The Secret to Finding New Worlds - Vol. 1 Ed. 38
Apr 07, 2021 12:01 am
World Builders' Guild Newsletter
Drive fast and turn left.
That's what I used to think NASCAR was all about when I was younger. I was told it was a bunch of unsophisticated greaseballs swerving irresponsibly around a giant paved circle in cars they didn't pay for. Their only wish: to keep four tires on the road long enough to finish in first place before dying in a fiery pileup.
Sell cigarettes to morons.
Dale Earnhardt tattoos.
I can't believe I believed that.
I'm ashamed I believed that.
How ignorant of me to give into the zero-knowledge opinion of a sport that is, like so many others, the result of decades of the collective wisdom, sacrifice, and resources of thousands of professionals.
How many people are on a NASCAR crew at any given race?
10 are allowed in the pit on race day, but that number is closer to 20 to 40, depending on the team and the number of drivers in their care.
Teams spend millions of dollars, days and weeks of the year, preparing for the season, analyzing track conditions, using computer modeling, simulations, and engineering magic to make sure their cars perform better than the rest on race day. The minutiae matter. The difference between a winning machine and second place is a fraction of a percent.
Drivers train to maintain their mental focus and physical poise for a marathon of up to 5 hours in a 100+ degree cockpit, dehydrated most of the time, strapped into layer upon layer of safety equipment.
Oh, and they speed their vehicle around the track, inches from other souls, at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.
Such a bunch of unsophisticated greaseballs with their million-dollar toys and their lives on the line.
There are other worlds like NASCAR, opaque to the outsider, yet rich with knowledge, passion, ritual, nuance and adventure once you decide to push beyond the surface.
Cobbled together from sticks and chewing gum, of course. (Chase McBride on Unsplash)
People still refer to professional wrestling as, "fake fighting."
They're correct. It is "fake fighting."
That's the point.
Nothing about professional wrestling is intended to be perceived as "real" or a legitimate "competition."
Nothing about the spectacle is authentic.
Nothing except for the dozens of hours athletes train to maintain their performance physique and the requisite strength to deliver damn realistic looking maneuvers to their partners without causing injury or death.
It's all a ruse but for the weeks of the year they spend on the road, away from their families, touring the world to entertain crowds of all walks. Their work ethic is merely for show. They don't care about title belts and main event wins. Those aren't worth anything.
Oh, wait.
I do my best to keep an open mind about others' worlds when I understand almost nothing about them.
I could give into obsolete, closed-minded thinking. Or, I can live a life where every person is a portal to a new community: a new world ready for exploration.
Find a world that intrigues you. Find one that scares you. Find someone who lives in that world.
And reach out.
To future worlds,
Matt Ventre
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