So here's how the Triple Crown works. It's three horse races in Spring, and if one horse wins them all, he or she is a champion. Each town that hosts one of these races has a plethora of traditions built behind the day. In Louisville, for the Kentucky Derby, everyone gets wasted on mint juleps and wear big fancy hats. In Baltimore, for the Preakness, everyone gets wasted on black eyed susans, and eats a lot of crab cakes. And for the last race, the huge Belmont in NYC, everyone hides from their bookies and drinks beer.
Point is, New York is already the lamest of the races. This is probably because a) by the time the Belmont happens, we usually know there will be no Triple Crown Winner this year, and b)Long Island is not exactly as picturesque as Kentucky or Maryland. Nobody even gets dressed up for the Belmont, everyone is just standing around in bright colored t-shirts, drizzling bud light from flimsy plastic cups onto the bus terminal style asphalt, trying not to pass out from the packed sweaty humanity on all sides.
Before every race, there is a song and everyone in the audience sings along. At the Derby, they sing My Old Kentucky Home. It is a remnant of the soul of the South, all the rich horse farmers and their flower blossom wives, singing reverently together. At the Preakness, everyone sings the state song "Maryland My Maryland", commemorating the Baltimore Riots at the beginning of the Civil War. It sounds exactly like "Christmas tree, oh christmas tree" and is really easy to follow.
Traditionally, the one redeeming moment of the Belmont is when everyone in the audience holds up their beers and raucously bellows out Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." Which is a goddamn annoying song, but everyone knows it and so everyone is brought together for a few minutes in their drunken civic pride.
This year, they changed the song. To this.
Only it wasn't even Alicia Keys singing it, it was some unknown pop "star" who probably realized it was a mistake to sign up for this as soon as the crowd started ignoring her, cause they didn't know the fucking words, and the networks cut her off for a commercial break.
So stupid. Way to stay classy NYC.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
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*sigh* I have absosmurfly no desire to experience the Belmont. None. Though I'm always surprised when is stumble upon the winner of the Belmont having his photo taken in Midtown.
ReplyDeleteLike, the horse or the owner?
ReplyDeleteDrunkenly singing "New York, New York" actually sounds like something I'd enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThe Preakness isn't as classy as the footage. They only recently stopped allowing thousands of people to compete for worst alcohol poisoning on the field.
yeah, I know. Lots of people were upset about that. But then they offered unlimited beer there, so people perked up.
ReplyDeletePoint is, the Belmont can't even pretend to be classy on tv.
The horse, actually. Always throws me for a loop. Sometimes the rider is there, too.
ReplyDeleteMan, that is like, one reason to move to NYC, to randomly see a famous race horse in the middle of the city getting pictures.
ReplyDeleteSo NYC has 1 point.
bridgy sez 'Only it wasn't even Alicia Keys singing it, it was some unknown pop "star" who probably realized it was a mistake to sign up for this as soon as the crowd started ignoring her, cause they didn't know the fucking words, and the networks cut her off for a commercial break.' whats up with the carry on sentence?
ReplyDelete