The invective chokes the e-mail box like plaque in an artery, gumming the works with antipathy and contempt. He's a girl, he's a crybaby, he's a whiner, he's a jerk, he's arrogant and condescending. He's every type of curse word George Carlin ever uttered. He's a despicable human being. He's a spoiled rotten brat with no good in him. He's a dirty driver and a disgrace to his sport. He has an attitude problem. He needs to be suspended and fined and docked points and fired.
And they're just getting warmed up. Any misstep, whether perceived or real, brings a torrent of criticism down upon Kyle Busch that's so hateful it's depressing. It's difficult to fathom how some people can harbor such malevolent feelings toward someone they've never met, but clearly those folks are out there -- transferring anger over shortcomings or failures in their own lives, perhaps, or maybe unable to manifest their fanaticism in any other way. Whatever the reason, it's sad that so many who dislike the current Sprint Cup points leader have stooped to the level of personal attacks.
Hey, this is America. You can like or dislike any athlete or driver you want. And it's easy to see why some people don't like Busch -- his headstrong driving style can be interpreted as recklessness, his manner in front of the camera can be seen as aloofness, he's (God forbid) traded paint with Dale Earnhardt Jr. He's a successful 23-year-old with a lot of money and a pretty girlfriend, a guy who isn't afraid to mix it up on the racetrack and can sometimes come across as dismissive in public. For fans with a lot of animosity stirring inside them, that's a combustible mixture.
But it's not an excuse for character assassination of the magnitude we're seeing from the lunatic fringes of the anti-Busch brigade, people whose sheer hatred seems to know no bounds. In the wake of last weekend's tiff with Carl Edwards at Bristol, things have blown all out of proportion. Judging from the hundreds of e-mails I've received this week -- a handful of them referenced above -- you'd think the guy had burned a flag on pit road. While I realize that those who write in represent only a small fraction of the NASCAR fan base, it's clear that some people need to grow up. Or seek therapy. Or both.
A little perspective is needed here. In the eyes of some people, Busch can never do anything right. Banging into the back of Jimmie Johnson's car before his comeback win at Chicagoland brings objections that he's cheating, even though guys bump one another every week. Blaming Earnhardt for getting into the back of him at Kansas last year brings complaints that, well, he must have checked up. Running into Edwards on the cool-down lap at Bristol brings a howl of protest, even though some drivers have been applauded for doing the exact same thing. His rather tame comments after the event -- "It's just his normal fashion. That's fine. I've grown to know that now" -- are seen as whining, even though some of his peers might have blown off the interview room all together.Yes, he can be arrogant, as all athletes can be. Yes, it might not hurt to have someone sit down with him and show him videotape of how he comes across on camera sometimes, if that hasn't already happened. But let's not go to extremes here. He was remarkably poised after Juan Montoya intentionally wrecked him in June at New Hampshire, and his no-holds-barred driving style, while no means delicate, has earned him fans. And to the smart alecks out there, yes, Busch has fans -- they're the ones cheering when he does that little bow of his each time he wins a race. And he's won plenty of races, taking 17 checkered flags thus far in NASCAR's three national series combined. This isn't meant to be a defense of Kyle Busch. But it's important to remember that he's only 23, and that his older brother went through many of the same things Kyle is going through now, and that today Kurt is a rather likeable and well-adjusted 30-year-old. While every sport needs a villain -- and, voluntarily or not, Kyle for now has been thrust into that role -- cheering for a favorite driver doesn't necessarily mean you have to dump truckloads of stinging, personal abuse upon the guys you don't like. Despicable? A disgrace? Please. You don't know him well enough to levy those kinds of scurrilous insults. Even those of us in the garage area every week are still trying to figure out who the real Kyle Busch is, other than the helmeted figure who's galvanized viewers and made this season worth watching. So go ahead, boo him if you want -- smartly, Busch has held fast to the belief handed down from Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, that any noise from the grandstand is better than no noise at all. But at he very least, respect his abilities and what he's able to do on the racetrack. Lost in all the Bristol hubbub was the fantastic pass he made to initially seize the lead, cutting around a cluster of cars slowed by Montoya, who was trying to avoid being lapped. The kid plainly has a breathtaking ability in a racecar, and fearlessness to match. How many drivers would have settled for second with two laps left at Chicagoland? How many other drivers provide the daring and the drama that he does, in a sport where many believe those very things are lacking?
The crude personal attacks convey an almost spiteful blindness to the kid's raw talent, which despite all the conspiracy theorists sitting on the grassy knoll whispering about Toyota horsepower, cannot be discounted. Kyle Busch is very good behind the wheel. He's going to win more races. He remains the top contender for the Sprint Cup championship, and if he claims it, for one year he becomes the face of the sport. Those things are absolutes, and cannot be shot down simply because you'd rather see someone else win. Like him or not, Busch deserves your respect, if for no other reason than the fact he can do things in a racecar that few others can.
Oh yeah, and he's also good for the sport, giving it a pot-stirrer and an antihero in an age when too many drivers look and talk and act the same. Get used to it. At 23, Kyle Busch is going to be around for a long time. And hatred is not healthy to hold on to.
