Speaking of cars, I am really into the World Rally right now. Every couple of weeks on Speedvision , there are world rally races across some beautiful, cliff-heavy places in Europe, Africa, and other countries that are not America. World rally is a unique sport, in that much of it is about the racer trying to find the balance between pushing the car hard enough to be faster than everyone else in the race and not pushing it so hard that it breaks. While the drivers compete against each other, they are not racing with each other as on a track. Many times, the cars break.
Tires fall off, suspensions give out, and engines catch fire.
In no other sport does the audience have the potential to influence the outcome so drastically. Plus, the whole broadcast is narrated by an unseen British man fond of understatement yet very much passionate about the whole thing. It all adds up to good television. Dreamt the other night that I was hanging out with Britney Spears, trying on accessories like bracelets and necklaces. Then she had to go.