Att: Partsguy

[PARAGON]

Don't call him overrated

By- Sharon Bundy


The term overrated means to hype, glorify, puff up, and overvalue and the word overrated has been used to describe Dale Earnhardt Jr. And frankly, it is a misguided use of the word. Often, we use the word overrated to describe sports stars who have failed to live up to the hype that surrounds them when they enter a particular sport. Dale Jr. is no exception.

Being Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes with a price and lofty goals to obtain that are hard to acheive in today's Nascar. Many expect Jr. to be a seven time champion, many expect Jr. to be as rough and tough as his daddy, and if he fails to accomplish what Dale Sr accomplished he is nothing more than an overrated spoiled rich kid who rides the coattails of his daddy's success. I say hogwash.

The term overrated can be interpreted to mean different things to different people. To me, someone who is overrated is someone who has done nothing or very little to receive the hype they receive. Paris Hilton comes to mind. But to put Junior in that category is wrong. Dale Jr. has won 17 races, scored 69 top fives, and 109 top ten's and is a two-time Busch series champion. That hardly seems overrated. Despite not winning a championship, Junior has scored more wins and top fives than Matt Kenseth who has won a championship. For Matt, having an owner who believes in you and backs you no matter what goes a long way. There is a great team behind Matt Kenseth and an owner who is willing to do whatever it takes to make that team a championship contending and winning team. Junior doesn't have that at DEI.

Junior inherited a lot of fans through his daddy. It was an obvious choice for grieving fans to look to Dale Jr. when fans lost Dale Sr. Junior didn't ask for those fans, they chose him. Some, if not most have stuck with Junior. Others have moved on to other drivers or have left the sport entirely. But to inherit fans of a seven time champ does not make Junior overrated, it makes him lucky. Lucky that despite the constant changing of this sport, the drivers are still as important as the races themselves. Junior is popular because of his age, his likes, his dislikes, and his down-to-earth attitude. That doesn't make him overrated, it makes him common, but with loads more money. Does someone overrated live in a modular home? Not someone with an ego. I relate to Junior because we are the same age, he is 10 days older, I lost a parent suddenly, and I share similar views on certain things with Junior. He is more common and normal like most fans who follow this sport. That doesn't make him overrated, it makes him real.

Junior has accomplished a lot in Nascar and he has more he would like to do. And just because he hasn't won a championship doesn't make him overrated, it just means he has work to do. Junior is everywhere, the media can cover him too much. But that is not Junior's fault and it doesn't make him overrated. It makes him popular. Will Junior win a championship or seven? The latter would be hard, but falling short of that doesn't make him overrated. It is likely that no one will ever reach or surpass what Richard Petty and Dale Sr accomplished. And whether or not Junior wins a championship is of little consequence. He has accomplished a lot in a short amount of time in Nascar. Not everyone can be a two-time Busch series champion, not everyone will be a Daytona 500 winner, and not every driver will win 17 or more races in their career. Junior has many years left in his career to accomplish goals that he has set for himself. So instead of calling him overrated, call him a work in progress.