Danica Derangement Syndrome

A while back, yours truly mused on the tangible connections between Danica Patrick and Sarah Palin. I have no idea what, if any, political leanings or interest in the genre are part of Mrs. Hospenthal’s persona. Rather, I reference the ability for both to evoke irrational responses both yea and nay. ‘Tis something to behold. Preferably from a safe distance.

I classify myself as an unashamed Danica fan, albeit one who embraces reality. She had a miserable day in today’s Nationwide race at New Hampshire, won by Kyle Busch (yawn). Not a small part of her difficulties stemmed from inexperience in understanding the physical nature of stock car racing at shorter tracks. Although as mentioned yesterday NHIS doesn’t fully qualify as a short track, it’s a far cry from the previous tracks where Danica has run in Nationwide (Daytona, Auto Club and Las Vegas). Not a whole lot of intentional fender rubbin’ at those places. Other than between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, that is. But I digress.

Another element to consider is how Danica is definitely going about her stock car racing career the hard way. More than a few expert open-wheel racers have tried going into NASCAR full-time only to find themselves perpetually struggling, with results far poorer than what they had previously enjoyed (for example, Sam Hornish Jr.) or, for lack of a more genteel description, washing out altogether (Dario Franchitti). And that’s focusing exclusively on stock cars. Trying to learn NASCAR in-between IRL races while doing the latter full-time? Yeepers. For that alone, Danica ought to be admired.

Ought to be.

However, this is Danica we’re talking about, one to whom the laws of logic and this amazing commodity known as “having a clue” routinely are not applied. Hence, displays of dumb such as today’s Twitter stream by Jeff Gluck.

Gluck, more than any other traditional media person presently covering NASCAR, embodies DDS (Danica Derangement Syndrome). He writes and tweets about her incessantly, whining all the way about how he’s only doing so because she’s a Hot Topic. Although you’re far more likely to find a Twilight t-shirt than one for the GoDaddy.com car at one of their stores. But again I digress.

Gluck’s lack of knowledge when it comes to the sport he covers seldom fails to make its presence felt. Today he snarked on Twitter after early race contact between Morgan Shepherd and Danica, one of those situations either driver could have avoided but chose not to, that Shepherd is known for dumping people (/sarcasm off). If he knew the least little bit about Shepherd, he’d know that unlike the present era, which casts him in the role of a quaint old coot in his Jesus-sponsored car, back in his day Shepherd was a good driver not averse to the rough stuff. Guess knowing that’d be too much to ask.

And so Gluck kept on, and on and on and on, about Danica. He openly feuded with some fans of hers who chided him on Twitter, labeling her “an embarrassment” and publicly sulking like a thin-skinned twerp over it all. There are few things more pathetic than those who troll for sympathy by retweeting slams against them. Yes, Gluck did just that. Shocker, eh?

Here’s some helpful advice for the Jeff Glucks of this world, the ones who snark and snipe under the guise of speaking truth to power then cry like spoiled brats whenever called out on same. Read carefully the earlier paragraphs in this post about Danica’s performance today and overall effort thus far in NASCAR. Note the honesty minus personal animus. Instead, a balanced presentation of facts. It’s called reporting. You know — what you get paid to do?

An additional tidbit of wisdom. You’re not the show. Never have been, aren’t now and never will be. Ever.

Racing fans are about the racing. Drivers, cars, tracks, stuff like that. To date there has yet to be a single recorded incident of a fan buying a ticket to a race so they could watch a reporter. Go figure, huh?

The best reporters know this. They gather information and present it in a form that both entertains and informs. They’re not about placing themselves at the center of a personality cult. Their primary goal isn’t gathering applause and shouting “look at me” every time their byline appears. The greatest compliment a reporter can receive isn’t being told what a great story they’ve written. It’s being told by an appreciative reader, listener or viewer how they’ve provided previously unknown knowledge about someone or something. Period.

Yesterday, Dave Weigel, who had been writing a column for the Washington Post about conservative politics, was forced to resign after several vicious comments he had made about some of the people he was reporting on, made in a private e-mail list group of liberal journalists to which he belonged, came to light. While Weigel’s political views were a known quantity all along, he has asserted he was sufficiently professional to put these aside and report with integrity. His unguarded comments indicated otherwise.

The sole difference between Weigel and Gluck is that the former believed his opinions were being expressed privately, whereas Gluck displays his bias in public for all the world to see. A reporter who is openly derisive of someone or something they have been assigned to cover cannot be believed when they bleat it doesn’t matter. Yes, it does.

Gluck’s anti-Danica bias isn’t a professional opinion. It is personality and celebrity-based, bordering on if not completely within the realm of misogyny. He can protest to the skies this is not the case. His own words betray him.

Gluck’s goal is to make a buck. Fair enough; we all have to earn a living. He could do this through accurate, unbiased reporting. Instead, he has chosen to be a pretend tough guy by insulting someone who does what he never could do.

Namely, be a professional.