A shocking video surfaced Monday and is causing quite a stir.
A fan asked for Danica Patrick's autograph.
Who knew people still wanted one?
Actually, what happened immediately afterward is what made the video go viral. Patrick ignored the fan following her qualifying run at the Pocono 400 last Friday.
A few people started booing, so Patrick turned around and gave them a piece of her mind. The transcript:
"Since I'm old, instead of taking the booing, I want to tell you, I'm doing the very best I can. If you're a real fan, you know that I'm not just like ... my job is not to sign autographs, right? My job is to drive a car and to tell the crew chief what's going on.
"I don't appreciate the booing. It hurts my feelings. I'm a (bleeping) person, you know what I mean? I'm a person, too. I have feelings. When you boo me, it hurts my feelings. Please just be supportive fans. I'll do everything I can. ...I can only do so much. ...So please understand that."
Jeez, where to begin?
There's so much to ridicule in that statement I can only conclude it's part of an image makeover designed to prolong her career.
Patrick has been polarizing from the first time she got in a stock car and mistook the brake pedal for the accelerator. She's ably played the Mary Tyler Moore role of Girl Trying to Make It in a Man's World.
Now that it's obvious she'll never really make it, she's shifting from Driving Damsel to Super Villain. It's like when Hulk Hogan joined the evil New World Order at Wrestlemania in 1996. It was a brilliant career move for both Hulk and the WWE.
"You fans can stick it, brother!" he roared to the booing audience.
I know my explanation is incredibly cynical, but I want to give Patrick the benefit of the doubt. She must know the stuff she said can't be taken seriously.
"My job is not to sign autographs."
It's not her main job, but being fan friendly is part of it. Ask Richard Petty, who has signed approximately 4.52 billion autographs and never complained once.
"When you boo me, it hurts my feelings."
Jeez, spend a minute in Kyle Busch's fire suit. Or Brad Keselowski's.
Or look at A-Rod, LeBron, Roger Goodell, Dwight Howard or any semi-famous jock who's ever lived.
I'd guess most would prefer to be universally loved, but they realize booing is part of business and don't take it personally.
"I wish they were booing me," Dale Earnhardt once said. "If they boo you on Sunday, you go to the bank on Monday."
Patrick's worry is that people no longer care enough to boo. After six years in Cup racing, her act is getting old.
All that was really ever required of her was to look good and not be a total joke as a driver. In a sports world based on meritocracy, that always bugged me.
NASCAR knows there are hundreds of drivers -- male and female -- with better skills than Patrick. But the France family didn't become billionaires by being stupid.
They knew Danica would be a marketing goddess. After all, being hot and drawing a female audience is more meritorious than looking like Joe Nemechek and winning an occasional race.
Heck, forget occasional. How about winning one?
Forget that, how about a top-10 finish?
Danica has seven of those now, and it's only taken 168 Cup races. In 344 NASCAR and Indy Car races, she has one win.
That's a 0.0029 batting average, if you're keeping score at home.
That said, Danica belongs in the NASCAR Hall of Fame for all the attention she's brought to the sport. Nobody else could have done it, and I don't blame her for grabbing the golden ticket that NASCAR teams offered her.
She's cashing in to the tune of about $14 million a year. Besides the usual sponsor stuff, she's trotted out a clothing line, an exercise book and made more TV appearances than Alec Baldwin.
But now she's 35 and the brand is getting a little stale. The Romance with Ricky storyline only goes so far.
Her career is not going to get a spark on the racetrack, so she might as well do a Hulk-like heel turn.
Go to the Dark Side. Become even more polarizing.
Tell fans to stick it, brother!
It's the best explanation I can come up with for her Pocono pout. The only other one is that she actually believes she's too special to be treated like every other driver.
If that's the case, let's all boo.
Sports on 06/15/2017