Bpb....the adventures of the Force's is great stuff? Really.....more Nostalgia Funny Car coverage would have been way more interesting to me than Mike Neff's living quarters feng shui treatment by Force girls.
Bingo! I've seen the scooter in action enough already--I really didn't need a feature on the damn thing. And Kudos to Jeff D for recognizing that the Force overkill during the first hour of the broadcast was extremely unpalatable to ANYONE including some of the extreme Force fans for the most part. But Jeff, I hope you understand that just because I am not a fan of the Force clan, it does not make me a hater. I got extremely tired of the overkill on the Shoe coverage last year also, but I am not a DSR hater either, although--at least last year Shoe was winning...an Paul M. pointed out.
I do sincerely feel many teams (and viewers) are being cheated by wasting time on the incessant following of Force riding back and forth, back and forth on that scooter in search of a camera to follow him, etc.. Yes, I know he has 4 teams and two daughters in A/Fuel cars (how could we not--they are the only sportsman racers who ever get a shot of their cars on a mainline NHRA national event broadcast), but after witnessing first hand at several national events the Force trips back and forth, I can say for certain that every time he rode past the grand stands he was not always on the way to the other end to meet or greet a team member. I would have liked to see some time dedicated to the "independent" teams who are using increasingly small car counts to empty their piggybanks and take a shot at running with the big dogs...this situation is unique, or at least has not been seen for many years, and many of the "part-timers" have great stories to tell....maybe not as riveting as watching Courtney and Brittany decorate Neff's trailer, but interesting nevertheless, and the broadcast would be much richer if we could get off the Force team just long enough to explore some of the other racers out there.
On the other hand, the second hour of the broadcast was pure gold...Jerry Ruth visiting with ol' rival and friend Ed McCullough was priceless, and the inclusion of some Nostalgia cars was great. They CAN do a great job with a broadcast--they have the people, the equipment, and the resources. They just have to quit taking the easy way out and quit reporting how many times John Force scratched his butt between now and his last loss. If they can realize that John Force is a great talent, a great marketer, and a great legend in NHRA drag racing and is due his due, but is NOT the only story out there week after week, I think we could see a pretty good show on ESPN2. Just two cents worth from a non-JFR fan (but NOT a hater, ok???)
