Competition Caution

Rain, rain, go away...that was the refrain from NASCAR fans this weekend (and really all season, not just this past weekend) as stormy weather forced the race at Texas Motor Speedway to be moved to Monday. Weather delays and postponements are common in many sports, particularly baseball, but this one had some added intrigue to it, and got me to thinking about the competition between motorsports and other professional sports.

TMS made the decision to host their spring NASCAR race on Sunday afternoon instead of the usual Saturday night time. Why? Because North Texas was also hosting the Final Four and there would be too much competition--for both ratings and attendance. Unfortunately, Mother Nature interfered with these plans, causing the race to be rescheduled for Monday at 11am CST. Many fans complained, suggesting that the race start in the evening so more people can attend (presumably after work and school are finished). Oh no, we can't do that, said NASCAR. It would conflict with the NCAA championship game.

Now, let me be clear: I'm not really sure who "we" is, or who exactly made the initial decision to avoid competing with the Final Four. Was it Fox, who knew that anything televised against the championship game is doomed to be a ratings failure? Was it NASCAR, who wanted all eyes solely on their sport and not another one? Or was it Texas Motor Speedway, who wanted to give fans the opportunity to attend not one but two big sporting events in one weekend? Whatever the reason, these decisions beg the question: should motorsports be worried about other sports stealing their thunder, or their attendance? Or are the two audiences different enough that both can be satisfied?

This of course comes on the heels of IndyCar's decision to end the season before Labor Day in order to avoid head-to-head collisions with the NFL (was that a poor choice of words? Oops.). Many have criticized IndyCar for doing this, rightly acknowledging that no one can compete with the NFL right now. They are in a league of their own, and they know it. They are the most popular sport in America, and I don't see that changing any time soon, even as concussion controversies cloud the league. It's interesting to note that NASCAR doesn't worry about competing with the NFL, as their season continues well into November (too long, in my opinion).

I do believe two separate fanbases can and do coexist. Many fans of motorsports are not fans of "stick-and-ball" sports, and vice versa. Motorsports fans watch for a variety of reasons: the technology, fast cars, daredevil excitement, the drivers, sponsors, etc. These are not the same reasons that would draw them to other sports. I myself am a fan of many sports: baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and even golf. When the Olympics are on, I'm glued to the TV. But if I have a choice between watching an IndyCar race and a baseball game, I'll choose the IndyCar race every time. After all, there are 162 baseball games but only 18-20 IndyCar races! I imagine many fans feel the same way. We go where our passion takes us. We also have the capability nowadays to record one event and watch another live, or to actually watch multiple live events at once on multiple devices! What we need to be concerned with is creating and maintaining that passion among fans, which will lead them to seek out the sport no matter what else is competing with it.

There will always be competition with something. Our cable and satellite providers give us over 100 channels, so there are plenty of choices. We could spend an entire day scouring the internet and still not even come close to exploring all the videos, information, and activities that exist in cyberspace. Our families demand our attention. We can spend time outdoors. We might even have to *gasp* work! If we constantly worry about what else we're competing with, we're never going to be successful. The best piece of advice I've ever been given is this: "Compete with yourself." Strive to make each day, each skill, each performance better than your last. Let that be what drives you. Perhaps this should be motorsports' mantra.  Worry about yourself, not what others are doing.

With regard to ratings, let me go on a soapbox for a moment: I personally think the Nielsens are an archaic, political system that should not be taken as seriously as they are. Apparently the new system now includes tweets, which is a step in the right direction, but still not an accurate representation of what and how people watch TV these days. The NCAA men's final had approximately 21 million viewers and a 7.2 rating, which was down ten percent from last year's final. NASCAR races, meanwhile, have also suffered ratings declines in all of their races this year. Yet both continue to be among the most-watched sporting events of the weekend. The men's final also had record attendance, and even though the race was moved to a less-than-ideal Monday morning start time, thousands of fans still turned out to watch it at Texas Motor Speedway. Evidently it is possible for both sides to win.