Winning & Wasting

[peterperkins]

Wilfred Pickles used to ask people on his Radio Programme. (Was it called ‘Have a go.’?), anyway he used to ask people what was their pet hate. He got the usual replies, rudeness, being late, litter etc and nothing wrong with those.

If he had asked me I would say. ‘Wasting Champagne.’

I mean particularly the waste of champagne after the winning of a race, usually cars, motorbikes, lorries, go karts etc where the podium ceremony is followed by squirting champagne. I’m afraid it has now become an invariable custom and it is spreading to other sports. Believe me it will get everywhere, Wimbledon included, and will not be confined to sports. The Nobel Prize, election of a new Pope. It’ll come.

There are a number of reasons why it narks me and not just the waste of a drink. The worst being that it is very impolite to spray other people with anything, being champagne doesn’t make it alright. It is undignified, when the victor is given the cup and the runners up given theirs, there is then an unseemly scrambling about and a running after the prime victim who must crouch while it’s put down his neck. It is deemed excellent if the camera lens is sprayed and the cameramen presumably. The glamour girls who usually accompany the ceremony and who generally look nice and poised have to be sprayed. The fans also have to be sprayed. If they must do it, and for the life of me I can't see why, better to give these drivers each a fire extinguisher, they spray fine without so much waste.

I believe our elite, Henry and Fiona, at parties do the same, sometimes using thousands of pounds worth of champagne.

Why? Is the waste the object? Shame on them if so.

Is it fun? Next time you open a can of coke, shake it up and eject it into your face. It’s not fun to you is it?

I wonder if they now make a special podium brand of champagne? As the habit persists and grows it would be a good idea, but I fear that the better the champagne the more significance and pleasure to the waster.

I bet the little old Frenchman in the caves of Champagne twiddling the bottles from time to time to make it sparkle is not amused, neither am I.

Just my opinion of course and I do watch F1

[anonymous-user]

have you ever won anyhting though? something which you had fought hard for, and which you were competing against other talented people to win?

i came third in a go kart race once, i was fourth all race and then with one lap to go did an ace move on the guy in third, then held it to the finish. i got out of the kart and lept around like i had won the lottery! it was an amazing feeling, sure there were two tother guys ahead of me but i didnt care. i had achieved something which i was proud of.

its a release of built up energy. jeez, let them have their oment of fun? if it doesnt hurt you or cost you personally anything whats the worry?!

[.Mark]

Good Rant.

Apparantly this stems back a few years to when an driver (English, can't remember his name) half dropped a bottle that was presented to him and when he opened it, it went everywhere!
Others thought it was cool and so the tradition started. (I bet Murray Walker lurks here I'm sure he could tell us).

I thought is was clever the way Irvine used to open it, he would bang the bottom of the bottle on the podium and the cork would pop out on it's own. I tried this once when I won a karting event, nothing happened apart from me nearly breaking the bottle and the podium, and looking a bit of a numpty

[graham]

When i finally find my way to the podium, there is no way the champers is getting sprayed... im going to drink the lot....

[FourWheelDrift]

.Mark said:

Good Rant. Apparantly this stems back a few years to when an driver (English, can't remember his name) half dropped a bottle that was presented to him and when he opened it, it went everywhere! Others thought it was cool and so the tradition started. (I bet Murray Walker lurks here I'm sure he could tell us).

First done by Dan Gurney alongside his driving partner AJ Foyt after winning the 1967 Le Man 24 hours race in a Ford MkIV..

I always spray the champers, but I open it the proper way, hold the cork & twist the bottle

>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Friday 20th February 16:42

[ehasler]

graham said:

When i finally find my way to the podium, there is no way the champers is getting sprayed... im going to drink the lot....

Me too, although if I buy a bottle now, it will be a nice vintage by the time I win a race and get to open it!

>> Edited by ehasler on Friday 20th February 16:41

[eric mc]

Traditionally, if champagne was handed out at the podium, it was opened for the winner by an official and poured into the victory cup from which a few swigs were taken. I've seen film of Graham Hill doing this. There is a party scene in the film "Grand Prix" where the champagne is flowing, but not being sprayed about.

When Williams were sponsored by Saudia (and Bin Laden!!), whenever one of their drivers won, they had to make do with orange juice on the podium. And, of course, at the Indianapolis 500 the winner gets to celebrate with a bottle of MILK.

[paolow]

eric mc said:

at the Indianapolis 500 the winner gets to celebrate with a bottle of MILK.

MILK ??? thats just wrong, still, bet it doesnt sting like a bugger when it gets in your eyes he he - the last time i won most of the podium photos had me with my eyes shut after getting a direct hit from the other racers bubbly

[FourWheelDrift]

Apart from when Emerson Fittipladi won in 1994, he owns an Orange Juice company and he drank a bottle of his own orange juice instead of the milk.

Still not right though. They have some strange traditions at Indy.

[eric mc]

I think the local milk company were one of the original sponsors of the event and it became the tradition. Indiana is a very agricultural state so lots of cows around.

It probably says more about the differing traditions between European motor sport (toffs at play) and American motor sport (good ol' boys) than anything.