That’s what I meant in my original post: What’s Danica done that’s worse than other drivers? Or other athletes in other sports? None of that context includes the notion of winning being absolution for bad behavior.

And I’m pointing out the flaws in the argument precisely because I respect the hell out of George, and I know he’s strong enough to handle and respond to legitimate criticism. I love his blog precisely because it’s a carefully thought out and well composed blog; it isn’t mindless idiocy like all too many sports blogs out there are. So because of that, I know that legitimate, logically presented dissent helps strengthen, not weaken discussions occuring within it. That’s why I posted. Not for the sake of nitpickery, but for the sake of correcting a poor analogy. Go to an NFL forum and try to compare Elway to Leaf in the exact manner George did; you’ll get the same response, but with a whole lot of disrespect and derision added. The Leaf/Elway analogy was a bad one for precisely the reason I pointed out: Leaf was a horrid leader who gained no respect from his teammates. Elway was the opposite. That’s the explanatory context right there, not their win/loss records. And that’s why it was not a good response to what I was pointing out.

Dissenting commentary is not a bad thing. Disrespectful posts would be, but I’d hope that I wasn’t coming across as that. On the contrary, I’m being direct because I believe that George can hold his own.

If you thought I was being disrespectful to George, then I apologize to all here because that was not my intent at all. But I’d hope that the objection wasn’t that I was disagreeing with what George said. There’s nothing wrong with disagreement.

I’ve always found this site to be a cut above most, because the readership seems to be more level-headed and intelligent than what you find on the “hater sites”. George seems to assume that most readers “get” certain things and doesn’t need to spell things out. One thing that I get is if Danica had proven herself as a consistent winner instead of a consistent whiner, fans would have forgiven her behavior.

You seem to enjoy picking apart every analogy George has tried to make. Try taking those “skills” over to Track Forum and leave this site to those that understand the points that George was trying to make.

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Ps. Just to clarify: I wasn’t suggesting that you were engaging in a *male/female* double standard. I do agree that your critique of her is entirely free of gender considerations. My apologies if that wasn’t clear.

PPs. When Elway – and Manning in current times – yelled at a player, it’s leadership because it’s *constructive* i.e. it’s to get them back on track. Whereas Leaf was known to have acted in a very destructive manner towards his teammates, and didn’t yell to straighten them out, but rather to vent frustration and belittle them. My point here is that you cannot say that Leaf’s activities made him a “brat” because of his win/loss record; the reality is that he was a brat, period, and his behavior was poor leadership due to inherent characteristics, not because they were filtered through a lens of a losing NFL career. It’s not really accurate to say that Elway gets a pass due to his record when Leaf doesn’t because Leaf’s actions towards his teammates were nowhere near being comparable to Elway’s.

Sports is about choosing a side and supporting your team. Giving fans someone to cheer for. That is why Nascar wants Danica. And that’s an area Indycar seems to be lacking in.

http://justathought-skip-sc.blogspot.com/2011/08/ok-so-shes-leaving-what-now.html

(Insert your snarky “shameless self-promotion” comment here.)

I understand those of other opinions, but unless “Smoke” decides to run her at Charlotte, I expect we’ll see her at Indy in May. In fact, the thing that those of us who follow the series want most (the new cars) is also the thing that might keep her away.

I can tell you this: Although she was booed during driver introductions at Indy this year, the reaction was far different when she took the lead in the waning laps of the race. And, as I said in my earlier comment, she still “moves the needle.”