Well .... why do you think that people talk about such banal crap as television shows as a way of relating to coworkers? My gawd, I have been accused of snobbery for not engaging in those conversations (no, really - I don't watch tv) - but humans talk about the weather, sprots, television - as a way of relating.
There are many (most?) humans who desperately cling to this idea of universality of good taste and refuse to acknowledge that in exchange - they don't get the really good stuff, you know? hence the popularity of
Celine Dion, Harley Davidson and Keanu/Tom Cruise, etc. They want their friends to like what they like and to acknowledge their good taste - so you get .... oh, hell, there's just no accounting for taste.
really, that's what it all boils down to. People are sheeple - if someone wants to like something because all their friends like it and it makes them more likeable, who are the rest to say boo? I guess. But they are still tacky tacky tacky.
And on the flip side, there are people who like what they like simply because it is NOT mainstream and they feel pleased about their un-sheepieness as a result. No matter how ugly, uncomfortable or self-injurious it might be.
For most of us though, we mostly like what we like because we like it and it makes us happy. Life is short...people should pursue happiness even if it includes watching Grey's Anatomy, listening to John Mayer sing (listening to him talk is much more entertaining to me), and engaging in March Madness behavior, as much as those three things irritate me beyond belief...
Connie, Connie, Connie. Like Heather said, if you pass NRS and continue to race, you are welcome to race whatever Saturday afternoon class you like. No one is saying you're not competent enough to run Clubman with the boys. I believe that we are all competent enough to get to an extremely proficient level of racing, including blowing all of the Clubman boys out of the water.
I won't speak for Joy, whom I worked with to get the AFemme race on the grid, but I think the race serves many purposes: making girl racers more visible to help inspire other women to ride/track/race, giving girls who are not as confident and courageous as you an easier in, and giving girls like me, Joy, Zoe, Jenn, Deb, Shelina, Kristy and others a really rewarding, fun opportunity to compete with each other directly. We all race the "co-ed" classes as well.
I've SEEN and FELT what it's like to approach mid 1:50s at Buttonwillow and sub 1:50s at Infineon and still have Lenny Hale or Jimmy Wood go blowing by me so easily it's like they're picking daisies. Despite either running or cycling for one hour every day and lifting weights on top of that, I've had my legs cramping and burning on the fourth lap and my pecs feel like they are going to explode as I try to pass someone on the brakes going into turn 7. Over three years I've seen my pit mate, a 6'3", 200 lb, exceptionally athletic man come in after dozens of races that he won, very obviously having just engaged in something really physical.
Racing is physical Connie. It's more physical than equestrian sports (which I've competed in) and less physical than tennis (which I've also competed in). I'm not defeating myself, I'm just making observations from my own experience racing an SV in nearly seventy five races over the past two years, and now trying to compete with the REALLY fast guys and girls on my new 600.
I'll remind you that I used to think like you and now I don't. Good luck at the NRS, and if you race. They have that Clubman series now, you can race it all year. That would have been a lot more fun than being gridded up 74th out of 74 on the grid at Infineon my second motorcycle race ever. I could barely see the green flag.
Seriously, we're not "good enough" to handle Clubman racing like the n00b guys do?? To me, it puts the perception out there that we're not as comptetent as men... and that bothers me. A lot.
