It's the greatest ritual in sports

                It is among the most cherished sporting rituals in all of Americana. It is one I have been doing since I was old enough to figure out the radio. After mastering the radio, the ritual switched to television, where the ritual has played out for decades now.

          After all these years, through three careers, two kids, a dozen moves involving six cities and two states, through a lot more years than I want to admit and, incredibly, through just one marriage, I still get the same thrill when the ritual plays out each May.

          My understanding wife doesn’t even make fun of me for it.

          We live in the Eastern Time zone now so the ritual does not have to be played out quite so early in the morning, but I know I’ll awake early anyway with the same enthusiasm I always have.

          This year the ritual involves a big screen TV. Yippee!! I can’t wait.

          Every year on a Sunday in May, I count the minutes before the opening of the television coverage of the Indianapolis 500 and I watch with great intent for the opening shot of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

          Forget the announcers. Forget the pole sitter. The opening montage is usually pretty neat, but it is not part of the ritual. That first live glimpse of the cherished oval is at hand and is the moment of high drama:

          Is the track dry or wet?

          Everything else will play itself out. The Purdue band will play, someone will sing Back Home Again in Indiana, the drivers will report to their cars and someone will give the command to start the engines. The race will start and bring with it a whole different drama.

          But that first glimpse of the track tells us how our day will go by answering the single most important question of the year: Is the track dry or wet?

          In this day and age, cheating is easy. Just fire up the computer and glance at one of the forty million or so weather websites, as soon as you wake, to learn what the weather is in Indy. Sure, that can be done. You could tune in to Twitter or check out Facebook.

          But the internet is not part of the ritual and neither is social media. There is no mystery, no fun that way. There is no anticipation. That first look at the racing surface is a magical moment. It is more than just a question of atmospheric conditions, more than just the start of a motor race and much more than just a television broadcast.

          It's the Indy 500 and come Sunday, I'll be waiting for that first look.

 

          Is the track dry or wet? That’s all that matters.

          Thanks for reading.