...playing BASEBALL when I was 12. That was over 45 years ago. From there, the only chance to score a trophy for me was at a car show.
I've noticed something lately and it disappoints me a bit. Follow along and see if you agree.
Many of us go to car shows as spectators. We ogle the cars, look at the stuff in the swap meet and have a good time doing it. Some of us look at the cars in the show to see how that guy routed his exhaust or wiring, sometimes we inspect the fit and finish with hopes to get our own cars to look as good when we are done.
Next are the guys that have "finished" cars that are in the show. We wash and wax them, clean the interior and park them in the show field and sometimes, park a lawn chair behind them and enjoy the day.
Awhile back, FBBO member Dennis H was at our show in Sacramento and in bold print on the face of his registration card, he wrote DO NOT JUDGE.
I remember then being surprised at that. He drove 2 1/2 hours to this show, spent the money on gas and the hotel and he didn't want a chance at a trophy?
Why?
I asked him and he played it off as if there were better cars at the show but I don't think that was true. What I learned that day had stuck with me since.
What Dennis was doing was something that strikes at the core of car guys and going to car shows.
It isn't the trophy that matters. It isn't the patting on the back, the picture with the trophy girl or any of that. What makes the experience worthwhile is the whole day....the environment, the people, the cars. It is the guys and gals getting together to celebrate these great cars regardless of what some judge thinks of the car itself. It is the telling of stories of when the cars were new or the trouble you got into with them. The girls you met, the experiences you lived with them.
A plastic trophy cannot compete with that.
Agree,
@Kern Dog
The very first (local) car
show I entered was more of
a curiosity. I had no idea
what to expect, and was
completely surprised at a
third place muscle car class
trophy.
I entered because I love old
cars and the memories they
hold. And hearing others'
memories reinforces that.
The old Plymouth is really
nothing to look at.
She doesn't sport a shiny
paint job, or lots of bling in
the jewelery box. But years
of effort, and some oddball
ideas of design makes her
mine.
Gotta shake my head
though, when some calls
her a rat rod.
It's my opinion after that
first show, that catagories
should be added and
broken down as to engine,
chassis, body and paint,
and interior.
I may not appreciate the
overall aspects of a
lowrider, but some of
their paint jobs are over the
top with hundreds of
hours invested.
There were over a hundred
cars there that day, and
many more than mine
deserved a trophy.
PS...the only other trophy
I won, I was 12, and it was
for third place on a little
league team).
