Category: my thoughts on

By David G. Firestone

Labor Day is a day to celebrate the worker. The workers love to celebrate by barbecuing. That’s how I spend my Labor Day, barbecue and the NHRA. Barbecuing and grilling brings us together, not just as a group of friends, or family, but as a culture. Everyone has their favorite kind of food to grill, burgers, steak, chicken, hot dogs, ribs, fish, veggies, and even pizza. Everyone has their favorite style of cooker, smoker, charcoal, wood-fired, or gas.

Along with grilled food, you need beer. Workers love beer. It doesn’t matter if you are into extra IPA, bock, Guinness, or macro beer, the one universal rule is that the beer has to be cold. The colder the better. The combo of cold beer, and hot, fire grilled meat can’t be beat on Labor Day! If you are into wine, or soda, same rule applies.

Do we do this ourselves? Absolutely not! We gather as a society, in back yards, and at parks. We gather at sporting events, or at the beach. We gather with friends, we gather with family, and we gather with co-workers! We put animosity aside for the day, and focus on enjoying the end of the summer. We may have to go back to work tomorrow, but we enjoy the day today. However you spent your memorial day, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

By David G. Firestone

The tradition of hot dogs at sporting events is a long standing one in the United States. Spending a summer’s day at the ball park or race track, having a beer and a hot dog is real piece of Americana. The tradition is so ingrained in our culture that even high school sports, and even Little League will sell hot dogs at their events.

The hot dog itself really is perfect for the role as iconic stadium food. We all know about it. Each city adds their own signature style to it, they are easy to prepare, and easy to enjoy. Having grown up in Chicago, I am partial to Chicago-style hot dogs, though a New York style is really good too. For many, the classic mustard and relish combination is a tasty treat while sitting in the stands.

Why am I discussing this? Because I was talking with some friends this last week, and we were discussing the various food items for sale at baseball parks. As the conversation progressed, I began to wonder where this tradition began. Feeding people at sporting events dates back to the Roman empire, but how and why did the hot dog become the go-to stadium food? I did a little sleuthing, and here is what I found out.

In true classic form, there are two people credited with introducing the hot dog at sporting events, Harry M. Stevens, and Chris von der Ahe. Chris von der Ahe was the founder of the St. Louis Cardinals. He made the team into a popular attraction in St. Louis. He priced his tickets low so fans would spend money on beer. Supposedly, he introduced the hot dog to baseball in 1893. Harry M. Stevens was a British concessionaire who is supposedly the man who invented the hot dog. This claim states that at a New York Giants game in 1901, the weather was cold, and he couldn’t sell ice cream, so he ordered his staff to gather “dachshund sausages” stuffed them into rolls, and started shouting “Get your red hots!” A cartoonist present at the game was said to have written “hot dogs” because he couldn’t spell dachshund. However, since the term “hot dog” dates to at least 1892, no copy of the cartoon could ever be found, and the fact that Chris von der Ahe sold hot dogs at baseball games since 1893 debunks that story

Stevens might not have started the tradition of selling hot dogs at baseball games, but he perfected it. Stevens signed the first deal to become a Major League Baseball concessionaire, a role which he perfected. Stevens is also credited with inventing the scorecard, the template he designed is still in use today. Using these two tools, Stevens became the foremost concessionaire in the United States, and it’s easy to see why.

Two men over the course of a few years took the hot dog from street vendor fare to an iconic part of sports history in the United States. Their names aren’t known to many of the fans who consume the hot dogs they helped make iconic, which is sad. But to Harry M. Stevens and Chris von der Ahe, America thanks you!

By David G. Firestone

I didn’t mean to post the My Thoughts On article on Monday, but I’m glad I did. I need to address the Justin Wilson situation. Sadly, I’m having to do another article about a top level driver death this year. But I’m wondering if something will change for IndyCar design within the next few years.

Just to recap, Justin Wilson was a former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver, who has 7 wins total in Champ Car and IndyCar. He finished 2^nd in 2006 and 2007, winning the Greg Moore Legacy Award in both years. He had 16 starts in Formula 1, but only scored on championship point, with no wins or podiums. He was signed to Andretti Autosport for the 2015 Indianapolis 500, and was brought on for the last 5 races of the year.

At the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono on lap 179, Sage Karem spun out, and hit the wall. The nose cone came off the car, and as Wilson drove through the scene, it hit Wilson in the head, and he crashed into the wall. As his car slowed to a stop, he was obviously unconscious, and had to be airlifted from the scene. He never regained consciousness, and died last night.

Obviously this is a tragedy, BUT there might be some good that comes of this. I’m really wondering if canopies will come to IndyCar. I discussed this after the 2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, where James Hinchcliffe was hit by a much smaller piece of debris and suffered a concussion. In that article, I discussed how I think IndyCar will get canopies at some point, similar to many NHRA dragsters. Tony Schumacher has stated that he started using a canopy on his dragster because he was scared that he would take a bird to the helmet, and the damage it would cause. Well, the piece that Wilson took was much larger than most birds than Schumacher would encounter.

Above and beyond that, the last two deaths in IndyCar, Dan Wheldon in 2011, and Wilson’s death could have been avoided if canopies had been added. I’m thinking that the canopies will be added starting within the next few years. The purists are going to scream when they are added, but I’d rather not see another driver die like that! This needs to happen soon!

No racing fan wants to see drivers die, that is a fact. But changes need to happen to prevent driver deaths, and this is the change that needs to happen. If the purists want to scream, let them, but I’m sick of seeing driver die! Remember that since 2011, in IndyCar and F1, there were 3 driver deaths that all could have easily been prevented with the addition of canopies, yet nobody wants to accept that they are needed.

I’m pleading with IndyCar, don’t listen to fans who are stuck in the past, do what’s right for your drivers!

By David G. Firestone

I’ve been avoiding this for as long as I can, but I have to address the Jules Bianchi situation. It’s sad that Bianchi died on track during the Japanese Grand Prix last year, but the circumstances surrounding how he died sends my blood to a boil. It also, sadly, confirmed something I knew about F1, but more on that in a bit

On the day of the Japanese Grand Prix, held at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan, Typhoon Phanfone, a class 1 typhoon, made landfall in Japan. The conditions at the scheduled start time were horrific, yet the race was allowed to start. The weather was so bad, it marked the first time two red flags were shown in a Formula 1 race since the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix. The race was shortened to 44 laps, instead of the scheduled 53 laps. On lap 43, Bianchi lost control of his car, and slammed into a crane moving Adrian Sutil’s car off track. Bianchi was unconscious after the crash, was taken to hospital, and never woke up.

It was a sad situation, but what I, and a lot of other fans are wondering is…WHY WAS THE RACE ALLOWED TO START IN THE FIRST PLACE? Any fan with a functioning brain could see that conditions weren’t ideal for any kind of race, much less Formula 1. Yet, for reasons that have yet to be given a valid explanation, the race started on time. The weather was an obvious issue for the entire race, even red flagged on lap 2 and flat out being called on lap 44. To repeat, A TYPHOON WAS CAUSING SERIOUS WEATHER ISSUES AND THE RACE WAS ALLOWED TO START!

The reason given by the promoters is that they didn’t want to disappoint the fans who had attended the race. Basically, the promoters didn’t want to deal with the fallout from canceling the race at the last minute. Well in doing that, a driver died, and the fallout was much worse. It was clear from the start that money was the driving issue. Driver safety be dammed, there is money to make. I don’t give a shit if Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe are in the crowd, when it comes to racing driver safety should be top priority, but on that day, bad PR and lost money were the bigger concern, and again, I hope it was worth it.

The whole situation also confirms what I’ve known about Bernie Ecclestone for a long time, and that is, he is out of touch with reality, to the point he makes Roger Goodell and Gary Bettman look good. He comes across as a grumpy old man, who refuses to believe anything, except what he wants to, no matter what. He had the authority to cancel the race because of the weather, and the safety hazards it produced. It was obvious from the decisions made, he didn’t care about anything except the money lost, and PR issues from canceling the race. His complete lack of leadership in this situation makes it clear he should not be in charge of F1.

What makes this even more rage inducing is that not one of the individuals has admitted his responsibility for their decisions. Not one person has the guts to do so. If I were a member of the Bianchi family, I would be pulling my hair out and screaming in rage! I can only hope that drastic changes are made to the organizational structure of F1, and soon!

By David G. Firestone

What do Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Browns, religion, and the lottery have in common? At first, it might seem like nothing. None of those things might seem to have anything in common with each other, but it isn’t the things themselves, it’s the hope of the people who support them.

The Chicago Cubs have gone 107 years without winning a World Series. The Cleveland Browns have never been to a Super Bowl. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never won a Sprint Cup Championship, but all three are united by the undying hope of their fans. Human beings all have hope, but human beings need something to hope for, and something to inspire hope. For many, religion is that outlet. For others, it is their sports teams. For many, the hope that they could win millions in the lottery is that beacon of hope.

The history of the lottery in the United States dates back to the 1600’s, while Europe was colonizing North America. Many colonies saw gambling as harmless fun, but as English investors waned to profit from the New World, this changed quickly. As time went on, each of the 13 original colonies had a lottery system in place to help fund the colonies. It became a civic duty to play the lottery. Recessions, scandals, and corruption had almost eliminated the lottery in the United States by 1868.

In 1934, Puerto Rico, then a US colony, started a legal lottery. It would take 30 years, but in 1964, New Hampshire started a lottery. Since then, 44 of 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands have lotteries. Alabama, Mississippi, and Utah don’t have lotteries due to religious objections. Nevada has the gambling industry, and they don’t want competition, and Alaska and Hawaii, not being mainland states, aren’t worried about losing tickets out of state.

The lottery takes several forms. Scratch off tickets, first introduced in the 1970’s, are a very popular method of playing the lottery. There are many different kinds of games, with different rules. Pick 3, pick 4, main drawing, and Powerball have their origin in “numbers games.” Numbers games were popular in poorer areas of the country, especially urban areas. The game works by drawing balls that had numbers to pick the winner. A similar game was popular in South Florida and Cuba called “Bolita” or “little ball” was where betters would bet on which number would be pulled out of a bag containing 100 numbered balls.

All the pre 1934 lotteries had one major drawback that kept them from being as accepted as it is today. They were easily rigged, and people lost money on the racketeering that took place around them. Today, the equipment, the drawing, the tickets, and every other aspect is heavily supervised and regulated so that this kind of cheating is not possible.

Anyone who thinks that lottery balls are ping pong balls has another guess coming. Lottery balls are specifically purpose designed. Made by Beitel Lottery Equipment, or Smartplay International, the balls are kept very secure at all times. According to Lotto Life, they are kept in safes, with 24 hour surveillance equipment focused on all aspects of the drawing. It isn’t known which of the machines, and which set of the lotto balls would be used until 90 minutes before the drawing.

After their life in the machine is over, what happens to the multi-colored balls that so many have placed their hope in? In many cases, they are kept by the lottery. In very rare instances, they are sold to the general public, like this example from the first Colorado Lottery.

The Colorado Lottery started on January 24, 1989, the first Colorado Lottery Drawing took place. It took place on Saturdays, and 42 numbers were drawn. In total, there are 1,405,006,117,752,879,898,543,142,606,244,511,569,936,384,000,000,000 different combination. This ball was one of at least two sets used. It was made by the Beitel Lottery Products company in Trenton New Jersey, and their logo is still embedded in the ball. To protect the secrecy of the makeup of the balls, it has been encased in Lucite. It has a plaque stating it was from “Set B” and was used from January 24, 1989 to March 4, 1995, just over 6 years of use. These were given to former employees, media members, and players.

Hope binds us all, we all have hope, and we all need something to hope for. Without hope, we truly have nothing. No matter where it comes from, it binds us all. So whatever hope means to you, I wish you the best.

By the way, if you, like me, are curious as to how they encase something like this in Lucite, this video should help explain it.