Is the Junior Nation becoming bad for the sport?

#1
rbroyles

rbroyles

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#1
The incident at Richmond between Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has once again shown the extent of the Junior Nation's ability to get riled up over their hero being done wrong. Given the zealousness of some and the propensity to over react by throwing objects at the wrongdoer, and making threats exampled by Wind Tunnel on Speed Channel, is the Jr. Nation becoming detrimental to the sport? Are there people having second thoughts about attending a race for fear of violence, particularly those desiring to take children? Are drivers more careful around Jr. due to fear of getting on the wrong side of the Nation?
 
#2
#2
I dont know what the Nation has done but I think it just shows the class of the NASCAR fans as a whole.
 
#3
#3
Fine Vol said:
I dont know what the Nation has done but I think it just shows the class of the NASCAR fans as a whole.
Click to expand...

So basically what you're saying is that ALL NASCAR fans have no class. Or did I misunderstand your statement?
 
#4
#4
rbroyles said:
The incident at Richmond between Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has once again shown the extent of the Junior Nation's ability to get riled up over their hero being done wrong. Given the zealousness of some and the propensity to over react by throwing objects at the wrongdoer, and making threats exampled by Wind Tunnel on Speed Channel, is the Jr. Nation becoming detrimental to the sport? Are there people having second thoughts about attending a race for fear of violence, particularly those desiring to take children? Are drivers more careful around Jr. due to fear of getting on the wrong side of the Nation?
Click to expand...

Are New York Yankees fans bad for baseball?
 
#6
#6
tclowers23 said:
Are New York Yankees fans bad for baseball?
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Do NY Yankee fans fit the description given? Here is an article from NASCAR. com.

Fanning the flames
Dennis Rodman

If anyone's a fan of the original Frankenstein movie, you can't forget the scene in which the villagers, armed en masse with torches, chased down the good doctor's "monster" with the intent of causing his demise.

Well, I have it from good sources that the scene post-race at Richmond on Saturday night resembled that, sans torches.

I'm truly sorry the FOX cameras missed the display of middle fingers that my boys told me resembled "the wave" as Busch made his way around the track under caution. That would have been a sight.

I think I understand passion, but I don't think I can fathom, as your guy gets whacked out of the way and potentially out of Victory Lane, taking several hundred dollars worth of scanner equipment and headphones and rearranging them into a dozen pieces on the ground.

And I'm mostly glad Kyle Busch gear was in short supply as the crowd made its way out of the stadium, as my boys told me the mob was actively seeking and speaking their intent of laying waste to any "M&M's fans" they might come across.
And since it was inanimate, the funniest had to be the guys who relieved a nearby convenience store of a Kyle Busch cardboard stand-up, then proceeded to stomp it in the parking lot, before announcing they were "taking it back to camp to find a bonfire."

Ah, passion.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer
 
#8
#8
Why limit this to JR Nation? I have been to many sporting events where stuff like this happens. I was at the Bristol Race a few years ago and a few guys started fighting each other because one was a Ga Bulldog talking about the Vols. This is rather commonplace nowadays. You just can't limit it to one type of Fan, that is my Opinion. If not for the fighting then it's the obscenities being thrown around by hecklers at say your fav. (insert favorite popular sport here) game. At least at a Nascar event I can still bring my 8 year old daughter because there is such things as Headphones and earplugs. I guess I'll have to invest in a blindfold next.
 
#9
#9
But Junior fans make up almost 80% of the fans at the race, maybe more, maybe less. The fans don't really act like idiots unless Junior is wronged.
 
#11
#11
Week in the life of Neck Car guy:

Drive rv to the track thursday.
Drink.
Drink and cook Friday.
Drink and watch Busch race Sat.
Drink and cook Sunday morning.
Drink at Nextel race for four hours.
Watch my guy lose in the last 10 laps after leading most of the day.
Remember that I didnt wear sun screen, or shower.
Take a last swig.
Get hacked off at everyone wearing (fill in the blank) driver t-shirt.

It is an enevitable equation for unruly behavior.
 
#12
#12
Maybe Nascar tracks need jail cells like they have at Lincoln Financial Field where the Philadelphia Eagles play.I believe trouble makers are trouble makers,sort of what
Adidas said. In Nascar,they seem to gravitate towards Dale Jr is all. Anywhere there are large groups of people drinking alcohol all day,there's gonna be a potential for bad behavior,mob mentality style.
I certainly don't think it reflects on Nascar fans as a whole or even Jr.Nation as a whole.
 
#15
#15
lll Adidas said:
Agreed........ my point exactly. Well Said, McLovin.
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Good point, I agree all NASCAR fans are not like Jr. fans, and I question they are as high as 80%, but they are a majority. As doozer said, some get unruly when they think Jr. is wronged, not all of course, but when they toss stuff on the track, with potential of hitting other fans as well as the cars, it has crossed the line. And if you have to physically protect yourself because of the shirt you wear, it has gone too far.

As long as I have been going to races, 1961, I have seen fights in the stands. The difference is that then it was one Ford fan disagreeing with one Chevy fan or one Petty fan vs one Pearson fan. You didn't feel any reason to be concerned for your own safety. A fight requires two willing participants, mob mentality doesn't care whether you are willing or not.

So I had the thought, can this situation cause people to have second thoughts about attending a race?
 
#17
#17
rbroyles said:
.

As long as I have been going to races, 1961, I have seen fights in the stands. The difference is that then it was one Ford fan disagreeing with one Chevy fan or one Petty fan vs one Pearson fan. You didn't feel any reason to be concerned for your own safety. A fight requires two willing participants, mob mentality doesn't care whether you are willing or not.

So I had the thought, can this situation cause people to have second thoughts about attending a race?
Click to expand...

Yeah,times have changed.Violence today is at a whole different level. Look at schools today compared to then.It's not just Nascar.
As far as attending a race,I would have second thoughts
if I was a Kyle Busch fan wearing Kyle Busch gear. That's about it.
 
#18
#18
Fine Vol said:
All of them except you.:whistling:
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That's a pretty bold statement you made there. Also very ignorant and stereotypical. In the future, you may want to stay away from saying things that make you sound so unintelligent... that is, unless that's just who you are. If that's the case, I'll know to ignore your comments in the future.
 
#20
#20
Most of the posts above summed up my opinion, Junior got a bad deal, not nessecarily anyones fault explicitly, and some of his fans reacted, well, abominably.

And when a great percentage of fans are Junior fans, its going to be worse, even if only one in 200 is a real imbicile.

Trust me, i know the feeling, (especially around here:p) being a Red Sox fan. Why do people make blanket statements about groups of fans? Because only the idiots with a case and a half of beer in them yelling profanity with kids around, and throwing crap, and acting generally obnoxiously towards other fans, get noticed. Simple as that. More fans=greater opportunity of running into a repulsive one.
 
#21
#21
Nascar is a good ole boy sport with alot of southern flavor. They can try to modernize it,nationalize it. But your always going to have fans that show up at races and get drunk then get rowdy. Kyle busch is driving for gibbs, he is in a toyota and he has had more than one run in with junior. Not to mention junior hasn't won a race in forever and kyle has been winning alot here lately. Kinda reminds me of how earnhardt fans hated jeff gordon back in the late ninety's and into the very early 2000's. Hate to say it but the sport needs this kind of stuff for it to stay interesting to a broad audience.
 
#22
#22
I agree with all of this to an extent... many times I wish there werent as many Jr fans as there are.. I began to like Jr bc my father liked him and also bc I like his personality... that being said, I cant stand to see some ol drunk redneck in the bar with a sleeveless Jr shirt on.. either we need more redneck drivers to steal some of the redneck fans or we need Jr to do something to piss a lot of ppl off :good!:
 
#24
#24
yeah Im sure ill catch some flack about having a GHG avatar and hating on rednecks
 
#25
#25
Cartervol said:
Nascar is a good ole boy sport with alot of southern flavor. They can try to modernize it,nationalize it. But your always going to have fans that show up at races and get drunk then get rowdy. Kyle busch is driving for gibbs, he is in a toyota and he has had more than one run in with junior. Not to mention junior hasn't won a race in forever and kyle has been winning alot here lately. Kinda reminds me of how earnhardt fans hated jeff gordon back in the late ninety's and into the very early 2000's. Hate to say it but the sport needs this kind of stuff for it to stay interesting to a broad audience.
Click to expand...

I fully agree the sport needs a rivalry and/or bad boy vs hero diatribe to build interest. I enjoy it myself, but I nor most fans don't go looking for fans of the villian to take our anger out on if he takes our driver out. Nor do I or most other fans throw objects on the track. These are the things I am focusing on.
 
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