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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't thought much about that day since then, but honestly, thinking about it now kinda gets to me a bit.
Here's my Mom, with her two little...
I haven't thought much about that day since then, but honestly, thinking about it now kinda gets to me a bit.
Here'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's a superfan, talking the old school ceramic collector plates level fan (miss me w/ the redneck jokes, I've heard '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't phase me. I'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't phase me. I'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't know *if* her kids were going to see their father come home.
She...
Her husband was gone for 6 months, & she didn'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'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't recall her being bothered. Disappointed, sure, but she was undoubtedly crushed.
This is getting a bit long, but I'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'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't know who Pete Rose was. (Not an MLB fan here either, just NFL & NCAA football).
Anyway, didn'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'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'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'm absolutely disgusted at how Richard Petty (likely)...
I'm absolutely disgusted at how Richard Petty (likely)...
...knowingly acted as if all that BULLSHIT wasn't BULLSHIT, & went along w/ it.
I mean, there's "selling out" & then there'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's "selling out" & then there'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's a real sport, which it isn'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...
...we aren't intelligent enough to see it's all a gigantic show. A ruse. A Hollywood production.
Stop the reality manipulation.
No one can enjoy anything anymore, & not only b/c it's ALL FAKE, but when/if it was ever REAL is also being stripped of its nostalgia.
Hfs!
ENOUGH!
Stop the reality manipulation.
No one can enjoy anything anymore, & not only b/c it's ALL FAKE, but when/if it was ever REAL is also being stripped of its nostalgia.
Hfs!
ENOUGH!
