NASCAR Not A Sport??? (vid)
 

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linkage

now, i collect these videos and am looking for elliot sadler's wreck in the ea sports 500 at talledega, 10-04-04... if anyone has it, i'd greatly appreciate it - thanx!!! :D

Wow! I had forgotten about that wreck. Definitely the worst I've ever seen in NASCAR.
Funny how its the seemingly innocuous wrecks that cause the worst injuries.

You wouldn't happen to have a vid of Senna's fatal accident at Imola in '94, would you?

Did he survive that??? After Sunday's flip-over(Sadler's second-he flipped 4 times last year at Talledega), Sadler told the interviewer, 'I seem to flip better on asphalt.' The man didn't have so much as a scratch, attesting to the safety of these cars at 190+ an hour.

That's an amazing crash, but how does that make Nascar a sport?

I'm not saying Nascar is or is not a sport (not a fan), but what qualities of athletisicim does that video demonstrate?

I am of the belief that any "sport" where you can remain a contender or top player for over 5 - 7 years is not a sport.

You can be a Nascar driver for 15 - 20 years if you so chose. You can't do that in Basketball, NHL or Baseball and remain at top/pinnicle of your game. imo.

I enjoy Nascar but i never refer to the drivers as "athletes"

Two things.

One, we already have a thread to discuss the validity of calling NASCAR a sport.

Two, using a video to make that argument either way is like using the video of Joe Theisman's leg snapping to show the same about the NFL.

What the hell are you talking about? The only sport you CAN"T play 15-20 years is Football, for obvious
reasons. Hell, Mario Lemieux (NHL) has been playing since 1984, and he had freakin CANCER.
Many pitchers play baseball 20-30 seasons. Nolan Ryan played from '68-94. Gordie Howe played Hockey
till he was 50, Gretsky played from '77-99 (and he was definately top player for more than 5-7 years.)
Lance Armstrong, in Tour de France terms, has been the top player for 6 years.
You're arguement is quickly falling apart at the seams (at least your first part, and most of the second).

While it's true that after 15-20 years you may not be the top contender, most of the players who make it
that far are still pretty damn decent. (Ray Bourque for instance. Nolan Ryan pitched two no-hitters in his
last 4 years of the game. Michael Jordan was still super when he quit the Bulls (although maybe not after-
wards. I can only name a few greats who were still at the top of their game towards the 15-20 mark
because their are only a few race car drivers who are also still great after all these years.)

You CAN play in the NFL 15-20 years. There are plenty of players who have or are now currently playing in their 15-20 years. Some even more than 20 years.

I saw a crash on cops tonight. Does that make law enforcement a sport?

Depends.

Were they driving 200 mph inches from each other for four straight hours?

"The only sport you CAN"T play 15-20 years is Football, for obvious
reasons. Hell, Mario Lemieux (NHL) has been playing since 1984, and he had freakin CANCER.
Many pitchers play baseball 20-30 seasons. Nolan Ryan played from '68-94. Gordie Howe played Hockey
till he was 50, Gretsky played from '77-99 (and he was definately top player for more than 5-7 years.)
Lance Armstrong, in Tour de France terms, has been the top player for 6 years.
You're arguement is quickly falling apart at the seams (at least your first part, and most of the second). "

Mario Lemieux - off and on. You can't put him the the same category as Norton, Forsberg and Iginla. He was good for 5 - 7 years. He's no longer a top player.

Gretzky - no longer a top player after 5 - 7 years. After 3 years in Los Angeles he was no longer the best, mario took his spot.

Nolan - he wasn't the best player in the sport ater 7 years. A case can be made against him.

All I'm saying is simply this . . you are not consider an athlete in my book if you can remain the best player in your sport after 7 years. Your body breaks down and younger stronger players take your place. If you can stay on top for 20 years as the BESt player in the game don't call yourself an athelete, imo.