Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Confessions of a Drugstore Car Guy
In the midst of watching my way thru the NFL playoffs heading for the Super Bowl, I’ve kicked my usually mild interest up a notch. That’s because, for a change, the teams involved are “real” teams, the way Chevys, Fords and Mopars are “real” cars; they’re from “back in the day!”
Like most folks I have a specific set of criteria for the “reality” of something. For music it’s the Sixties, for cars it’s ’55 thru ’72 (with certain exceptions before and since), for professional football it’s smash-mouth, blue-collar teams from rust-belt towns like Green Bay, Wisconsin or Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. So it’s kind of perfect the Steelers and Packers will meet in Super Bowl XLV, right?
The Green Bay Packers are the second oldest team in the NFL; they’ve been around since 1919 and in what became the NFL since 1921. They’ve won more league championships (12) than any other team and won the first two Super Bowls (1967 & 1968). The Steelers are the oldest team in the AFC and have been in the NFL since 1933. They have won more Super Bowls (6) than any other team.
The Packers and Steelers are to professional football what the Yankees and Cubs are to baseball, true American icons. In that regard they sit on the same shelf as the cars we love so much; Chevrolet, Ford, and Mopar are the Packers and Steelers of their league. In each of these leagues there are lots of other teams but none of the others are any more representative of what their league stands for; what we think of when we think of football or car.
If Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar are the premier teams in their league, the “57 Chevy, the ‘64½ Mustang, the ’68 Roadrunner are examples of their teams’ star players. Like their teams, these “players” are icons. Think of the football icons the Packers have given us; Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke. Or the Steelers like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, “Mean” Joe Green. Take any of these guys to a car show and I’ll bet you’d draw as big a crowd as if you showed up with a ’69 Yenko Camaro or a ’70 Hemi ‘Cuda!
Anyway, I’m pretty fired-up about a Super Bowl that features the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now if they could get Linda Ronstadt to sing the Star-spangled Banner, the Beach Boys for the half-time show, and play commercials about “seeing the USA in our Chevrolet” or Plymouth ads featuring the Roadrunner and Wylie Coyote, maybe I could take my mind off things I don’t understand (like I-pods, supplemental Medicare insurance, etc.) and really enjoy the game.
Oh, by the way: One of the things I don’t understand is all the fuss about us old people dragging down the economy; depending on our kids’ contributions to Social Security, etc. to fund our lavish retired lifestyles. I mean, aren’t we plowing all that pension money back into the economy? It ain’t 30 and 40-somethings buying all those resto-mod parts, putting gas in 50-year old cars with big-block, dual-quad motors, driving to Nashville just to hang out a few days then turn around and drive back.
Check out the next car show (or remember the last one); those shiny, expensive, extravagantly appointed cruisin’ vessels aren’t owned by kids. As a matter of fact, it seems to me the younger folks at car shows are the ones sportin’ the rat-rods. They’re not spending big bucks fixing up cars, they’re using left-over parts. They’re not even painting their cars!
Yes, I believe all responsible car people should do everything possible to keep the economy afloat. If it means buying the expensive billet wheels instead of repainting the stock steelies and polishing up the dog dish hub caps, do it!
Since Politics and Economics seem to be so closely related, perhaps responsible car people should think about a political party that represents their point of view; maybe a party with a shade tree for a symbol.
Like most folks I have a specific set of criteria for the “reality” of something. For music it’s the Sixties, for cars it’s ’55 thru ’72 (with certain exceptions before and since), for professional football it’s smash-mouth, blue-collar teams from rust-belt towns like Green Bay, Wisconsin or Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. So it’s kind of perfect the Steelers and Packers will meet in Super Bowl XLV, right?
The Green Bay Packers are the second oldest team in the NFL; they’ve been around since 1919 and in what became the NFL since 1921. They’ve won more league championships (12) than any other team and won the first two Super Bowls (1967 & 1968). The Steelers are the oldest team in the AFC and have been in the NFL since 1933. They have won more Super Bowls (6) than any other team.
The Packers and Steelers are to professional football what the Yankees and Cubs are to baseball, true American icons. In that regard they sit on the same shelf as the cars we love so much; Chevrolet, Ford, and Mopar are the Packers and Steelers of their league. In each of these leagues there are lots of other teams but none of the others are any more representative of what their league stands for; what we think of when we think of football or car.
If Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar are the premier teams in their league, the “57 Chevy, the ‘64½ Mustang, the ’68 Roadrunner are examples of their teams’ star players. Like their teams, these “players” are icons. Think of the football icons the Packers have given us; Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke. Or the Steelers like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, “Mean” Joe Green. Take any of these guys to a car show and I’ll bet you’d draw as big a crowd as if you showed up with a ’69 Yenko Camaro or a ’70 Hemi ‘Cuda!
Anyway, I’m pretty fired-up about a Super Bowl that features the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now if they could get Linda Ronstadt to sing the Star-spangled Banner, the Beach Boys for the half-time show, and play commercials about “seeing the USA in our Chevrolet” or Plymouth ads featuring the Roadrunner and Wylie Coyote, maybe I could take my mind off things I don’t understand (like I-pods, supplemental Medicare insurance, etc.) and really enjoy the game.
Oh, by the way: One of the things I don’t understand is all the fuss about us old people dragging down the economy; depending on our kids’ contributions to Social Security, etc. to fund our lavish retired lifestyles. I mean, aren’t we plowing all that pension money back into the economy? It ain’t 30 and 40-somethings buying all those resto-mod parts, putting gas in 50-year old cars with big-block, dual-quad motors, driving to Nashville just to hang out a few days then turn around and drive back.
Check out the next car show (or remember the last one); those shiny, expensive, extravagantly appointed cruisin’ vessels aren’t owned by kids. As a matter of fact, it seems to me the younger folks at car shows are the ones sportin’ the rat-rods. They’re not spending big bucks fixing up cars, they’re using left-over parts. They’re not even painting their cars!
Yes, I believe all responsible car people should do everything possible to keep the economy afloat. If it means buying the expensive billet wheels instead of repainting the stock steelies and polishing up the dog dish hub caps, do it!
Since Politics and Economics seem to be so closely related, perhaps responsible car people should think about a political party that represents their point of view; maybe a party with a shade tree for a symbol.
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