Should Wheldon story have been A1 in the NYT?

What if it had been Trevor Bayne?

 

I would have still not gotten out of bed.

 

Sorry if that was too ghoulish. But the point of the question is: Does the series matter or the driver? Both are the reigning champions in their respective series' crown jewel. Wheldon is a bigger start in his sport. Bayne is a lesser name in a more popular sport. Probably around equally known among casual sports fans, right?

I bet Bayne gets the cover. Or any reigning Daytona 500 champ. How did the NYT play Earnhardt? Not that it's even close to a one-to-one comparison.

 

I honestly think that the New York Times probably has no clue what the Indianapolis 500 still means to many people in the rest of the country. Although since the Chicago Tribune didn't put it on A1, either, that might not be a totally fair charge.

 

Earnhardt was on the front. Although Ann Coulter famously claimed on her book it was not as evidence that the NYT didn't care about real Americans and their heroes. When called on it, she blamed Nexis for misleading her.

 

Holy shit, I forgot about that!

I feel disgraced now for paralleling an Ann Coulter argument. At least the foundation of my point was accurate, though. And qualified to the max with the Chicago Tribune hedge.

 

I don't think there's any way Trevor Bayne is more well known than Dan Wheldon among "casual" sports fans. Casual NASCAR fans, yes. But Wheldon is a series champion and a two-time Indy winner. Bayne hit all the news shows after winning a very emotional Daytona, don't get me wrong. You will NEVER find me saying a bad word about that boy. But he hasn't done shit since, and he's only part-time in Cup, and he's never won a Nationwide race. It was a fluke win.

It's like saying if Right Said Fred died in a plane crash, they would get more coverage than REM dying the same way.

 

So you don't think Bayne dying in a race, in the same spectacular fashion, gets A1 in the Times, either? This year, I mean. Before another Daytona is run and he becomes an historical footnote.

 

No, I don't. Not even close.

EDIT: I don't read the Times. Never held a hard copy. Really don't know how often athlete deaths make A1. Did Korey Stringer? I'm guessing NFL/NBA/MLB guys would, depending on the guy. I just don't think anyone short of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Junior dying in NASCAR cracks A1 of the Times. Just a gut feeling.

 

Bayne? Really, you're not even being serious anymore.

 

If Dick Trickle unretired and died in a race, it would lead Countdown with Keith Olbermann.