A story I just HAD to share!

[Tomba]

****MODS please let me know if this post, being non-technical, is inappropriate for this forum****

Hello to all my F1T friends,

Being from the southern United States, I do not have any friends that watch Formula One. So, you guys are the only people I have to share Formula One related stories with. I thought this would be a good one to share. Well like I said, I live in the southern U.S. and there is nowhere to buy Formula 1 memorabilia of ANY kind locally. So a few weeks ago, I ordered two Alonso (being a fan since his Minardi days) items off of eBay. One was a poster and the other was a limited edition signed print with a photo. I received the poster friday (after watching 2nd Practice live on Speed-TV). Then, after having watched Alonso win the European Grand Prix Sunday, I walked to the mailbox Monday and guess what had arrived? I thought the timing of the arrival of the items was amazing (even if it was just shear luck). Anyway, I have included a photo of my framed print, which is now my prized possession, and I just figured i'd share the story with you all since I have no one else that would appreciate it. Sorry if my story isn't as exciting as you would have hoped but I just had to share it with someone.

Thanks everyone,
Joey Griffin

[zmiles2]

That's great! I'm looking to start buying some F1 memorabilia soon, I've been following F1 very closely since the Bahrain 2010, and have been posting on here since then as well.
Where are you from in the South? I live in the southeastern US.

[Absolutelee]

Whoa! There's other American F1 fans???!?! lol

That's cool Enjoy your cool stuff. During the race this weekend in Valencia, I zoned out for a moment and stared off into space and my girlfriend asked "What's wrong??" to which I replied "Oh sorry, I was just picturing you in a Sauber hat" haha

[joeyg02]

Mid-Southern Georgia. About 30 minutes north of the GA/FLA line.

[zmiles2]

That's awesome, but I bet formula 1 fans are few and far between down there. I live in the Louisville, KY area and I only know of one person that I know personally that follows f1 around here. Back at college at Purdue I have a few friends that follow f1 closely like myself but they are originally from the Indianapolis area.

[jon-mullen]

SEC represent! lol

I know two other people here that follow F1 very closely. You just have to talk about it a lot or wear some fan gear, you'd be surprised. In Philly I was working at a bar, Saturday night, a regular customer asked how I was doing. I said I was waiting to kick everyone out so I could watch the Aussie GP on the projector. He asked if he could hang around to watch it, turned out he'd been a McL fan for 20+ years. So of course I said "no."

[joeyg02]

I've got a few friends that watch Moto GP and if they happen to catch an F1 race on tv they watch it. I've yet to meet one person that is a diehard fan like me from around my area. I know some people that say "yeah F1 is ok, it's cool", but when I start talking about aerodynamics and the exhaust blown diffusers they look at me like . I just LOVE the technical side of formula one. The way the technology is SO fine-tuned just flat out amazes me. What makes it even better is nearly every GP their are updates on the car and that gives you another mechanism to try and figure out how it's working on the car.

No other motorsport can touch it in excitement and the engineering of the cars. They are literally pieces of artwork.

If any of you want to get together on some form of chat room/facebook etc where we can all chat during the race on Speed live i'd love to. Just let me know. Ohh and Jon your right. SEC represent "GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!" lol.

Joey Griffin

[joeyg02]

That's great! I'm looking to start buying some F1 memorabilia soon, I've been following F1 very closely since the Bahrain 2010, and have been posting on here since then as well.
Where are you from in the South? I live in the southeastern US.

You just reminded me of one of the first races that got me re-interested in F1 to an obsession level. It was on July 30, 2006, the first race after they banned Renault's Mass-Damper system and it was a race in the rain. It was in Hockenheim all I remember is people kept complaining because Schumacher was leading and kept cutting the chicane. I'm pretty sure Alonso was running poorly because they had taken the mass damper off the car and the michelin tires were getting eaten up because the car was designed around the now removed MD system. After watching that race in the rain, that was it for me. I was hooked technically.

[zmiles2]

I am interested in the technical side as well. I started off knowing only the basics but I have been able to build on that to learn quite a bit about the technical side...
When I got hooked on F1 it was sort of a similar situation. I'd always had an interest in exotic and European cars, and one day, I think it was the friday before the Bahrain GP in 2010 (opening race), I read an article about Alonso's move to Ferrari and how much hype there was around it. After that I checked out formula1.com and checked out the cars, drivers, etc. and ended up watching the grand prix and loving every second of it. I have not stopped since then. I've watched (almost) every quali and practice since then and every race. I get most of my information from F1T and f1fanatic.co.uk, I don't read the forums on F1fanatic, just read it for news and pictures.
What a season so far...

[Pierce89]

SEC represent! lol

I know two other people here that follow F1 very closely. You just have to talk about it a lot or wear some fan gear, you'd be surprised. In Philly I was working at a bar, Saturday night, a regular customer asked how I was doing. I said I was waiting to kick everyone out so I could watch the Aussie GP on the projector. He asked if he could hang around to watch it, turned out he'd been a McL fan for 20+ years. So of course I said "no."

SEC in the house! Roll Tide and Forza Ferrari!

I live in Alabama and have only 1 friend that watches F1.

[bhallg2k]

I've lived in GA, NC, SC, OH, TN, NJ, and TX, and, as far as I know, I've never met a fan of F1 in-person.

Come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever actually spoken a single word about F1. Mind = blown.

[jon-mullen]

Come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever actually spoken a single word about F1.

You weren't shouting at the TV during the last few laps of Canada?

Gentlemen, I suggest we need a South Eastern Grand Prix Club (now hearing motions on the name). Funny that most of us seem to be Ferrari fans?

[bhallg2k]

You weren't shouting at the TV during the last few laps of Canada?

I'm pretty sure there was some grumbling, but I don't know that such could be called speaking.

Funny that most of us seem to be Ferrari fans?

Yeah, 'cause what's a Williams or a Sauber to someone who knows absolutely nothing about F1? Without fail, I always expected the Jordans to be red and for each to somehow be number 23.

I hopped on the first name I immediately recognized that didn't produce the Camry or the Accord, and because this happened in 2005, I didn't particularly feel as though I hopped on any fairweather bandwagon.

Plus, I rather like rooting for "the bad guys." It's like being a Yankees fan except I don't have to like the f'n Yankees.

[zmiles2]

I like McLaren and (I guess now, Lotus) Renault. I also like Force India for some reason, mainly because I've always liked Hulkenberg.
South eastern grand prix club sounds awesome though!

[SeijaKessen]

I've lived in GA, NC, SC, OH, TN, NJ, and TX, and, as far as I know, I've never met a fan of F1 in-person.

Come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever actually spoken a single word about F1. Mind = blown.

I live in NJ myself, and when people hear that I have an interest in F1, they tend to raise an eyebrow.

The only people I find around here who may have an interest in F1 are those who are aware that there is another world outside of the United States.

Edit: Total brain freeze. Actually my boss used to go to the F1 races at Watkins Glen in the mid-70s. She did tell me she remembers very well the JPS Lotus cars of Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson. She said even years later, the black and gold John Player Special livery were gorgeous to see in person.