Trevor Bayne/Daytona 500: Cheering in the Press Box

Jay Busbee handles the NASCAR and golf blogs for Yahoo! Sports, and he does an excellent job with both.

The linked post on cheering in the press box appeared on his personal blog, which is subtitled "Sports. Novels. Comics. Poker. Beer."

Chris Jones also did a post about press box etiquette on his personal blog last week, but I'm betting you didn't excoriate him.

Cut Jay some slack, please.

Nate Ryan

 

I don't know how you could have watched that unfold and be stone-faced about it. It's still crazy to think Bayne won. In that scenario, I certainly wouldn't have minded a "holy crap. I can't believe that just happened!!" And even a little clapping. It was an unbelievable moment.

Somebody, perhaps Nate, should correct me if I'm wrong, but I think NASCAR has been inviting fan bloggers into their media center for awhile now. If that's the case, I'm not surprised by the result.

I don't think it's worth making a big deal over, though.

 

A little background.

I'm all for a natural, spontaneous reaction to something amazing or historic. I've done that. I'm sure I'll do it again. This wasn't that. At the same time, this was also not about remaining stone-faced or being upset over a little clap. This was something else entirely.

This was whooping and cheering and screaming at an unprecedented volume as Bayne and Edwards came off the final turn toward the finish line. Not after the race was over, mind you, but as the finish unfolded. Not everyone was cheering, but too many were. Then, in the post-race press conference, someone (I do not remember who) asked the following question of Trevor Bayne:

"You were responsible for getting this entire room to explode in applause, which has probably only happened a handful of times in this room. That said, most of us were cheering because of that move you made right there at the end."

As anyone reading this thread can see, the NASCAR journalism corps often gets a bad rap for favoritism. And yet, most of the regular beat writers I know are incredibly fair in their coverage. Many of us came from covering other sports, know well the rules of professional decorum, and work very hard to write objectively about a sport that considers everyone involved as part of the same community. But as far as anyone watching that interview -- which was streamed live on the web site I work for -- is considered, hey, we were all cheering for Trevor Bayne.

That's how it unfolded, and why some of us got angry and wrote as much on Twitter. And to dispel an old canard right away -- no, I do not work for NASCAR. The official site is independently owned and operated by Turner. I work for Uncle Ted.

 

Very interesting.

Were the guilty parties from respectable news agencies or were they fan bloggers?

 

As I recall, the press center was pretty loud for about 10 seconds at the finish, because we all knew we'd just seen the greatest finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500, and would now have to write up to the level of the finish. And only then; after all, Bill York was always around to remind us that we were in "a working press room." And there was, aside from the usual yahoos, no applause from the real media for Hornish when he entered the interview room.

 

"To those who might gripe I have three words: Get. Over. Yourself."

Predictable in any ethics discussion: Someone who confuses acting ethically with being arrogant or stuck-up.

Is it really that difficult to understand why it would be appropriate, and useful, for the people who tell the news not to cheer for one side or another?

 

You and the rest were deservedly angry. It was unprofessional of those whooping and hollering.

Any chance NASCAR makes a "No cheering in the press box" announcement at Phoenix?

Edit: I hit the button to post that and realized it was probably a dumb question. NASCAR probably wishes all the writers were fanboys for the sport first and foremost, so nobody would write anything critical of it.

 

I've never been to a NASCAR event, so I can't and won't speak to what is the norm there, but I do know this: It's possible not to be stone-faced and cold and still not cross that line. You can be human and yet manage to avoid outright cheering for someone. I don't know why arguing the latter rules out the former, in some people's minds.

 

I was going to say ... your original sentence was the funniest thing I've ever read on this site.