The Indianapolis 500...A True Spectacle





Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500...congrats, I guess. They call the Indy 500 "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." I have to agree with this claim...no where on earth will you see more people make a spectacle of themselves...well, maybe with the exception of spring break.;) If you have ever been to the infield on race day I am sure you will concur.
I have to wonder at the wisdom of such an event. A lot of fans travel a great distance to see the drivers go NOWHERE. They sit for several hours to see the drivers compete to see who can go in a circle and wind up where they started the fastest. It is estimated that about 400,000 people attend the race...to see 33 cars driven to death for no reason. If each person uses 10 gallons of gas to get to the track...(probably a conservative estimate) that would be 4,000,000 gallons of fuel burned (producing tons of pollution)...not counting the fuel spent to run the cars in the race and the motors and parts that are totally worn out during the race (not to mention all the resources used up during the month preceding the race) In a nation at war over oil (and that is really what the war is all about) I wonder if the few hours of entertainment are worth the price. Global warming is becoming a noticable issue. Someday I wonder if our future generations will look back upon such waste and cry.
E-mail: the_clever_cynic@yahoo.com

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