Happy New Year!
I am pleased to report that I am refreshed and ready to resume the work of The Indy Idea. It is best, I think, that I ease back in to the blogosphere with a quote. I shall leave it to readers to interpret its relevance with regards to the state of contemporary IndyCar racing.
These words were spoken by former Boston Red Sox executive Bill James and reported by Michael MacCambridge in his book, America's Game.
"Baseball in 1960 was run by people who loved baseball, but it was run by people who, because they loved baseball so much, assumed that there was something 'special' about baseball which had propelled it to a predominant position in the American sports world. And because they made this assumption, they allowed the game to drift. They didn't really think about the game as a commercial product; they still don't."
Sound familiar? James continued.
"Pete Rozelle, Lamar Hunt, George Halas and the other people who ran pro football had serious disagreements among themselves, but they all assumed that they had both the right and the responsibility to shape football into the best possible commercial product that could be built upon the framework of the game. If the games were boring, they assumed it was their responsibility to make them more exciting. If the games were too long, they assumed it was their responsibility to trim the fat."
I encourage everyone to keep these words in mind as we recommence the New Day Rising Project. The idea is to transform IndyCar into the best possible commercial product that can be built upon the framework of the racing.
Roggespierre
