It is race weekend, and although I care nothing for the sport of racing, I love the Indianapolis 500, mostly because it is the most famous, has the fastest cars, draws the most fans, and because my uncle and aunt have been gracious enough to take me twice.
Essentially: extreme excess fascinates me, and Indy is as extreme as one can get - size, speed, attendance, cost, interest, importance, etc. Plus, I like the catch-phrase, "the greatest spectacle in racing." Wow, they couldn't have chosen a better descriptor: spectacle. Amen.
Where else can you see Lance Armstrong, the guys from American Chopper, Third Eye Blind, David Letterman, and Patrick Dempsey all in the same place on the same day?!?
Which reminds me: I was at Indy last year, and the "celebrities" were taking the slow laps around the track in convertible Chevys. I was walking down toward the infield, near the fence, not more than 25 feet from the slowly passing cars. I saw Patrick Dempsey and yelled out "Hey, Patrick, we both know ER is the better show." I'm proud to say I got a laugh from him.
A final image about the spectacle of just how big Indy is: the track's infield can fit Yankee Stadium, the Wimbledon Campus, the Roman Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, and all of Vatican City within its borders. See here for an image of comparison.
Oh, and I'm not from Indiana, but I understand the hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stands-up feeling of provincialism when Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the start of every race. It is warm and beautiful and quintessentially American. Unfortunately, Nabors won't be there this year, but the fans (all 350,000) are slated to sing in unison in his place. What a spectacle that will be!
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