... why, in my senior thesis on how subcultural groups use various forms of communication to form a group identity, I focused on NASCAR fans, this really says it all.
Yes, this type of intense identification with the actual participants occurs in any sport. Compare the "I last won at Michigan" remark with football fans who talk about how "we" won last Sunday, for instance. But anyway, what you see here is an example of the involvement many NASCAR fans have with the outcome of any race, especially one in which one's particular driver is competing for a win.
It also illustrates the ignorance of people who say that auto racing is stupid because it's just cars going around in a circle. First of all, it's not a circle, it's an oval (or tri-oval, or road course). Moreover, auto racing that puts the driver, car builders and chiefs in control of the outcome is a 200-mph chess match, and that will never stop being awesome.
(For the record, I was just as disappointed, but a lot quieter. Which would not have been the case had the winner been, say, a Busch brother instead of someone I actually like.)
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