Fall out from the loss of Marco Simoncelli
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I thought the same the moment Roger posted her bio, but i wasn't sure if she indeed was one of Murdoch's propaganda slaves.
Joined Aug 2008
6K Posts | 748+
Thailand
What Chopper said.
And
I lost my mom at last year and sharing precious moments and laughing with her friends is what pulled us through. I'm all for respect and mourning but life is to be cherished and the high points and goof-ups remembered and replayed in eulogy, wake and ever-after. .... the glum black-veil - life goes on for the living.
Exactly Mick.
I lost my father very suddenly a few years back and to this day I have not shed a tear nor mourned in terms of what people expected.
Yes, I think of him daily and miss many aspects to the relationship we had (still have in my mind) but from the day he died until today I constantly smile as I remember the good times, the fun, the excitement and joy we shared. No need to feel glum as it cannot change what has happened, and so I instead recall the good times and laugh inside and out at the hilarity of what he did.
Funerals do not need to be a 'sad' occasion as they should instead be seen as a celebration of the life shared, nor are they and end, but a beginning to a whole new relationship
Gaz
They're not posting any of the comments. Still only 2 up there, and I post a comment too. They're just ignoring the comments. So best not to bother with the article, it's just link bait.
An expanded scope for reflection is fine and all or nearly all of us are reflecting, but don't take agenda driven tabloid journalism such as this as any basis for such reflection.
The bottom line for these particular newspapers is that everything is someone else's fault.
Whatever the motivation of the audience may be, as others have said these guys are not primarily doing this to entertain us, or imo for the money or even the fame; many people race bikes or cars at lower levels with little or no crowd and with no money or fame involved, and even F1 and motogp arose from small beginnings with few such rewards for winning let alone competing. Marcus ambrose the australian guy now doing middling well in nascar was making a comfortable living at the pinnacle of australian 4 wheel motorsport (such as it is) and I am sure didn't uproot his family at a relatively advanced age to work through the feeder series of nascar because he thought he could make more money in the US, I think he wanted to see how good he was/could be against the toughest opposition he could find.
What is an acceptable level of danger in sport or life is another question, and I am not aware of anyone with definitive answers. Some things, such as F1 prior to Jackie Stewart, are perhaps not so hard to categorise though.
Joined Feb 2007
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Tennessee
Exactly, funerals should be a celebration of the deceased life. The other day, i was watching a tribute to Dan Weldon and a roast broke out. At first, you could tell some were uncomfortable, but as it went on, they started loosening up and going with it. They even had his wife smiling, which was the intent all along. Dario referred to Dan as " the little brother no one wanted" early on in his career. Funerals do not have to be some zombie like affair, you can make them what you want.
Joined Jul 2006
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Texas
Joined Aug 2008
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Thailand
Also wanted to say at this point, the question I haven't heard asked here or anywhere:
Before the stretcher was dropped; before poor Collie and Vale came upon a situation which was unavoidable; before we discuss how far to attempt to save a down; before tyres; TC and track safety is - how did Marco end up so outta shape in the first place? I've yet to hear a trackside report or see camera which reveals the genesis of the lowside. He and Bautista were having quite a first/second lap battle, they go into turn nine hairpin followed by Nicky, Collie and Vale, up the short hill straight and right hander of ten, then the first thing you see is Bautista AND Nicky past Marco, Collie and Vale clipping the apex, both their bikes wobble as they pick up Marco before the cameras do then Marco enters the picture... I wanna know what happened that we didn't see... am I the only one?
Before the stretcher was dropped; before poor Collie and Vale came upon a situation which was unavoidable; before we discuss how far to attempt to save a down; before tyres; TC and track safety is - how did Marco end up so outta shape in the first place? I've yet to hear a trackside report or see camera which reveals the genesis of the lowside. He and Bautista were having quite a first/second lap battle, they go into turn nine hairpin followed by Nicky, Collie and Vale, up the short hill straight and right hander of ten, then the first thing you see is Bautista AND Nicky past Marco, Collie and Vale clipping the apex, both their bikes wobble as they pick up Marco before the cameras do then Marco enters the picture... I wanna know what happened that we didn't see... am I the only one?
Joined Mar 2005
7K Posts | 20+
Woody Creek
Lazy in general, if you ask me. At one point she asked why participants and fans believe they've signed away their lives to a waiver. No joke, she legitimately asks that question as if it's valid. Firstly, each and every rider is more than aware of the inherent risks of the sport and as Colin Edwards said some seven years ago: "We know it's not all flowers and roses, it's a risk you take. It's a calculated risk. And when you do the calculations, the odds are in your favor." Secondly, I'm quite certain that each and every ticket to each and every event is a waiver of any responsibility held by the track in the event of an accident and harm done to any spectator. So yes, each and every person involved and attending a race, is well aware of the risk involved, if not consciously, then surely legally.
She seems in disbelief to the concept that people can die in sport. So all of motorsport is only sport by a technicality or not a sport at all in her view? How about freeclimbing? Is that also not a sport? How about sports in which paralysis is as common as death in motorsport? Say American football. Is that not a sport because of the inherent risk?
The biggest injustice of this article is her misunderstanding of the role inherent risk plays in the passion for motorsport in participants and in fans. Sure, you're going to get those casual observers who revel in the crashes. But I'd hardly consider them fans of the sport, certainly doing nothing to propel the sport forward. But in every participant and in every real supporter of the sport, we understand just how dangerous it is. And for us, the crashes are the last thing we want to see because of that danger. Because every time you fall down, there's a risk. But that's just it. The risk. It's what separates them from mere mortals. We don't love the sport because of the crashes, we love the sport because these men can do incredible things on machines that we couldn't dream of doing. A lot of that is natural talent and a good portion of that is pure bravery. And those traits are something I admire. I hate to us an F1 example here, but when Lewis Hamilton dove up the inside of Fernando Alonso (?) at the old turn one of Silverstone this past summer on slick tires in wet conditions, I couldn't believe my eyes. I am a big detractor of Hamilton, but that moment blew my mind because of his bravery to attempt such a maneuver and his talent to pull it off. That's why the loss of Simoncelli has been so hard felt across the sport. Because he showcased those two traits every weekend.
And to claim the chess match that is motorsport is too dull to watch is a slap in the face. I won't make sweeping generalizations, but I, particularly, love watching a rider stalk his opponent for two to three laps. Learning where he is stronger than his opponent, finding out where the strengths and weaknesses line up to attempt a pass, and knowing when the moment is right to go. To contemplate all of that while piloting a motorcycle at 200mph or lent over and experiencing Gs makes it boggle my mind how they can do it all at once.
And finally, none of us, not fans, not organizers, not promoters, not participants, have blood on our hands. When I used to ride, a little over my head, admittedly, I knew the risk I was taking. But I loved to ride so I did it anyway. When I used to ice race, I knew that if I fell off it was going to hurt like hell if I got run over by the studs of my competitors, but I did it anyway. I didn't do either because I thought I was going to be famous or rich some day for it. I did it because I loved it. And that's the same reason Marco did it. Otherwise he wouldn't have sacrificed his childhood to do so, or spent 100 days a year on the road, or just re-signed a contract with Honda so he could do it all again in 2013.
The fact of the matter is this is an oversimplification of sport that someone doesn't understand. If you don't agree with it, fine, that's your business, but don't tell me that it's my and my passion's fault someone has died. Someone who you don't know and don't care about, someone who I and my passion care about deeply.
Get ......, Jill Singer.
Joined Mar 2005
7K Posts | 20+
Woody Creek
From what i saw marco and Bautista were having a wonderful battle, swapping places at every turn. Marco midway through turn 11 pushed hard and lost the front, he hung onto the bike like a true fighter and tried to save it. In doing so the rear gained traction causing him to vier violently to the right accross the track. That my opinion from what i saw. There was some onboard footage from another bike posted.
But if he lost the front in a right hander, shuldnt he be viering outside of the track (in the other direction) if he saved it and the rear gained traction?
Joined Mar 2005
7K Posts | 20+
Woody Creek
I'm no physicist so don't take me as any expert, but if he loses the front on a right hander, he's still lent over right despite moving to the outside of the track, or left. When that tire grips, as he's still lent over right, it seems natural to me that the trajectory would carry it back to the right.
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