Nobody in sports wants to hear that 'B' word uttered

What is the worst word that NASCAR can hear? I am talking about the single adjective that can drag down any sport. This balefully descriptive word and all of its sinful synonyms, frankly, are a nightmare for any major sport. The word ... wait let me yawn first ... OK, the word is "boring."

Now it's one thing if fans in this ADD society tune you out for a split second while some other, no doubt life-altering, eight seconds of entertainment are available on another channel. This happens in any sport. The quagmire mushrooms when the superstar, embarrassingly well-compensated participants start describing one of the sports signature events this way.

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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I can listen when critics of baseball say the sport moves too slow, but can you imagine David Ortiz saying the game is a yawner? If people bash the happenings on the gridiron as having too much delay between the plays, I'll cede the floor and hear their side of the debate. However, my guess is that Peyton Manning hasn't seen a dull moment behind center since volunteering for the position.

For NASCAR fans Talladega is an event, in fact a moment in time that race lovers look forward to like 18-year-old guys look forward to the night of their senior prom. The date is circled for a reason. I'm not saying that in either case, a scintillating few hours are guaranteed, but nonetheless excitement and anticipation are in the air. Talladega's fall race of 2007 was about as exciting as Greg Biffle's post-race burnout in Kansas the week prior.

Can you imagine driving a racecar at more than 180 mph for an afternoon and upon exiting the cockpit you describe the experience as "boring?" That is exactly what happened though.

The word "boring" following the race at Talladega was attributed to Dale Earnhardt Jr. (he's only the face of the sport), Robby Gordon (perhaps he could have livened up the proceedings by doing a few "I unilaterally declare myself the winner!" burnouts of his own ... don't e-mail me on this one, I've already defended Robby) and Jeff Burton (the sport's unofficial mayor went as far as "a little boring" in his description which for Burton is a scathing indictment).

Worse still is the fact that the race winner and emblem of success in 2007, Jeff Gordon, called the race boring and didn't stop with the "B" word. "There's nothing fun about that," he yawned (presumably). "I've never yawned in a racecar in my life. I yawned back there."

My point is this: There is no greater poison in a sport than for its superstars to seem uninterested during the proceedings. For NASCAR, that just happened. The greater concern though is the fans' interest.

Here is a rough thumbnail sketch of how things work in a sport. First, you must have a product that a large amount of people are interested in. Then you develop sponsorship, television deals and advertising around that sport and market it to the public. In the end everybody is happy. The fans get to watch their sport and the other parties make a little cash in the venture.

The one fundamental tenet required for this model to work though is -- here is that word again -- interest, namely from fans. This is why television networks must strike a delicate balance between showing the actual sport and promoting and advertising during the event. Too many promotions and commercials push fans into the ranks of the bored and, frankly, there are several other options out there for entertainment.

I received an enormous amount of mail following the fall race at Bristol. The opinion was divided on whether or not the new surface at Thunder Valley rendered the race boring.

Following Talladega though I'll take divided because it might be the best we'll do. At least divided means that someone was interested in the proceedings. In other words, when it comes to fan interest following Talladega, I'm afraid that our best hope is "Divided we stand, united we fall."

Just for kicks, send me your take on the race at Talladega to beau@turner.com. (Continued)