Clap-Gate 2011

    When your a sports reporter, you’re to remain ‘neutral’. That is very understandable, how are you supposed to write articles subjective, if you have a favorite team, player or in this case, driver and team.

    Picture your self sitting in the press box watching the Daytona 500, better yet picture yourself sitting there watching history being made, as the youngest driver crosses the finish line, first in what is just his second race in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. In all honesty, if I were there, I would have clapped also. Not because it was my favorite driver or because it was my favorite team, but because of getting The Wood Brother’s back into victory lane. Racing Icons.

Now many of you might be asking what does this have to do with NASCAR? Well Tom Bowles a former reporter for Sports Illustrated, recently got fired from his job, because he clapped when Trevor Bayne, crossed the finish line taking the Wood Brothers back to victory lane, really understandable in my opinion. Young Trevor Bayne put on one heck of a show, as did the other drivers. Even though it was packs of 2 cars, it was still interesting to watch.

  Now after you watch a play or a movie, its respectable that you clap if it kept your attention correct? So what makes clapping at the conclusion of the race, any different? It’s not like your decked out in driver gear, hootin’ and hollerin’ around for a certain driver. You know? Which brings me to my next point, how is it acceptable to say “Wow” after a race? If clapping is not acceptable neither is saying “wow”.

  I’m not going to mention any names, but there is one reporter who I feel is very hypocritical about others, and he fails to see his own faults. For one, he reports about Dale Jr, more then any other reporter there is, and not to mention half the stuff that he writes about, isn’t even news. Plain and simple. To me his opinion isn’t worth the document that he typed it in. So how is singling out one driver being neutral.. In my mind its not, and the thing is, this ‘reporter’ has the nerve to write a blog about how wrong it was. Well let me tell you something, that’s not very ethical now is it? No. How is it okay for you to say ‘wow’ and it is not okay for him to clap. You still spoke an opinion. Thought the press box was to be quite, my suggestion to you is that you take serious look in the mirror, and see if you should still be judging.

To Tom Bowles : It’s really crappy what happened to you, for a really pathetic reason, don’t defend what you did to any one. You shouldn’t have to. You did what most people didn’t have the nerve to do. Good luck in the future, and we got your back!