I've Calmed Down Now ...

Liz · 25 Jul 2000, 23:06 (Ref:25638)

Sorry I went overboard about Baby Mikey. I will try not to do it again.

Some people just affect me that way ...

AndrettiRULES · 26 Jul 2000, 00:28 (Ref:25658)

No, you honestly have a right to 'hate' Michael. A lot of people do, but a lot also like him (me)

The only problem I see with your hatred, is that it taints your opinions and views of races.

This might sound funny coming from me with my obvious nick-name, but seriously take my advice into consideration and watch races as an independent fan...still root for Gil of course, but try not to be so harsh on Michael just because he's Michael and you don't like him that much.

AR

Minardi fan · 26 Jul 2000, 00:56 (Ref:25668)

I, on the other hand, have NOT CALMED DOWN!

I inputted the wrong date in the video recorder so the damned thing didn't tape the CART last night.

CHANNEL 5: DON'T SHOW IT AT 4AM!!!! GEEZ.

Jay · 26 Jul 2000, 01:51 (Ref:25680)

I used to hate Baby Mikey for knocking people (Greg Moore, Paul Tracy, Pat Carpentier) and then blaming them, despite the fact that the video tape shows that Mickey was obviously at fault.

And then there is the fact that all of American broadcast never stop talking about him regardless of where he is running. Mikey this, Mikey that. They talk about him as if he is Ayrton Senna! (and we all remember just how far apart those two were)

Then it got personal after Molson Indy. On a very wet Friday I was walking around the paddock peering into the various garages. There were a lot of big puddles. I bent down to tie my shoelace across from the Team Green garage, and Baby Mikey comes by on a motor skooter at a high speed considering the crowd and the water. He goes right through a giant puddle and completely soaks me, several fans and a number of Team Green guys with dirty water.

Luckily I was still wearing a poncho, which saved my nice new white Williams T.

Liz · 26 Jul 2000, 02:23 (Ref:25690)

If I like the father I usually don't care much for the son.

I think Jay has hit it on the nose - the two drooling idiots they hired to call the Molson Indy apparently didn't know there was anyone else in the race. That's what bothers me most... in any kind of racing, to have the announcers slobbering all over one particular pilote to the clear and obvious exclusion of all others. Last year it was "Little Al" who trailed along at the back of the pack and was worshipped and glorified while the winners of the race were given pretty short shrift.

But I am not going to mention That Name again unless he actually does kill someone. And says he didn't.

AndrettiRULES · 26 Jul 2000, 02:34 (Ref:25696)

I will agree with you Liz on one subject. Paul Page DOES talk about Michael way too much...and I'm an Andretti fan!!! I personally don't think Parker Johnstone 'worships' Michael, but PP definitely speaks of him as a 'god'.

Paul Page has been covering CART racing for a very long time and IMO he talked about Al Jr. and talks about Michael a lot because these are the only drivers that he actually knows to a personal degree.

Also Jay has made a point and has stated that Michael is indeed a Prick in real life. I have never stated I like Michael off the race track, in fact he clearly ignored all fans at the Mid-Ohio open test session and as far as I know DID NOT sign or talk with any fans outside of the Pit Lane. He is indeed caught up in his own image, but I really admire his abilities on the race-track. I started watching CART in '94-'95 when he was still a very agressive driver. This is what I like to see in a driver, aggressiveness....he's toned down the last few years IMO, but he's still very fast and I admire that.

AR

Heeltoe6 · 26 Jul 2000, 03:36 (Ref:25705)

Liz, hate Mikey all you like, he has that polarizing effect, I just get irritated when a totally unrelated thread comes along only to be interrupted by "Of course, we know what baby Mikey would do." It gets tiresome. But criticize Mikey all you like when the thread is about him.

Crash Test · 26 Jul 2000, 04:22 (Ref:25709)

Liz -I remember i certain Franklin was given the boot not all that long ago after repeatedly posting the one thing over and over and over...

Ok, i probably say that Tracy will DNF in just about ever race, but i dont think i sit here saying that i hate the man.

Just give it a break for a lil while, at least until the next time that he has done something wrong

American Broadcasters -Ummm, ahhh, have you ever listened to Murray and Martin commentate the F1? They think that Jenson Button is the only man in the field....."and jenson button is up to 18th after a s-t-orming drive"

You be the judge as to who is the more annoying....

Minardi Fan -Next time, how about getting up a few hours early!!!!!!

enzo · 26 Jul 2000, 05:22 (Ref:25721)

You guys are a riot with your rather selective memories about Mike's abilities and his F1 performance ( yes, the guy is a real ******* in real life, but so are many of the top drivrs). Mike actually did extremely well in his limited time n F1. Let's consider some facts :

1 - Granted that he made a bad mistake in not moveing to England for the duration, but there was really no reason for him to be there, unless he wanted to play tourist. Next to no testing time was scheduled for him, and it was made known that they didn't want him to hang around the factory (but Senna and Prost were welcome to spend all the time they wanted) as he was used to doing in the States, so why be there ?

2 - With virtually no acclimation time on most (any ?) of the tracks,and damed little in the car in general, he qualified rather well. How many drivers do you know can step into a higher level car of radically different characteristics and, with only 12 laps of practice on unfamiliar tracks before qualifying, qualify as well as he did ?

3 - Once in the race, how many did he actually get to race in ? In how many of the first races did, his car break almost immeadiately ? This was extremely valuable seat time lost to poor quality control on the part of the team. Lost seat time means no forward progress for that driver, whereas everyone else is moving forward.

4 - How much slower than Senna was he really ? Not much, if my memory is correct. According to an article in Autosport at the time, he was actually quicker relative to Senna than Prost was ! How many other drivers in the world can say that they were even in the same ballpark as Senna ?

Personally, I think he was set up to fail. Consider this : He was scheduled for almost no test time, he was almost virtually shut out of the factory, his car failed a rather inordinate number of times for a car well known for its bullet-proof reliability, and he was "let go" as soon as he got a podium finish. Combine this with the "We are much better than CART" hysteria that was at a fever pitch in F1 at the time, and it's easy to see that canning a seasoned, points winning driver makes no sense unless it was a setup.

Sorry, Mike may be a jerk, but give him his due as a world class driver !

wallbanger · 26 Jul 2000, 09:41 (Ref:25744)

I'll give him credit for on thing: He has aged like fine whine!

Crash Test · 26 Jul 2000, 10:27 (Ref:25751)

I've got a tape here from the 1991 Gold Coast race...and being nice, the bloke was all over the shop....soooo very rough on the car and the steering wheel. In that respect he has improved out of site, perhaps he had to tidy himself up a lot in F1?

Dave S · 26 Jul 2000, 15:36 (Ref:25879)

GEEZ! Sorry I started this Liz! I don't like Mikey either. Having lived within ear-shot of Laguna until not that long ago I used to hike over the hills to the track when the team was based there & he is a jerk. I lost some respect as a driver during his F1 stint as well. If my memory serves, not only was he not denied test time, but the team Manager was on him for missing time. (I could be wrong, I admit.) His big on track problem stemmed from his agressive driving not intimidating anyone in F1. (Hey, you want the wall, here you go) He dominated the field from early in life in carting as I recall, so is used to being the Big Cahuna. However, he has matured & you can't deny the facts. Laps led, career wins, etc.. As to the announcers, I think CART needs a new,young, personable driver to step up to the plate promotion-wise. The old guard is aging & the media needs a new talent to tout. Juan Pablo seems to be maturing (at least on camera in interviews), but unfortunately we all know where he's headed. How about a new topic. Who do you feel would make a 'New CART Poster Boy?

**bella** · 26 Jul 2000, 17:25 (Ref:25907)

forget that, i've gor some anti-andretti thoughts to bring out here. don't worry liz, we all don't like people. some of us are just a little quieter about it.
of course, we have to ask - with your infinite wisdom, are the andretti fans the ones in the wrong?

do you reckon he took whinging lessons from coulthard. 'that's it, just fail to mention you actually won pole, and whinge about the backmarkers! good progress for a first lesson...' or was it the other way round?

minardi fan, i understand your grief. they also let it over run by a long time (as much as half an hour at one point), and i've fallen for that one a few times. for petes sake, please remember to put the clock in the vidoe recorder back after summer (ha! which summer would that be?). please. i forgot. for a few weeks. duh...

didn't he get a teaching diploma in whining? he's certainly been teaching my christian a think or two about blaming other people.

--
whatever it was, i didn't do it, it was gil's fault.

botsquad · 27 Jul 2000, 00:45 (Ref:26008)

love the little mario bashing.
little mario has a little man complex.
he seems to live in fear of people liking him.

i could hear the roar of the 100 or so people at m.s.
as juan blew past little mario at the finish line.

Liz · 27 Jul 2000, 11:05 (Ref:26100)

I've got the highlights reel from 1993 and I don't recall any particular shining moments of Mikey's. But he could crash out almost as well as De Crasheris couldn't he? Some of his were stunners.

And you're right about Murray and Martin - they seem to have all their money wagered on Mika winning another championship because in lap 3 they are already awarding him the race. It's tiresome when they do it, yes, but this is a CART thread so I just complain about CART announcers over here.

But I don't hate Mikey. I just don't think he hung the moon or that every word out of his mouth should be taken down and entered in the Bible. Is that so wrong?