That type of reaction is nothing new to Gordon. There are seemingly as many fans of the Rainbow Warrior as there are haters. The traditionally pro-Earnhardt crowds at Darlington would seem to offer Gordon little relief this week either. That might not be the case, however.
While Gordon has detractors at the Lady in Black, the overall sentiment toward him appears to have softened somewhat. And some of them are even Earnhardt fans.
“I don’t hate Jeff Gordon at all,” Justin Higgins, an Earnhardt fan from Lugoff said. “In fact, I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I think he’s a good driver. “What happened at Talladega was very disrespectful. (Gordon) had the Earnhardt flag with him after he won, and that showed a lot of class and respect.”
Walking around the infield at Darlington, a lot of campers fly the colors of Earnhardt and son, but Gordon is well-represented also. “I started following him when he first started driving and have just been a fan ever since,” Dan Dkas of Bradford, Pa., said.
More at South Carolina Now
- Kurt Busch is Hated but He’s Happy
- Gordon looks to add 2nd car?
- Max Seigel overcomes adversities to lead DEI
- Why were fans leaving Dover in droves?
- Gordon guns for his first ‘Nextel’ Cup
It just goes to show you that fans are more diverse than the media gives them credit for…
On a side note… I don’t think Gordon carried a 3 flag at Dega… Unless Fox was just so busy trying to get a narrow shot to avoid the stuff being chunked on the track that we didn’t see it. As wrong as it may be to chunk stuff on the track I think the backlash at Talladega would have been more severe than some beers being thrown if he’d carried around that black flag with a 3 on it there.
its just the case of a few bad apples ruining the whole bunch
yeah, Gordon did a Polish Victory Lap with the 3 flag, and Fox misse dit; just liek they did the confrontation with Kevin Harvick after the other race, they are starting to suck at broadcasting.
While I may not profess to be “A Jeff Gordon fan”
I don’t dislike him. I’d rather see him win than Tony
Bologna Stewart!!
Jeff has won chamionships, he was “taught” on the track
BY Dale Earnhardt as his competition and on track rival
what racing is about. They also were good friends off
track. Even with that aside of the point I was originally
going for here…Jeff’s own accomplishments in NASCAR
are respectable!
Congratulations to Jeff for this major accomplishment in
his life, and his tribute to Dale was both touching, and
a great example to our youth as a
professional racecar driver—a true sportsman!
i was at darlington and when they called jeff gordon for driver introductions you couldnt here the boos over the cheers. its great to see people lightening up on gordon some. jimmie johnson now thats a different story.
Mother’s Day poem from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Teresa Earnhardt:
Stepmommy Dearest, I wish to say,
That I hope you have a happy Mother’s Day,
But let us forgo the hugging and embracing,
‘Cause I’m leaving you for Childress Racing.
I learned life’s lessons upon your knee,
You made me cornbread and sweet tea,
I can’t tell you all you’ve meant,
But I’m outta here unless I get 51 percent
I bring you flowers, I bring you candy,
I bring you a bottle of the finest French brandy,
Now pour a glass and drink it dry,
‘Cause now there’s no DE in your DEI.
Yup, “no DE in your DEI.” …lol.
I think just because people boo Gordon or chunk beer at him that it doesn’t necessarily mean they “hate” him. I honestly think alot of that is a show of affection as much as is possible with that sort of thing. I mean, people are putting forth the effort to do these things towards Gordon. Even if you don’t like Gordon he does deserve a certain amount of respect. He keeps it more real than alot of drivers and compared to most of the modern drivers he’s pretty old school in how he handles things on the track.
I can think of some drivers who alot, ALOT, of racing fans I know would not piss on if they were on fire. Even those same people who are adimant about their dislike of Gordon aren’t that extreme with him.
He’s a prissy West coast boy but he IS a racer. Some of those guys out on the track are not racers, they’re ONLY pretty faces for sponsors.
Michael, that’s freaking hilarious!!!
I’ve said it before, I can’t stand Gordo. But he does make the races interesting! So, I
don’t hate him, per se. You can’t root for everyone.
DALE JR. HAD DRANK ALL THE BEER,AND THREW AWAY THE CANS.
How nauseating - the groveling and worshipping of Henricks and Gordon and Johnson. Not just at the Awards Banquet - but throughout all the TV coverage in 2007. I never watched Racing to see how the handlers have reworked the images of the special ones - Jeff, Jimmie, etc. and to hear perfect remarks after races. I love competition, the unexpected, and love to pick those that I want to cheer and those that I don’t want to win. It is boring to see the only competition among the Henricks drivers. What happened to the Fords this year? Also - what is the deal with the Awards Banquet? Why Tom Brokaw and why Elliot Spitzer? I would not have been surprised to see Hillary Clinton up there saying how she is a big fan of racing. Is France a liberal? 2007 seemed like a concerted effort to eliminate any traces of “the old days” in racing and to eliminate any signs of “red neck” appeal and enthusiastic fans. My husband and I are not from the “old days” but still enjoy hearing a driver talk that has an accent or perhaps might not have perfect grammar. Seems like Mr. France is redoing the image of Nascar to fit the slick, upscale image of the Liberal Hollywood types. The fans that will support Nascar are not from that group! I heard some TV coverage where an announcer said the new man running Nascar - young Mr. France - doesn’t like any reference to the racers from the past. Is that true? I find myself rooting for Tony Steward and Harvick more and more because they have not become the robotic perfect pretty boys that Henricks seems to craft. How refreshing to hear a driver get angry or have emotions. Good luck Nascar with increasing fan interest in 2008 and with the expanded Henricks show.
From a fan that has lost interest in the overly scripted racing deal and one that ha lost interest in my Ex-favorite driver - Junior.