race cars vs. tornadoes

I just had to point out that during tonight's tornado outbreak, Fox 6's exasperated weatherman wound up having to explain why they were having to give tornado warning coverage.

That was incredulous, except for the fact it was a split screen situation. The other screen was a live broadcast of the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, a NASCAR race carried by the Fox network.

With tornado warnings issued and the state map lit up with more colors than a Christmas tree on fire, the weatherman noted that the station had already gotten a number of nasty e-mails from race fans. It seems the fans were angry that the races were downsized to a small screen, while the weather was getting the big picture.

You could tell the weatherman was barely keeping it under control, not really wanting to tell off the rednecks. He said that there were Alabamians who were in danger of being wiped out by a tornado and that this was a prime function of the station.

He actually had to explain that, in the middle of a tornado outbreak. I'd be hot under the collar, too.

Now, it is true my county was one of those that was under attack by the tornadoes. It is also true I am not the world's biggest NASCAR fan, although I usually have a good feeling when Jeff Gordon wins. I think it is like when you move into the state and you have to pick Alabama or Auburn, lest someone decides to deport you for being a suspected terrorist or a carrier of swine flu from Mexico. At any rate, racing has its good points and is a fine thing to follow. There are many fine people who follow and participate in the races, and who set a good example.

However, when you are in the first row at Talladega, you almost ask for being in the line of danger. Someone standing at the a crawfish boil in downtown Birmingham and suddenly finding out they may be in the line of tornadoes, that is something else. All of us in this area being in the line of tornadoes or even high winds, that is something else.

One of the major functions of broadcasters and news personnel is to tell you when imminent danger is near, whether it is weather, a meteor, Martians, a terror attack, whatever. We live in an area where people routinely die from high winds, and many times there is not much time to prepare. It also has the characteristic of not booking a more convenient time.


It is amazing that 35 years after the fact, I remember I could not watch one of those NBC mystery movies (I recall it being the "Snoop Sisters") when the April 1974 tornadoes came through. There have been times when I missed seeing a TV show when storm coverage comes on for another part of the state. I was not happy, but I wasn't mad at the TV station.

NASCAR and its fans have grown up in many respects, but sometimes still have to work on the stereotypes that befall that sport. Unfortunately, some of the fans Saturday night -- and I would trust it was a small minority of them -- proved that the idea of a stupid redneck watching a car race on TV and complaining about the interruption for, oh, say, impending deadly weather shows us that we still have a few people left to give racing and Alabama a bad image.

I just hope that if the worst happens (which I wouldn't wish on them anyway) and they find their trailer and their 15 hunting dogs blown away, and that rusty 1976 Chevrolet truck topples off of its cinder blocks in the front yard...well, I just hope it was at a convenient time for them.