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i’m working at another race this weekend for my friend’s company, icard. last week as i realized how little i really know about racing (the rules, drivers, leagues, etc.), i started thinking about another sport of which i know a marginal amount: golf.

now this may seem like a strange pair to some (all, if you’re not strange) of you, but i would like to compare and contrast the two (a little trick i learned in 6th grade) for you. let’s see…

compare:

both are considered sports. (although i now give them both the sport props they deserve, there was a time when neither seemed like a viable sport in my mind. more like games or something…)

in both, many fans tend to pick a spot on the track or course and just stay there, watching the participants go by. obviously, there are those fans who roam around, but by and large they’re stationary.

both are marketing and endorsement cash cows. both race car drivers and golfers tend to have brand names plastered all over them. you know they’re making a lot of money/support for that.

events for both sports take forever… both run basically all weekend, vs. a football game that is over in a few hours.

both are based on a scoring system where lower is better. (they’re both a race of sorts…)

both sports are too expensive for me to participate in.

both sports are too expensive for me to buy tickets to (maybe if i cared more about them).

both are sports that are fun to watch for free, but that i don’t really care that much about.

contrast:

the noise…

racing is really, really, really expensive. although both sports are costly to participate in, there is really no comparison between the two. (clubs, shoes, and green fees vs. car, parts, supplies, tools, materials, tires, electronics, etc.)

golf is slow, racing is fast.

golf is a singular sport (golfer plays by himself and relies on no one, except for maybe his caddy), whereas racing is a team sport (driver is supported by a big pit crew, as well a a garage crew, and a whole hospitality team).

golf is environment-friendly, racing not so much.

people don’t walk around without a shirt at golf tournaments.

you see more cigars at golf tourneys. i think 90% of people at the race track smoke pall malls…not that i’m hating. pall mall actually sounds like “not bad” in french.

the standout woman participant in racing (danica patrick) is actually a competitor…yet to win first in a pro race, but pretty tough nonetheless. the female golfers who have crossed over to the pga have been anti-climactic at best.

yeah, i finished the post with a gender comment. don’t be mad. i’m just keeping it real.

Posted on April 6th, 2008 by adamdeweber
Filed under: sports, work