NASCAR: Keith Olbermann picks really stupid fight with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
By Asher Fair
![HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 19: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 AXALTA Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 19: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 AXALTA Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bf8c333497873fb1b85c98e65e5f9f30f4537efbbfd98de7fe997b97bbb74474.jpg)
ESPN’s Keith Olbermann picked a really stupid and pointless fight with former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Twitter.
ESPN’s Keith Olbermann decided that he didn’t like the fact that former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who now works for NBC as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC, was featured on NBC’s live broadcast of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
NASCAR’s 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner was interviewed by NBC’s Mike Tirico during the first intermission of the game, at which time the Capitals, who led the series 2-1, had already taken a 3-0 lead over the Golden Knights.
The interview, which pertained to the NASCAR Cup Series and Earnhardt Jr.’s upcoming role with NASCAR on NBC when NASCAR races begin being broadcast on NBC Sports Network and NBC starting at the beginning of July, barely lasted a couple of minutes.
Here is what Earnhardt Jr. had to say before the game.
https://twitter.com/DaleJr/status/1003724117219168267
Here is what NASCAR on NBC had to say following Earnhardt Jr.’s interview with Tirico.
All smiles from @DaleJr at #StanleyCup Final Game 4!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 5, 2018
📷: @CapitalsPR pic.twitter.com/d3bSTZTeW0
But as a result of this, Olbermann, who has already proven to have several screws loose in other circumstances involving his divisive rhetoric, decided to pick a Twitter fight with NBC, the NASCAR community and JR Nation. Even Earnhardt Jr. responded to him.
Here is what Olbermann had to say.
There is some kind of retired stock car or cab driver or something in the middle of NBC’s Stanley Cup Final pregame show. It’s not that NBC doesn’t take hockey seriously; it’s that it seems convinced it is necessary to make its hockey telecasts about other sports #WatchNHLNetwork
— Keith Olbermann's X Ghost⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) June 4, 2018
It’s not just that @NBCSports has trotted out Dale Earnhardt Jr in its #StanleyCup pregame AND at the start of its 1st intermission, it’s the institutional tone deafness indicated by the belief there is any overlap between these two sports with utterly different demographics. pic.twitter.com/UJxn7wLL5r
— Keith Olbermann's X Ghost⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) June 5, 2018
Here is how Earnhardt Jr. responded.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 5, 2018
Earnhardt Jr. also replied to a since-deleted tweet that was stated by someone who agreed with Olbermann’s point of view and stated that the former NASCAR driver should have just stayed in the stands and cheered — as if he doesn’t work for NBC or something.
I was
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 5, 2018
Several others came to the defense of Earnhardt Jr.
Eh, you don’t know what you’re talking aboot. https://t.co/myaG8xTkCa
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) June 5, 2018
Yet another example – as if more examples could possibly be needed – of how @KeithOlbermann has outlived his usefulness as a sports analyst, not to mention as a human being.
— Dave Moody (@DGodfatherMoody) June 5, 2018
— hollykbegley♡ (@hollykbegley) June 5, 2018
Having grown up in a racing community here in Canada, I can assure you there is an overlap between the two demographics.
— Greg Sewart (@sewart) June 5, 2018
...or maybe @DaleJr works for @NBCSports and they're using their airtime to cross-promote? Also hockey is a kickass sport. So is racing.
— daniel (@speelingbechamp) June 5, 2018
Fight me.
Last Sunday at Pocono race tonight at #Capitals crossover @jimmywaggs3 also a dale jr fan guess your wrong @KeithOlbermann pic.twitter.com/xp5EqbD9tT
— Allan Alderman (@allan_88jr) June 5, 2018
This is such disingenuous cry for attention. Did all the replies from #JrNation make you feel relevant again? Glad we could help.
— Mechelle Gehle-Wann (@MechelleG1) June 5, 2018
More from Dale Earnhardt Jr
- NASCAR: Dale and Amy Earnhardt welcome daughter Isla Rose
- NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. may get a winning send-off after all
- NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. to return with JR Motorsports
- NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. interested in purchasing Carolina Panthers
- NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fanbases headline FanSided Fandom 250
The jury is still out in regard to why Olbermann would pick such a stupid and pointless fight on Twitter, especially given the reasoning that he gave for doing so. Apparently he is not aware of the fact that cross-promoting is a key element of broadcasts of literally any network despite the fact that he has been involved in broadcasting for decades.
But then again, how can he not be aware of this fact given the fact that, as referenced above, he has been involved in broadcasting for decades? Could Olbermann just hate Earnhardt Jr. for some reason and be making an excuse to criticize him because him appearing on this broadcast somehow offended him? Could he just be trying to say relevant knowing that picking a fight with Earnhardt Jr. would rile up the biggest driver fanbase in the sport?
Olbermann didn’t complain when the Stanley Cup showed up at the Preakness Stakes.
At the @PreaknessStakes today. Surprised some of the athletes in the stables first thing. @NHL #StanleyCup @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/hFPwcnXWfF
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) May 19, 2018
If his complaints about Earnhardt Jr. were really due to the fact that NASCAR and hockey have “utterly different demographics”, shouldn’t he have made the same complaints about horse racing and hockey?
At the end of the day, Olbermann is the classic case of what I was referring to in an article from earlier this week about non-racing fans attempting to bash and criticize the sport and its drivers/athletes despite the fact that they literally know next to nothing if not nothing about it.
Next: Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time
Be sure to tune in to the first race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season that is set to be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, as that race is set to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first Cup Series race as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. That race is the TheHouse.com 400, and it is set to take place at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It is set to be broadcast live at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 1.