My roots as a fan didn't begin in Nascar. We didn't have much auto racing where I grew up outside of DC. My Daddy was a Redskin fan, way back starting in the mid 1950's. My Dad and my Uncle Joe decided they were going to have something special to share with their kids, so they started taking my cousin and I to the Redskin games in the early 60's. The Redskins weren't a very good team back then, so about all I remember from those early days is my dad buying me a Redskin pennant and the ride home proudly waving that pennant in the back window of the bus, and sticking my tongue out at all the Baltimore Colt fans. My dad thought I was cute!
Things got better as the years passed. The Redskins started winning some, and even went to a Super Bowl. I learned how to enjoy victories, tolerate defeats, and I also learned that there were more people on the team than the "Stars" that were either glorified or defiled each week. The bond my Daddy and I forged during those years lasted through high school and college until my Dad died in 1981. He sure was proud of his "little" Redskin fan.
After Dad died, I always felt closest to him at RFK stadium, being just what he so proudly raised, a loyal Redskin fan. The 80's brought a lot of success into Washington with a man named Joe Gibbs. You may have heard of him. He brought to the forefront a lot of unsung heroes, and made sure that everyone knew, the Redskins were winners because of people like Nick Giaquinto and Russ Grimm. It was then I learned what true teamwork was. The Redskins were winners because of small groups of people like the Hogs, and the Department of Defense, and the Fun Bunch. I was so proud to be a 12th man, which is what Joe Gibbs called the fans. He really gave us fans a lot of credit for what the Redskins did in those years.
In 1989, I moved to North Carolina, and everyone was talking about Nascar. If I wanted to get to know people, I found that I had better figure this one out. So I started watching races when they were on TV, learning about the people and trying to figure this strange sport out. For some reason, I liked JD McDuffie, I have no idea why but I did. And somehow I found out that one of the drivers had the same birthday as my Dad, so I started following him. Pretty soon, I could talk a little Nascar. I had a driver, I knew the other drivers and numbers on most of the cars (but Silly Season really messed me up for several years.) Hey, I was a Nascar Fan!
Joe Gibbs put his seal of approval on my switch to Nascar, when he became an owner. I really thought I would become a big fan of whoever drove his cars, because I have so much respect for him, and I was so darn glad to see him come to my new sport. But it didn't happen. I had forged a bond with the driver that shared my Dad's Birthday, and it was a strong one. Turned out I had picked a pretty good driver, and I shared the ups and downs, thrills of victories and agonies of defeat, with him and his team, just like I had with my beloved Redskins.
The transition from Redskin fan to Nascar fan wasn't really hard, but it is funny how it all came together from my Daddy, to Joe Gibbs, to the driver who was born the same day as my Dad, April 29. That man was Dale Earnhardt.
Lisa@insidethepitbox.com
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