That wanker Casey Stoner has been mouthing off again

It is quite a sight to see when you go to a race in Europe. Of the 90,000 people in the stands, about 85,000 of them are wearing some type of Rossi gear. People of all ages wearing the yellow 46, it is insane to see his popularity, especially in Italy.

The ovations for Rossi are so loud and long it gives you the chills. Yet he seems so humble about it and shares the admiration with his team and his VR46 academy riders.

I have always felt Stoner was jealous of that. When he was announced he got less of a reception than even Lorenzo. It seemed like that lack of acceptance ate at Stoner and made him miserable. I figured it was more a maturity thing than a riding thing.

Stoner was a very good flash in the pan - not nearly a long enough or successful enough career to be considered in the top 5 of MotoGP/500 cc history.

 

I've been to a few races in Europe. The things you see walking around the track are just unbelievable. They worship Rossi. Even in Spain.

 

Regardless, it’s not the same as quitting.

 

Agreed.

You can be wearing a Rossi t-shirt anywhere in Europe and even the waitress in a little cafe in some tiny village will know about Valentino Rossi and be a fan of his. The yellow smoke bombs and VR46 flags on the warmup lap make me smile.

It also makes me smile to see people wearing the NH69 gear at the GPs.

 

All other arguments aside, you realize racing is purely for entertainment, right? He's the greatest ambassador to the sport in that regard. People who don't know squat about motorcycles know his name. Can't say the same about Marquez. You can almost make the same comparison to Schumacher and Hamilton in F1. Or Beckham vs almost anyone else in soccer.

 

I was at Mugello in 2010. When I picked up the morning paper in Florence and saw Rossi was out I was so pissed. But I was taking my dad, who knows next to nothing about bikes, to the race. He knew who Rossi was and could see some of the popularity in the city. When we were at the track and Rossi called in from the hopital and addressed the crowd via PA, most of the women and some of the men were crying and then started chanting "forza vale" and shit. It was mind blowing. Not Brady, Gretzky, Jordan or anyone else I know of would get that kind of response. It was electric.

That's when my dad understood. Me too.

edit- Poggio Secco sucks for seats.

 

Oh dear god no, can you imagine the wailing of Crashlow about how he should have gotten trick part A and upgrade B cuz he has the pace to win?

 

No kidding. I'd pay hard earned money to have a beer with anyone who has become the best in the world at anything. Plus I'd buy the beer.

 

I gave Pops some Camel no filts one time. I about shit myself when he lit up while washing parts in either kero or gasoline and didn't blow himself up (again).

 

We aren't talking about best at saving wrecks and surviving riding above the limit. I said fastest ever, and this convo was about Stoner, which goes together, because quite frankly, he is the fastest ever to ride a motogp bike. Again, Rossi and myself agree. So your opinion is invalidated.

 

A cigarette will not ignite gasoline. Science.

 

But sparking up a zippo to light your smoke would.

 

Fair. You'd look cool as f#ck doing it too.

 

There was some soccer player named Pelé that might have been a bit more of a household name than Beckham was and in a time when social media didn't exist.

 

He was like 167 years old but, yeah, he was cool as f@ck.

 

Funny thing is Rossi binned it out of the podium twice this year. So with minor change he would be up near the front. Oh and I think Morbidelli has been behind him a bunch.

I agree you can see his results tapering off but this year he has been up front more than a the majority. He might not win but for you to he has to be passed. Compare that to HRC, Aprilia, KTM, Ducati..... Compare him to Petrucci? Or without the DNFs Dovi. Yes they were on him rather than being binned but acting like Rossi is so uncompetitive If chance had shifted a little he would be a lot closer to #10 than not. But then that is racing right?