The ex RAF amongst you will know what "Alakefic" means
Why do you still watch F1?
- Thread starter Brogan
- Start date
I really think I still watch it due to hope, a hope that it'll get better - any or all of it.....I remember the days when I was physically nauseous as the cars pulled up in formation, when I would be gripped from lights out to finish. For me there are no F1 heroes any more; there is no groundbreaking technology that's allowed to make it to the track; there's so much of the politics that's made public; there's little to make the fan feel that they're a part of the sport. I record qualifying and race so I can watch them when other priorities don't take precedence, before there was no other priority; it's crazy that while the media tech has improved so much I care less and less about making time for it. Thank goodness for BTCC & MotoGP, they haven't messed with the format overly and produce an accessible event, I watch them as I always have - recorded or live if I happen to have the free time. F1 promises so much and delivers less. I wish I could stop watching, maybe there'll come a time when I have to miss a race and I won't care, that might be the end.
I believe you mirror my thoughts gethinceri
gethinceri - I do hope your thoughts are the other way around...
It's one of thise funfair mirrors.
It is thought to have been first used by the RAF much like a lot of words came from the Royal Navy which was discussed on another thread, it just means someone who doesn't care one way or the other.
Most people are alakefic about F1 there is not really that many hard core fans, you only have to visit a number of F1 forums to realise that the number of posters is usually very low and you will often find you are talking to the same people no matter which forum you post on..
Most people are alakefic about F1 there is not really that many hard core fans, you only have to visit a number of F1 forums to realise that the number of posters is usually very low and you will often find you are talking to the same people no matter which forum you post on..
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steveg
Podium Finisher
There are many things wrong with the current formula - tyres, DRS, one team dominance. However when the driver who is winning everything in the fastest car is the driver you believe that all things being equal would kick ass anyway then for now, with no sense of injustice it's watchable - at least for me.
But what if you don't believe that? After all that has not been shown to be true in the past, all things being equal that is..
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Fenderman
Rooters Reporter
Lots of very interesting points in this thread. I pretty much agree with all of them, positive and negative. I have always been interested, nay fascinated, in the engineering (mechanical, electrical and aerodynamic) and the whole dynamic of F1 racing. My big gripes with today's F1 is because it has become, like so many things, totally person centred whilst dismally presented and promoted.
It's the superstar syndrome gone mad with so much focus on the driver, like some sort of rock superstar, who has to be lauded when he's singing the great song and then mauled when he screws up. Meanwhile, the rulemakers have got away with constricting the variety of the technology so that if we understand one car we understand them all. The TV coverage for those of us who don't have the bells and whistles of a full Sky package is hopeless. LifeW12 's video of Alonso and Schumacher is a prime example of how just a couple of minutes of a chase is captivating - especially without commentators screaming like over excited children.
I thought 2014 was one of the best seasons since the turn of the millennium. The power units were new and worth talking about and there was variety in the aero' solutions. This season, the cars suddenly look very similar and we know all about the power units because the engineers are not allowed to come up with anything new. So now, for us techno-nuts there is nothing really significant to talk about. Oh, unless of course, one wishes to have an endless debate about additional fuel flow sensors to prevent cheating. Snowy nailed that one in one sentence: "Give them 100 Kilo's of fuel and tell them to use it the **** up!"
So it's just sit back and watch. Therein lies the real problem. If we are trackside we are able to see the ebb and flow of the chase, the build up to attacks and the consequences. We may not even see the successful or failed overtake but having witnessed the closing gaps and sensed the tension it is exciting, and when the blokes we root for come round in front of those we don't we go nuts ... in a good way. A lot of people used to knock Murray Walker but aided by James Hunt, Johnny Palmer and Martin Brundle, he used to convey that in his commentary and the rudimentary - by today's standards - camera work conveyed that tension and excitement.
Now we get blip-vert photography, brief wide-angle footage but an excess of close-ups when there actually is action happening all over the place. If we're lucky we see overtakes, blow ups, collisions or crashes as they happen, but precious little of the build ups and immediate aftermath. By "aftermath" I mean what else is happening in the vicinity of the incident. For example, this producer's disease is affecting bike sport as well. The prime example is when rider x crashes out and the camera dwells on him getting up and plodding disconsolately away. Meanwhile, all hell has broken loose and we'll see that ten minutes later in tedious slo-mo whilst something else is going down. FOCA's methodology is to play relentless replays of F1 racestarts accompanied by overexcited Beeb/Sky commentators screaming like banshees. For the rest of the race it's like they're trying to catch up with what happened whilst they were away masturbating over this fantastic start, that fluffed getaway and this minor contact (that has to be shrieked about louder than anything else)!
So, to conclude my rant, F1 is somewhat interesting, occasionally very intriguiging and often exciting. The trouble is, that for all the glitz and glamour, precious little of it is conveyed into the living room. With life being so complicated nowadays that is a big problem for a sport that is so expensive for just about everyone involved in it and wanting to follow it.
It's the superstar syndrome gone mad with so much focus on the driver, like some sort of rock superstar, who has to be lauded when he's singing the great song and then mauled when he screws up. Meanwhile, the rulemakers have got away with constricting the variety of the technology so that if we understand one car we understand them all. The TV coverage for those of us who don't have the bells and whistles of a full Sky package is hopeless. LifeW12 's video of Alonso and Schumacher is a prime example of how just a couple of minutes of a chase is captivating - especially without commentators screaming like over excited children.
I thought 2014 was one of the best seasons since the turn of the millennium. The power units were new and worth talking about and there was variety in the aero' solutions. This season, the cars suddenly look very similar and we know all about the power units because the engineers are not allowed to come up with anything new. So now, for us techno-nuts there is nothing really significant to talk about. Oh, unless of course, one wishes to have an endless debate about additional fuel flow sensors to prevent cheating. Snowy nailed that one in one sentence: "Give them 100 Kilo's of fuel and tell them to use it the **** up!"
So it's just sit back and watch. Therein lies the real problem. If we are trackside we are able to see the ebb and flow of the chase, the build up to attacks and the consequences. We may not even see the successful or failed overtake but having witnessed the closing gaps and sensed the tension it is exciting, and when the blokes we root for come round in front of those we don't we go nuts ... in a good way. A lot of people used to knock Murray Walker but aided by James Hunt, Johnny Palmer and Martin Brundle, he used to convey that in his commentary and the rudimentary - by today's standards - camera work conveyed that tension and excitement.
Now we get blip-vert photography, brief wide-angle footage but an excess of close-ups when there actually is action happening all over the place. If we're lucky we see overtakes, blow ups, collisions or crashes as they happen, but precious little of the build ups and immediate aftermath. By "aftermath" I mean what else is happening in the vicinity of the incident. For example, this producer's disease is affecting bike sport as well. The prime example is when rider x crashes out and the camera dwells on him getting up and plodding disconsolately away. Meanwhile, all hell has broken loose and we'll see that ten minutes later in tedious slo-mo whilst something else is going down. FOCA's methodology is to play relentless replays of F1 racestarts accompanied by overexcited Beeb/Sky commentators screaming like banshees. For the rest of the race it's like they're trying to catch up with what happened whilst they were away masturbating over this fantastic start, that fluffed getaway and this minor contact (that has to be shrieked about louder than anything else)!
So, to conclude my rant, F1 is somewhat interesting, occasionally very intriguiging and often exciting. The trouble is, that for all the glitz and glamour, precious little of it is conveyed into the living room. With life being so complicated nowadays that is a big problem for a sport that is so expensive for just about everyone involved in it and wanting to follow it.
steveg
Podium Finisher
Well that's just it - if the best driver (in ones opinion) is not winning then the sport is less enjoyable to watch and all the issues one believes are wrong with the sport become magnified whereas if the opposite is true then although those issues are still there they just become a bit easier to overlook.
Incubus
Champion Elect
-------------------------
You guys do remember that everything in a mirror image is precisely opposite, right?
Have I lost the passion for it? Wouldn't say no, but the interest is a little waning, I've gotten a little older other things get in the way, at the age of 22 I'm going to be an old man with a walking stick soon. Do I enjoy Formula 1? Of course, it's been in my life ever since I can remember, from Australia '99 being my first proper memory of Schumacher trying so hard to win, gets a puncture, only 9 cars finishing and all.
It's too restricted like everything else these days, drivers are restricted, cars are restricted, engines are restricted, RESTRICTIONS EVERYWHERE!!! Not much freedom. FREEDOM!!!
So many things wrong in the sport and it only gets worse, the Bernie, Max and CVC deal is killing the sport, the former needs to leave, strangling the sport to death, the team power that has been created has been bad for the sport too.
My peak was 2007-2010, as I was old enough to follow and watched every race, ask me questions about that season I can tell you straight away.
The last season I properly enjoyed was 2010, 2012 was good until something changed, 2013 started off promising until the tyres reverted back.
But guess what?
I still love the sport!
It's too restricted like everything else these days, drivers are restricted, cars are restricted, engines are restricted, RESTRICTIONS EVERYWHERE!!! Not much freedom. FREEDOM!!!
So many things wrong in the sport and it only gets worse, the Bernie, Max and CVC deal is killing the sport, the former needs to leave, strangling the sport to death, the team power that has been created has been bad for the sport too.
My peak was 2007-2010, as I was old enough to follow and watched every race, ask me questions about that season I can tell you straight away.
The last season I properly enjoyed was 2010, 2012 was good until something changed, 2013 started off promising until the tyres reverted back.
But guess what?
I still love the sport!
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Mephistopheles & I have met Incubus hence my comment. Are you familiar with the funfair mirror?-------------------------
You guys do remember that everything in a mirror image is precisely opposite, right?
No but I am intrigued..
Incubus
Champion Elect
I think I might have had had a few when I posted that comment gethinceri . Actually now that I think of it do they still have funny mirrors at funfairs, I can't remember the last last time I came across one?
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