Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

So I spent most of today at the San Jose Grand Prix, courtesy of dave_gallaher, who gave me his extra general admission/standing room only ticket. Dave had to work at the AT&T sales booth on the Funway Straightaway Alley. Those of you familiar with downtown San Jose or who attended ConJose will know it better as the stretch of San Carlos Street in front of the Convention Center.

( You won't be surprised that it was LOUD )

My impression of the race: LOUD. Wow, am I glad I was wearing double ear protection. And I seem to have put on enough sunscreen to avoid the worst of the sunburn. But the standing room areas simply don't give you a good enough view of the race. The grandstands might be okay, especially as they have views of the TV screens, and the VIP boxes that look out over the track look pretty nice. But as for enjoying the race, I got more out of the ESPN2 coverage I watched when I got home.

Not that I'm ungrateful for the tickets and the ride down to San Jose! I've never attended a big motor race before, and I'm glad I attended this one. I might even go again if offered free tickets. But paying $45 for that? No way.

(Yes, I know that Champ Car isn't F1, but that's the only racing-related icon I had in stock.)

I was originally considering going to Saturday of Con-X-Treme, but I have heard way too much discouraging information about how it's being run, and moreover, there's almost nothing in the program to interest me, other than hanging around with some friends and going to the BASFA party. And I have a pile of other fannish work that still needs doing.

So this evening, dave_gallaher called to offer me a ticket (standing room, which may be a tad difficult, but I'll survive, I guess) to this Sunday's San Jose Grand Prix, as well as to drive us both down there, as he's got a place he can park.

I decided to let Con-X-Treme pass, spend tomorrow trying to get the fannish work done, and take in the Champ Car race in San Jose. I've never been to a serious motor race before. Now, where did I put those earplugs?