I was watching the Avalanche and Canucks play last night on ESPN and it struck me how much these two teams truly, deeply HATE each other. Seriously, even if you aren't a Hockey fan, that game likely would have captured your attention. Very dramatic, very tense, and sometimes just plain ugly.

You see this often in major sports and even in racing. Occassionally a rivalry heats up and boils over, leading to everything from people intentionally wrecking each other to pit crews getting in fist fights.

But at the amateur level???
Does this happen? Is there anyone that makes you see red when you're competing against them?

I'm a hugely competitive person, and by God I absolutely LOVE to win. But I've never reached this point in my motorsports adventures. I still, really, just do it for fun. Hmmmm... Winning is fun.

Scott, just kind of thinking out loud while loading up the truck.

 

Ha nice thought. I'm in agreement with what you stated. Last year three guys including myself were fighting it out for top honor in local STS class. It was extremely competitive but we all had/have good relations.

 

you know, i haven't been there yet, but I imagine that if someone deliberately punted me, or otherwise hit me, I might be inclined to seeing red next time I saw him on track, and would really be quite motivated to finish the race ahead of said person.
but I'm really just guessing at this point.

 

A few times over the years I have had a few people that I severely wanted to beat on track but they may not have actually known it. Normally just someone who I thought was an a&&hole or someone whom I had a conflict with that I enjoyed an extra "up yours" by beating. None of them have actually begun as on-track situations that I can think of.

I have enjoyed some good rivalries on track but they have usually been all in the name of good competition.

 

There's a point beyond which you should have sense enough to say "when".

It lies somewhere between Villeneuve vs Arnoux at Dijon in '79, and Villeneuve vs Pironi on Gilles last day on earth.

Scott, who say's "you can love winning, but does winning love you?"...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There's a point beyond which you should have sense enough to say "when".

It lies somewhere between Villeneuve vs Arnoux at Dijon in '79, and Villeneuve vs Pironi on Gilles last day on earth.

Scott, who say's "you can love winning, but does winning love you?"...</TD></TR></TABLE>

And with that, you've also got to wonder if the scope of your endevour justifies the heroism.
At the amateur level, this is supposed to be a "hobby." One that you're paying for, and something that shouldn't dictate your life; if you end up crippling, injuring or killing someone while pursuing your own recreation, then I think you've gone over a certain line -- that said, if there's someone on your playing field that's out of control, and has lost track of why they're their, you should take action to call them back to earth viz a vie your sanctioning body.
Now... at the professional level... at the F1 level... I'm not there, but the venue certainly is a lot grander, and the stakes, pressure and possibly even the permanence of everything that transpires is historic. None of this is a justification for injury or death, but a pointing out of a difference in scale.
Ultimatly, it comes down to whether or not you're scared of dying; whether or not you're scared of letting your passions (compulsions) drive you over the edge -- that's really what it comes down to, and those answers lie at the personal level.
Sometimes an irreverance towards mortality isn't just foolhearted stupidity. Sometimes, it's the only way one knows he's alive.

 

Well my only experience is in indoor kart racing, so it's not the same thing, but...any time that someone intentionally blocks me (multiple times) or just drives like an ******* to stop me from passing them I get pretty heated. Since it's pretty low speed racing on a tight course, many times I have to make at least some contact (maybe not as far as just punting someone) to pass, and they'll get some kind of hand gesture letting them know what I think of their racing tactics. Of course, again, this is a different arena where it's pretty hard to damage karts and not everyone is trained in racing courtesy (myself included, though I think I know the basics). Since there isn't too high a risk of injury or damage in this scenario, I drive like I'm in contention for the F1 title in the final race of the season just about every time...

There's my $0.01 I guess.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bb6h22a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

And with that, you've also got to wonder if the scope of your endevour justifies the heroism.
At the amateur level, this is supposed to be a "hobby." One that you're paying for, and something that shouldn't dictate your life; if you end up crippling, injuring or killing someone while pursuing your own recreation, then I think you've gone over a certain line -- that said, if there's someone on your playing field that's out of control, and has lost track of why they're their, you should take action to call them back to earth viz a vie your sanctioning body.
Now... at the professional level... at the F1 level... I'm not there, but the venue certainly is a lot grander, and the stakes, pressure and possibly even the permanence of everything that transpires is historic. None of this is a justification for injury or death, but a pointing out of a difference in scale.
Ultimatly, it comes down to whether or not you're scared of dying; whether or not you're scared of letting your passions (compulsions) drive you over the edge -- that's really what it comes down to, and those answers lie at the personal level.
Sometimes an irreverance towards mortality isn't just foolhearted stupidity. Sometimes, it's the only way one knows he's alive.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is good to know in a world full of crazy, insane, stupid, and ignorant people, there are still people left who just damn get it. I am 18, and so impressed by this post. It is not often you get on a board like this and see this kind of thought and truth written.

With that said, my comment is that, sometimes the competitive edge gets the best of us, and masks why we are truly doing things like racing. At the amatuer level, there should never be any fist fighting or punting, etc, because is it really all worth it in the end? By going home at the end of the day not a winner, does this somehow make you a lesser person then the person who beat you? If anything, it should inspire you to try harder, learn more, and better yourself. There will always be fast, bigger, smarter, and stronger people, but does it matter? when things are all said and done, and ure life has come to an end, do you wanna look back and say I lived for competition, and beat everyone i encountered in anyway I could. Or do you wanna say, I lived for me, and thats all that matters.

&lt;--- My insight, and yes, I know i cannot spell

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Avalanche </TD></TR></TABLE>


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Canucks</TD></TR></TABLE>



Its cool they tied though, cause the wings just gained another point on them both


[/insightful contribution]