The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 16, 2005, Page 15, Image 15
Is it really
fair to call
NASCAR
a Sport?’
■ Rule-changing and
obnoxious fans make
racing more of a joke
It’s that time of the year again. If
you’re like me, it’s the beginning of
college baseball season. If you’re like
me, it’s almost time for college
basketball’s March madness. But
unfortunately, if you’re like most
people in the southeastern part of
the United States, it’s NASCAR
time.
I can
almost smell
the familiar
scents of
chewing
tobacco and
body odor in
the air.
There is
• _ -. _ nothing else
JAKE quite like
BROOM NASCAR,
and I for
SECOND-YEAR
POLITICAL otle am
SCIENCE thankful.
STUDENT Where
else can you
see grown (physically, maybe not
so much mentally) men doing
everything possible to show their
undying devotion and support for
something going around a track
with “Viagra” painted on it? Where
else can you see grown (physically
... very, very grown) women
squeezed into acid-washed
Jordache jean shorts, black Reebok
shoes and tie-dyed tank tops
holding up signs proposing
marriage to some guy who makes
more money than I ever will by
pressing his foot slightly downward
and making one continuous 500
mile left turn? I just don’t see the
appeal here.
Do these people not realize they
are paying money for tickets and
wasting time watching races on
television just so they can watch the
basic equivalent of commercials for
hours at a time? The participants are
nothing more than car-shaped
billboards being driven by walking,
talking promotional actors. Drivers
won’t even do post-race interviews
without their sponsor’s hat proudly
on their head and their sponsor’s
beverage of choice firmly planted in
their hands. Many of them won’t
even refer to their car as their car —
it’s the “Skoal Jack Daniels Napa
Auto Parts Doritos Chevrolet." The
drivers might as well be Toucap
Qim nr fko flpirn nnnmna
the corks from champagne bottles in
victory lane, because they are
nothing more than tools being used
by very smart companies to sell
products to very dumb people.
This “sport” was born on lies —
rednecks running from the police to
get back to grandma’s house with
their backwoods, homemade
alcohol. Despite the fact that the
origins of the so-called sport come
from dishonesty, NASCAR is
constantly trying to change the
rules and inspect the cars to ensure
that everything is as fair as possible.
They change the rules more than
their fans change underwear,
although that might not be saying
much.
What other sport constantly
changes the rules to make sure the
best participant doesn’t always
w»n? If the people at NASCAR ran
the NBA, LeBron James would be
forced to pretend he was as
athletically average as the most
uncoordinated person in the league
(I vote for Shawn Bradley). They
would force Yao Ming to cut his
Unc nff it Lnppc - that wav Kp
O '
doesn’t get the unfair advantage of
being taller than Earl Boykins. Isn’t
the object (in part) to make your
car faster than the rest of them? If
so, why make rules specifically to
prevent that from happening? Why
make such a big deal out of the
car’s maker if the technology
involved is limited to make
everything even?
Another aspect of racing that
doesn’t make sense to me is the pit
crew. Why am I here spending
thousands of dollars and at least
four years of my life in college when
these schmucks are making a living
changing tires and holding up a gas
tank every few laps? How can they
sleep at night knowing there are
certain species of dogs that, if
properly trained, could make their
purpose in society obsolete? I just
don’t get it.
I guess that is just what it all boils
down to in the end: I just don’t get
it. 1 mean, don’t get me wrong — the
thought of spending time watching
gtown men circle a track for three
hours driving mobile billboards used
to appeal to me. And then I turned 8.
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
A USC diver competes in an event earlier this season. The women’s
diving team took second at the SEC Championships.
■ KENTUCKY
Continued from page 14
“Maybe the experience of not being
able to do it, maybe it was the home
crowd, ’ Odom said. “1 give our crowd a
lot of credit."
When asked where his level of play
came from, Tisby simply said, “I don’t
know."
“It’s a great win," Tisby said.
“Hopefully it’s a jump start for all of us."
The Colonial Center swelled with
excitement as the team encouraged
fans to storm the court, while officials
tried their best to hold fans off.
Neither the fans nor the team would
be denied the sweet taste of victory, as
the celebration in Columbia got
started.
“I’ve never felt something like that in
my life," freshmen Mike Calagna said
after the game. “I’m still speechless. I
don’t know what to say."
Comments m this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Tarence Kinsey crows after USC’s 73-61 victory over No. 3
Kentucky on Tuesday night at the Colonial Center.
■ HILLYARD
Continued from page 14
When Powell began his pregame ritual
of turning to a random page in the
Bible, he knew this was his night.
“I flipped the Bible open, and the
first thing I turned to was David and
Goliath," the senior leader said. “I read
the story before I came here and I said,
‘Yeah, it’s gonna be a good night."’
The Carolina hoops team did exactly
what we all expected them to do — play
a great first half of basketball. So here
comes the letdown, here comes the
patented UK run, here comes the
heartbreak, right?
No, this one just had that feeling.
Every time the Wildcats did something
they always seem to do there was a
Carolina answer. When sophomore
point guard Tre’ Kelley had a shot
blocked out of mid-air and a fast break
ensued, we all thought: “Here it comes."
Enter Tisby, who responded by
emphatically blocking the shot of the 6
foot-10-inch Randolph Morris. Kinsey
seemed to have ice in his veins, hitting
three after three, and he also said he just*
r—---—,-, ... --—
had that feeling.
Finally, the inevitable had arrived.
With a more than 10-point lead and less
than two minutes left, we all but knew it
was finally here. The real christening of
the Colonial Center. The upset we all
had that feeling about.
Two or three security guards were
not going to* hold back a mob of USC
students who stormed the court in the
wake of the team’s biggest win in years.
As I met up with Gonner after the game
he smiled, and I asked him, “Did you
have that feeling?"
He smiled and said, “I felt it
Saturday night. I knew there was no way
we were going to lose this game."
More importantly than the feeling of
victory that many of us experienced for
the first time is the absence of the feeling
we all know too well. How many times
have USC fans watched as not only the
basketball team but other sports have
come so close to that win that we can all
say we will always remember?
That win came Tuesday over what
was, “was” being the key word, the third
best team in all the land. I don’t know
about you, but I’ll never forget that
feeling.
Interested in taking The Gamecock Challenge?
If you can beat the editors, you’ll win a free Gamecock T
shirt. Send your picks to gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu by 2
p.m. Thursday. We’ll select ONE person’s picks, at random,
to be our Reader of the Week.
i ms week’s games:
Florida at LSI) Clemson at 4 UNC
Auburn at Georgia 9 Syracuse at 6 Boston College
Tennessee at Ole Miss Texas Tech at 8 Oklahoma State
Arkansas at Vanderbilt 5 Wake Forest at 7 Duke
Mississippi State at 3 Kentucky USC at 16 Alabama
♦ FOR TIE-BREAKING PURPOSES, PLEASE INCLUDE
YOUR SCORE FOR THE AUBURN GAME. AND DON’T
, FORGET YOUR NAME! i
Diving teams take 2nd, 6th
in Gainesville showdown
By JASON SCHNEIDER
THE GAMECOCK
The first portion of the SEC
Championship in swimming and diving
took place this past weekend in
Gainesville, Fla., as the USC men’s and
women’s diving teams looked to make a
large, figurative splash with a small,
literal splash.
Led by senior Lauren King, who
finished second on the 3-meter board,
along with equally solid performances
from senior Holly Hodges and junior
Tracey Richardson, the women were
able to place second with 75, second
only to Kentucky’s 112.
“Overall, the women’s group was
excellent," USC coach Don Gibb said.
“We’re sitting in second before the
swimming even starts."
The men look to be in a tougher spot
heading into the swimming portion of
the event, finishing with 45, good
enough for sixth overall.
“That’s about what I expected,"
Gibb said. “Their emphasis isn’t so
much on the SEC championship as it
is on the NCAA. That’s where their
focus is. They weren’t really peaked for
this."
Focus on the NCAA Championship
is certainly a warranted notion for this
squad, whose leader was last year’s
NCAA runner-up and looks to be one of
the favorites this year.
This competition is still only half
over, however, as this weekend in
Gainesville the swimming portion of the
championship will take place. The
atmosphere will be slightly different
when the Gamecocks enter the pool.
While the diving team is, for the
most part, a seasoned group of
individuals comprised mostly of
upperclassmen, the swimming team will
rely heavily on the strokes of freshmen
to carry the load.
“There’s an enormous amount of
freshmen on both our men’s and
women’s side, and we’re really looking
forward to seeing how they adapt to this
kind of pressure because this will be
their first really big test against this
caliber of competition," Gibb said.
Being the only senior on the
women’s side, All-American Carolynn
McHugh will have to be on top of her
game, not just in the pool but outside of
it as well, as freshmen and
“Overall, the
women’s group was
excellent. We’re
sitting in second
before the swimming
even starts.”
DON GIBB
use DIVING COACH
underclassmen will certainly look to her
for guidance.
There is an equally obvious lack of
upperclassmen on the men’s side, and
the freshmen will have to step up much
in the same manner as their female
counterparts.
As mentioned, the SEC
Championships will conclude this
weekend in Gainesville, and it will
certainly take mighty efforts from both
the women and men to make a run, or
♦
perhaps more appropriately a swim,
toward an overall victory.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gW7n.sc. edu
SEC News & Notes _
Rawl garners weekly honor
USC senior Aaron Rawl was
named SEC pitcher of the week
Monday for his performance in last
Friday’s season-opener against
Longwood.
Rawl pitched seven innings,
allowing just four hits and one
earned run.
In rolling to his 27th career win,
Rawl gave up no walks and had five
strikeouts, while facing the
minimum number of batters during
the first five innings.
It marked the first time Rawl had
earned SEC pitcher of the week
honors.
As a junior, Rawl went 13-4 with
a 4.22 ERA and 98 strikeouts to just
17 walks.
..- "
BRUCE NEWMAN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jonathan Modica grabs a
rebound Feb. 5 against
Mississippi. Modica earned
his first SEC honor last week.
Modica earns recognition
Arkansas guard Jonathan Modica
was named SEC player of the week
after averaging 19.5 points and 6.5
rebounds, while shooting more than
60 percent last week.
The junior led the Razorbacks to
wins over Georgia and LSU as part of
a three-game win streak. Modica
score 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting
in the win against Georgia. Against
the Tigers, the 6-foot-4 guard put up
25 points on 10-of-l6 shooting from
the field. The Smackover, Ark.,
native also pulled down nine
rebounds in the contest.
The award was Modica’s first.
The junior was the first Razorback to
win the weekly honor since Jan. 28,
2002.
Experience the World
Without Leaving
Home!
Carolina’s
Global Community
Invites You to an
OPEN HOUS
Wednesday, February
6-9pm
South Quad Lounge
♦ Learn about the community
♦ Enjoy some refreshments
♦ Take a tour
♦ Talk to residents
♦ Pick up an application
w **■ &