It was a delightful Sunday this past weekend as there was actual, real-life racing happening on my television. The live sports hiatus is finally over as NASCAR made its return to racing at Darlington Speedway. It didn’t matter that fans weren’t allowed in the grandstands, and the people who are there were masked up and socially distancing: the only thing that mattered is the return of competition and the competitive spirit. I don’t even particularly like NASCAR - preferring motorsport disciplines where cars turn more than one direction - but I gladly spent four hours out of my Sunday to watch the 400-mile race.
Racing simulators like iRacing have put up a convincing facsimile during the past month, but as we all found out, there is absolutely no substitute for the real thing. The responses and emotions are heightened because you instinctively know the action is real, and therefore a negative action by a driver have actual consequences. There’s no reset buttons or do-overs here: drivers either show up performing their best, or they’d be out of a job really quickly. Racing games remain a great fun and an excellent training tool; however, as much as I enjoy bombing a virtual GT3 RS around the virtual Nurburgring, I still much prefer driving my actual GT3 on real roads.
It won’t be long then until the other major sports follow in the lead of NASCAR and return to our screens. No doubt those leagues will also initially hold games without attending fans, and for sure the atmosphere won’t be there for the competitors. But for those of us watching at home, sports without fans is still magnitudes better than no sport at all. It was joy to see my father watch football as he usually does on weekends before this COVID-19 situation: the German Bundesliga has returned, with matches being held without live audience.
For me, sports is not escapism, but rather a part of what I am as a person. I’ve loved motor-racing ever since I was a kid watching Michale Schumacher battling out on the streets of Monte Carlo. Motorsports will continue to be something I follow and enjoy watching, either until I cannot physically do it anymore, or the automobile as we know and love today ceases to be (when cars can drive itself). Needless to say then I’ve really missed watching what would have been the beginning rounds of the 2020 Formula One season during this quarantine, and I hope like NASCAR, the great F1 circus can return soon enough.
This past Sunday it truly felt like some normalcy has come back.
Won’t be doing this for a long time, perhaps ever again.