I'll Forget Another: Triple Crown Edition - jmik58's Blog

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I'll Forget Another: Triple Crown Edition Stuck

Posted on June 13, 2012 at 11:18 AM.

(5)

Sports that feature an animal or machine (I'm looking at you NASCAR) don't deserve a place at the table with real sports like football, baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, or curling.

I think most of America knows this to be true, yet each year we continue to tune in to the 138th running of the jockey-carrying derby on NBC. The big hats, the bubbly drinks, and the tiny men in spandex -- people just can't get enough.

Actually, yes. Yes they can.

The novelty of horse racing on television is one of the driving forces of the interest of humans. It's the principle of scarcity where something we are rarely exposed to gains value to us. It's why ABC's Wild World of Sports doesn't exist -- the same reason we love the Olympics. It's the opposite of taking something for granted.

But I want to take horse racing for granted and I do at every turn -- all the way down the stretch and into the barn.

The recent triple crown chase by I'll Have Another was abruptly ended by an injury that surfaced just prior to the final race. Prior to withdrawing from the Belmont Stakes, the North American Thoroughbred came from behind to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. The story resonated throughout the sports world with each passing race.

Riveting, I know. But a week after the final race and everyone has forgotten how excited they pretended to be the past month or two. Maybe it's because we'd love to keep talking about this triple crown season, but we're too focused on the rest of the racing schedule to dwell on the past -- right?

That has to be why we've already forgotten about I'll Have Another. It can't be because America watches due to the excitement and pride that comes with a successful prediction. And surely it's not because we love to gamble -- no certainly not that. Besides all of that nonsense, it's not like these races are events where people dress up in strange outfits and craft head-gear that looks like Dumbo the elephant's ears were crossbred with a sombrero and painted like a kaleidoscope-UFO.

After you've wrapped your brain around what that looks like you'll have come to your senses. We don't watch horse races because we admire the athlete or the back-story. We can't relate to, bond with, or legitimately care about a creature the same way we do our favorite teams and stars in the realm of sports. Especially when the four-legged athletes span a career that lasts one or two years -- maybe.

The American public does not legitimately care about horse racing. We enjoy the opportunities and side-shows that come with it.

When next year's triple crown races start again I'll do what I always do this time of year.

I'll Skip Another.

Where does horse racing rank in your sports-viewing life?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @long_snapper.

Comments

# 1 Birdssince78 @ Jun 13

Triple crowns great if your wagering on the races. I'll have another probably could have ran with the tendentious . I believe he was pulled to avoid Ny s tough drug testing. The owner and trainer have a spotted history when it comes to doping.

# 2 berad88 @ Jun 13

Good job at being a writer on a sports gaming website by putting down sports.
Baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, curling, and the writer of this article are no where near as cool as Formula 1 which is a real sport that involves machine and more horsepower than the average human can handle.

# 3 PioneerRaptor @ Jun 13

I'm not going to lie. That was some very terrible writing. You obviously don't like horse racing, or any other type of sport that involves animals and machines. I don't care about those sports either (except NASCAR), but that doesn't mean there isn't a niche group of people that do.

Also, I have no idea what you are talking about, about the sports world getting really excited about the potential triple crown and then forgetting about it. Maybe you did, but to assume everyone that is into sports did, is a bit stupid. I listen to ESPN Radio everyday, and they only mentioned this triple crown thing a couple of times, they certainly didn't take 10-20 minutes to talk about it like they do other sports.

# 4 dmslapped @ Jun 13

I've been growing up around horse racing my whole life, the owners put lots of hard work keeping the horse healthy, clean, and ready to race. it usually involves working for about 4 am to about noon just to clean their horses stalls. yet i feel like their isnt very many people left who care about the sport, there are races everyday, and only 3 get publicity anymore, its kinda sad for me.

# 5 jmik58 @ Jun 14

@berad88
The inclusion of curling was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. And coolness is definitely not one of my featured traits.

@dmslapped

I think you deduced my main point very well. Fans and participants of horse racing (or any racing) are very passionate about their respective sport. However, they are niche sports, and it's puzzling to me that horse racing gets the press time that it does when the triple crown rolls around. My opinion is based moreso on the behavior of humans as much as anything. People shouldn't confuse excitement over an event with true sweeping interest in a sport. While I'm sure many fans of horse racing enjoy that their sport takes center stage a few times a year, I can't help but believe there are several who think it's disrespectful to the sport how it's paraded around as an event only.