Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

  ....and Dale Earnhardt Sr. couldn't care less what anyone would think about him being a jerk or worse. Change careers with the money Dale made and Sammy made? What an idiot thought.

Great job at Kokomo, Sammy!!

Ding Ding Ding,  we have a winner.    Sammy don't care if I or anyone else boos.....as long as they are making noise,  he is selling t-shirts.   The louder I boo, the louder his fans cheer.   It's all about entertainment and having a vocal crowd that doesn't necessarily agree with each other is entertaining.     Somone has to wear the black hat, and Sammy seems to enjoy the roll.    (He certainly plays the part well)  

I was no fan of Dale Sr,  but he wasn't a douchbag of a human.  

Some good points.  I was not a Dale Sr. fan, matter of fact I loved to see him get beat.    That's part of what could make things exciting.  After his death it hasn't been as exciting, and because of that I miss him!  

Yo' Speedbump, we go back a long time, correct?  I always thought you were a straight up guy, big fan that travelled lots, one of the better fans to be honest, you loved the sport (and your cycle).  You must of known that I was a Sammy guy back then but you never asked me about it or him, which after reading your thoughts on him surprises me.  We had some good conversations and I think Sammy would have been another.  Jim, I wish we would have discussed him, I am curious as to what got you so anti-Sammy and I may have been able to tell his side a little bit, I spent many years following them around all over the country and you knew that, maybe the next time?  All the best, hope things are well in your world (Colorado?), Take It Easy....

Mike,  I certainly know that you and a few other old Hoser friends are Sammy fans and possibly even personal friends with the man and not just the driver.    There is nothing wrong with that.   I am not a fan of the charchter he plays at the racetrack.....who or what he is away from the track does not matter,  we are not hanging out at the local pub anytime soon.

I do recognize his accomplishments and contribution to the sport.   In fact,  I think his biggest current contribution is the ability to fire the fans up, both for and against him.  The louder I boo,  the louder someone else cheers.    Anything that can foster passion is a good thing.   (TMAC is the same way....very few old school drivers left that are capable of creating both positive and negative feelings with the same action, but his seem to sway more toward the postive the last 5 years or so)  

Let's face it,  nobody is wearing the black hat in the WoO right now....Sammy's temporary return is needed.     As much as Schatz wins,  you can't look him in the face and hate on him for anything other than winning often....and I think everyone needs a better reason to hate than "he is too good".   (oops, someone allegedly illegally dumped grey water out of a motorhome about 10 years ago in Knoxville....haters hung on to that for far too long)   Fact is,  Sammy's on track/in pit area actions at the Chili Bowl the last couple of years have only continued a 30+ tradition of giving the fans SOME reason to hate....he is never out of the limelight for very long.  

Yup,  I am glad Sammy is back on the road and I will boo the heck outta him at the track, but I look at it as all fun and games.    (kinda like Bears fans VS Packer fans or the old Celtics vs 76'rs rivalry)  

When douchbag fans quit going to the races,  professional racing is over.  (that applies to everything from go-karts to sprint cars to NASCAR to F1)  

You just don't get it, do you? When you boo a driver, you have just trumped Sammy, or any driver, in the a-hole and d-bag department. 

In defense of speedbump, he did not say it made him "cool" when booing. I was making a generalized statement to those that do boo, that no, booing doesn't make you appear cool. 

I booed a driver once, when I was about 10 years old. My dad taught me, real quick, that booing a driver was totally unacceptable. I have since instilled that in my kids (in a much kinder and gentler manner,) and hope they pass that same principle on to their kids. 

That's ok .... I knew it wasn't really sarcasm. But was trying to refrain from callingbhim a name that would drag me down to his level.

You are correct that I really don't care what others think of me or my actions.   I already know that I am at least 30 degrees off of cool at all times.  (Bill Engvall reference)     But I find it really hard to believe that there is something, anything I could do to trump Sammy (the charcter he plays at the racetrack) in the Dbag department.    

Trust me,  I am not out there swearing, screaming, insulting his mother and questioning his wife's sexuality or his kids genetic structure.   I boo and occasionally give him the bird (I know he can't see or hear me!)  It's fun and if it inspires others around me to cheer even louder for him....GREAT!   I really hope everyone comes out to I80 Speedway tomorrow night to cheer louder than I can boo.  

Why does everyone have to love everything and everybody all the time?   Robin Miller is right,  hate is good!  

I blame that purple dinosaur.    

Nice to hear back from you Jim, been too long buddy.  I just am surprised we never had a talk about this in the past, you should of fired me up, heck I may have dragged you down to meet Sammy after one of those shows  He certainly has different personalities and one of his biggest reasons for success is his hatred of losing but he has one of the best, driest sense of humor you've ever heard, he's surprised quite a few haters with it in the past.  You keep on booing, I will keep on cheering, we both celebrate after the race, deal....

Mike,  I thought we did talk about it once or twice.    I have met Sammy away from the track,  it is the very reason that I try to be very clear that I am booing his actions at the track....not away from it.      There is no doubt that we could sit down and have a beer and a grand old time.  Hopefully he understands that I am not making noise against Sammy the person, but instead Sammy the evil racecar driver chachter that seems so comfortable playing.     I am serious when I say I believe it helps him and his bank account (and all of racing) to get fans to either cheer or boo him.    My theory is that he doesn't mind the negativity one bit.    (kinda like Dale Sr) 

Lemme know when you get south of the border again.   we will meet up and have a chat.  It has been too long and trust me,  Denver is a great place to live minus the 8+ hour drive to go to a real race.   (on the plus side,  I can go to a show at Red Rocks and be home in bed before most people are out of the parking lot)  

Question,  do you boo at hockey games (or at the TV)?    (Go Blackhawks!)  

"I blame that purple dinosaur" Hilarious!!! This comment alone just caused everyone in the office to wonder what the heck is wrong with me lol. 

Keep It Real

I don't know that we ever talked about it in person either, Mike. What I would do is just talk to you as I quietly went through all of your framed 8X10's and flip all of the ones of Sammy upside-down :-). I know about his sense of humor and would like to think he is probably in a better general mood now a days that the constant pressures associated with competing just about every night are behind him now.

1st time i met Sammy was at a hooters he was doing an apperance the night before the race. i was 6 or 7 at the time and had a baseball game. after the game my parents took my brother and i to the hooters to meet sammy. when we got there he was all loaded up and ready to head out. but when we walked up to the rig and started talking to him, he then unloaded the car and everything so that we could get photos whith him next to the car. he even gave my brother and i a free shirt so we could wear it at the race the next night. now im 30 and have been a Sammy fan since then!

keep booing and giving the bird! I recently read where a study said the IQ. Of race fans was going up. your behavior should quash those thoughts. Keep up the good work.

Sammy is the most talked about driver on this forum at all times, good or bad he continually gets threads started.

he is alot more popular then anybody driving today or yesterdays for that matter and this forum proves it.

Ahh Chris, those were the fun days back then.  Shawn McDonald would do the same thing when I would go and stay with him out there.  He would turn his collector stuff upside down,  but I never left the place without turning all his Posse collection the same way.  I miss my trips to CA and in particular to Shawn's place an awful lot, saw some great racing, had more fun than I should have and met the greatest human I've ever known, Shawny Boy McDonald......