Bernie Ecclestone's comments about Danica

[Bill Wood]

I have always had a pretty low opinion of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. His comments to Danica Patrick have put him at an all new low with me.

Last week when asked about Patrick, Ecclestone caused a media stir by saying women "should be all dressed in white like all of the other domestic appliances." Evidently Bernie said that to the press AND directly to Danica on the phone.

[MTI]

Stereotypes die hard . . . Ellen Lohr took a lot of flak after coming up thru karting, Formula Ford, then the DTM and Formula 3000 and even the truck racing series.

[koop]

LOL, good week for F1. Well on their way to making F1 the next American soccer.

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

...women "should be all dressed in white like all of the other domestic appliances." Evidently Bernie said that to the press AND directly to Danica on the phone.

What a prick. An F-1 would look pretty good shoved up his a**, tailpipe first.

[Da Nag]

His comments to Danica Patrick have put him at an all new low with me.

Not only is he a prick...he's an idiot, as anyone who's watched girls and young women in racing knows. With all the attention Danica has brought to racing, I think it's just a matter of time before we see tons of women on all the major circuits.

My wife and I raced karts several years back. On average, girls/women were far better racers than men. They were always outnumbered, but almost always finished in the top 25%. There were several that, like Danica, dominated the local club races.

My "pulled out of my ass" observations and theory: Girls in karts tend to start off slower than boys, but learn to drive fast far more quickly. They tend to be smooth and thoughtful; they don't mash the pedal at every chance, or get off on sliding sideways cause they set up a turn wrong or went in too hot. It's way easier to teach somebody to speed up, than slow down. Good lines and smoothness come far more naturally to girls than boys, and as everyone who's raced knows - slow can be fast and fast can be slow.

Still...the male ego is a very fragile thing. Every time a girl won a race, the frustration level of boys (and their fathers) was very obvious. As girls got older, they tended to migrate away from the sport - I think, due to the hostility shown them by their male counterparts.

Now...just as has happened in basketball and soccer, Danica has made racing the "cool" thing for a new generation of girls. They'll see what she's accomplished, and the obvious public support she's received will weigh far more heavily on these young minds than a bunch of boys/fathers with bad attitudes.

I think it's great. Racing is one of the very few sports where women can compete as equals. Danica is going to continue kicking ass, and Bernie's going to have some serious crow to eat...

[Carleton Hughes]

He should be cleaning the Men's room with that attitude.

[Botnst]

Ever heard of Women's Tennis? There's a lesson in there if we just peer into our Wayback Machine and remember the tennis matches that got people of both sexes taking Women's Tennis seriously.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Ever heard of Women's Tennis? There's a lesson in there if we just peer into our Wayback Machine and remember the tennis matches that got people of both sexes taking Women's Tennis seriously.

Yes, this brings back memories.

Billie Jean King beating what's his name????

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Yes, this brings back memories.

Billie Jean King beating what's his name????

Exactly the point, huh?

Now if Ms Patrick drives with the ability she seems to possess, there's a fair chance she'll beat Mr Eccleston's team in the not too distant future. Which one will we remember for the next 25 years after that win?

In the meantime, Patrick's (lovely...oops!...sorry) profile is kept before the public and interest in F1 stays that much more apparent.

To have a hero, you gotta have a villain.

[A264172]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Ever heard of Women's Tennis? There's a lesson in there if we just peer into our Wayback Machine and remember the tennis matches that got people of both sexes taking Women's Tennis seriously.

Way to run on first down so as to avoid fourth and long...
I myself thought about turning it over with an inapropriate joke... but I can see I would be booed out of the arena...

[Da Nag]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Now if Ms Patrick drives with the ability she seems to possess, there's a fair chance she'll beat Mr Eccleston's team in the not too distant future. Which one will we remember for the next 25 years after that win?

Yup, and Danica's accomplishments are, and will be far more impressive.

Billie Jean beat a has-been. A pig who deserved it, but still - he was an old man, and all washed up. As great as that event was for the sport, she wouldn't have had a chance against a top ranked male. Women just don't stand a chance against men in a sport where physical strength is such an advantage.

Danica is kicking the butts of men at a very high level; her competition is not handicapped, they are the best in the class she races in. I think that's what's opening so many eyes...there's no need to have "women's racing".

[oasis100]

yes...but Danica is over hyped. The American media always looking for a hero. Just look at the U.S. Open, the whole video montage on Payne Stewart.

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by oasis100

yes...but Danica is over hyped. The American media always looking for a hero. Just look at the U.S. Open, the whole video montage on Payne Stewart.

Not a hero, a headline grabber. Look at that freak, Michael Jackson. We kept that 'gentleman' on the front page for months. We follow that which is most strange, beautiful, terrible, interesting, dreadful, enriching, noble and ignoble.

We like our reality framed in superlatives, thank you very much.

Now if Danica drove nude, or got busted for coke, or married some foreign royal geek, we'd be all over it.

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Now if Danica drove nude...

Bot,
You're my hero!

[MTI]

There used to be snickers in the passenger cabins whenever it was announced that a woman was in the captain's seat on a commercial flight, but now we ignore it altogether . . .

Here in the islands, we're just waiting for the day when Michele Wie tees up against the men in a PGA tour event . . . for money!