I understand that NASCAR has a lot of fans (and a ton around where I live that will kill me for saying this), but I simply can’t pretend to be excited about the “sport” announcing that it’s making a return on May 17. I’m not starved enough for sports yet that I’m going to start wearing a sponsor-filled Joey Logano jumpsuit around the house getting ready to watch four races in the month of May.
Honestly, the real reason I’m not getting crazy excited about this news is because it does not signal the beginning of other, more real sports coming back. A NASCAR race in front of zero fans with stationary cameras set up is not the same as the NBA coming back because the NASCAR drivers are just that – drivers. They are not touching a ball with 9 other players on the court or sitting close next to each other all sweaty on a bench. The risk of spreading COVID-19 while driving around a racetrack seems pretty slim to me.
Trying to convince myself that NASCAR coming back means I’m guaranteed to watch the Yankees lose in the ALCS again this year would be like trying to convince myself that I was going to win the Powerball because I won a $5 scratcher at my local 7-Eleven. The two have nothing to do with each other and don’t affect one another at all.
Basically, the point I’m trying to get across here is that you can get excited for NASCAR if you want. You can pretend that you are a big fan of this “sport” and that you can’t wait to spend four hours watching cars drive in a circle. And if that’s you, then fine. You’re lying to yourself, but fine. It’s just not me. I’ll get excited once an MLB game gets on the schedule or Jeff Bezos builds that bio-dome so the NHL and NBA playoffs can wrap up and the NFL can get started. Until then, I’ll just be sitting here on my couch watching the Virtual Kentucky Derby and Madden Sims.