASSIVE. We waited for HOURS in the sweltering heat. Richard was inside, & was only supposed to be...
...there for two hours or so.
The man actually sat in there for roughly five hours to try & meet as many folks as he could, take pics, & autograph memorabilia.
We got so close, we could see him inside. The line behind us was still LOOONG. Then, after staying 3 or more hrs...
The man actually sat in there for roughly five hours to try & meet as many folks as he could, take pics, & autograph memorabilia.
We got so close, we could see him inside. The line behind us was still LOOONG. Then, after staying 3 or more hrs...
...to try to accommodate all of his fans, they announced that they were closing the doors, & no one else would be getting in.
I haven& #39;t thought much about that day since then, but honestly, thinking about it now kinda gets to me a bit.
Here& #39;s my Mom, with her two little...
I haven& #39;t thought much about that day since then, but honestly, thinking about it now kinda gets to me a bit.
Here& #39;s my Mom, with her two little...
...brats in the Florida sun, in July, on the blacktop of a car dealership with a couple thousand other people, waiting to meet one of her heroes. She& #39;s a superfan, talking the old school ceramic collector plates level fan (miss me w/ the redneck jokes, I& #39;ve heard & #39;em all &...
...even picked on her about them myself).
My father was on deployment, so it was just us three.
This bullshit by NASCAR doesn& #39;t phase me. I& #39;m not even slightly surprised.
That said, my respect for the man Richard Petty was as a "NASCAR legend" is no longer existant.
I feel...
My father was on deployment, so it was just us three.
This bullshit by NASCAR doesn& #39;t phase me. I& #39;m not even slightly surprised.
That said, my respect for the man Richard Petty was as a "NASCAR legend" is no longer existant.
I feel...
...for my mother. Someone that watched him throughout his career, admired & respected him, & even invested $ into ridiculous (to me) memorabilia like PLATES.
Her husband was gone for 6 months, & she didn& #39;t know *if* her kids were going to see their father come home.
She...
Her husband was gone for 6 months, & she didn& #39;t know *if* her kids were going to see their father come home.
She...
...dealt with all the pissing & moaning of a 11-12 y/o boy & 7-8 y/o girl for like 6+ hours, standing there in the heat. She wasn& #39;t only excited to meet him, she was excited for her kids to meet him. The LEGEND Richard Petty! Got feet from the door & was turned away.
I know...
I know...
...it bothered her, but I can& #39;t recall her being bothered. Disappointed, sure, but she was undoubtedly crushed.
This is getting a bit long, but I& #39;m almost there...
A little while before then, Pete Rose came to a shopping pavilion to do the same thing. Long line, summer heat...
This is getting a bit long, but I& #39;m almost there...
A little while before then, Pete Rose came to a shopping pavilion to do the same thing. Long line, summer heat...
...Dad on deployment, & 2 brats that didn& #39;t know who Pete Rose was. (Not an MLB fan here either, just NFL & NCAA football).
Anyway, didn& #39;t matter. She was a fan, he was a legend, & not only did she want to meet him, she wanted her kids to meet him.
We did. We were there...
Anyway, didn& #39;t matter. She was a fan, he was a legend, & not only did she want to meet him, she wanted her kids to meet him.
We did. We were there...
...for a LOOONG time waiting as well. Idk how long, but it didn& #39;t matter, b/c we got in, we met him. He spoke to us like a legend. Respectful. Joked w/ my Mom, talked to my Sister & I, & made it a wonderful memory.
I& #39;m absolutely disgusted at how Richard Petty (likely)...
I& #39;m absolutely disgusted at how Richard Petty (likely)...
...knowingly acted as if all that BULLSHIT wasn& #39;t BULLSHIT, & went along w/ it.
I mean, there& #39;s "selling out" & then there& #39;s desperate despicable unabashedly selling out in order to appease a mob of jackasses that totally & completely dgaf about you or your "sport" (sorry...
I mean, there& #39;s "selling out" & then there& #39;s desperate despicable unabashedly selling out in order to appease a mob of jackasses that totally & completely dgaf about you or your "sport" (sorry...
...to those that will get into a pissing match over whether or not it& #39;s a real sport, which it isn& #39;t—hence the quotations).
This age of Corporate Wokeness is bad enough. The fact it was definitely all an elaborate marketing ploy by the geniuses at NASCAR that a "legend" like...
This age of Corporate Wokeness is bad enough. The fact it was definitely all an elaborate marketing ploy by the geniuses at NASCAR that a "legend" like...
...Richard Petty would hitch his entire legacy to is mind-numbingly aggravating at this point.
America DOES NOT have a price tag. Stop trying to sell everything off, including her history, & at a discount rate over some completely fabricated garbage & pass it off to us like...
America DOES NOT have a price tag. Stop trying to sell everything off, including her history, & at a discount rate over some completely fabricated garbage & pass it off to us like...
