Originally Posted by dustino140
Joe or Jane general knowledge will come up with Secretariat, Citation, Ruffian and Zenyatta
more than any other horse.....
Joe or Jane general knowledge will come up with Secretariat, Citation, Ruffian and Zenyatta
more than any other horse.....
Real-life surveys (pre-"Seabiscuit" era) reveal General Knowledge includes only Secretariat and Man O'War as consistent answers. Others only sporadic recognition.
And the point was she won't be remembered long term, not NOW.
When were the surveys taken Ol'Line Rebel? If a survey was done today or recently, it would favor a Zenyatta and wouldn't be as kind to Man O'War...
Surveys about almost anything are extremely time sensitive and also how the question is asked is crucial to any poll / survey...
Who is your favorite horse?
Who is the best horse to ever run?
Informal surveys of my co-workers, only within the last 10 years. Not any formal professional stuff. Just listing some 50 horses and asking if they minimally even RECOGNIZE the name (much less actually know anything about them).
Likewise, my every-day observations that people are not talking about Zen, and neither do most of them know that name if mentioned. They're still more likely to know the Derby winner - although that fades fast too if they don't somehow seem sensational.
By virtue of the 60 Minutes piece and the Oprah magazine Zenyatta will be remembered in the future more than any other horse in recent memory. Anyone else that says otherwise just does not like her and will never like her.
Wrong.
I'm right. Deal with it.
EXACTLY! Plus all of the articles and media coverage - AND the mare herself! Spot on!
May they run with the wind
Official Associate Backstretch Boys Stables Member Enrolled 11/5/2008 PostTimeMike presiding.
Sun Devils hasn't been right about anything since the inception of the forum.
By defintion, Zenyatta will be less known by the general public than almost any horse that wins the Kentucky Derby.
It's called "reality check".
Consistently on this forum, people fantasize that the latest-greatest horse will be remembered BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC for years to come.
It's not true of Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Rachel Alexandra (wasn't last year, and isn't now), OR Zenyatta.
They confuse forum people heavily discussing Cigar 15 years later on this forum as meaning ALL people know who Cigar is. Truth - few do.
I guarantee Zenyatta won't be anywhere near Peyton Manning or Alex Rodriguez in people's memories. She'd have to be stratospheric in talent & accomplishments to get into that level alone, what with our sport being minor. And she's not.
Yes, she has gotten a bit more general publicity than most except Barbaro. That's helpful, but not enough.
I'm not convinced she's really that Great all-time, but neither was I convinced last year Rachel was, although I liked her accomplishments more and thus, her. I like Rachel, but I wasn't thinking everyone knew her even after the Preakness (which General-Public event Zenyatta never ran in).
You ask people next year if they simply "know Zenyatta". I'm going to start today.
And that thought must be crushed and destroyed until hope draws its last breath. Is this a TBC thing?
"Sinclair Lewis aptly predicted in It Can't Happen Here that if fascism came to America it would come wrapped in the flag and whistling The Star Spangled Banner." ~Harrison Evans Salisbury
And that thought must be crushed and destroyed until hope draws its last breath. Is this a TBC thing?
The TBC "thing" is fantasizing.
As for hope, nonsense. But I know pretty much I cannot expect genuine public knowledge/following until there is a TC winner and/or a constantly super horse at the highest levels. Truth is Zenyatta is neither.
People don't take note of track runners until something really special happens. Usain Bolt, perhaps, or a superstar at the Olympics.
Bingo!
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.
~George Bernard Shaw
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
~Cicero - 55 BC
Tell me what the average ratings were for the KD have been the past 20 years. Tell me what the average ratings were for 60 Minutes during that time period.
If being wrong means disagreeing with everything you believe in, I don't want to ever be right.
Not going to go back 20 years but
2010 Kentucky Derby = 16 Million Viewers
http://www.connectamarillo.com/sport...5089&id=452581
60 Minutes With Zenyatta = 10.64 Million Viewers
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...-1074m-viewers
It is unlikely that the combined number of total viewers for all of Zenyatta's career races equal the number of folks that watched Super Saver win the Kentucky Derby.
Last edited by MonmouthGuy; 12-10-2010 at 07:49 AM.
I think years from now people are going to use Zenyatta and GOAT in the same sentence........
Some people here are already saying that....
Last edited by BARNFOUR; 12-10-2010 at 07:21 AM.
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.
~George Bernard Shaw
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
~Cicero - 55 BC
I have brothers who were religious track goers during their 20s who haven't gone in decades. They will still watch the KD every year, but won't change the channel from their college football games to watch the BC. Not this year, either, because I asked them. They were vaguely aware of Zenyatta, but nothing about the situation was compelling enough to effect action on their parts. Only one of their sons (sports junkie) was aware, but has never watched Zenyatta on TV (I asked).
The topic is "great American sports legend." If it were "great American horse racing star", the answer would be yes. But it is no, definitely no.
The KD is still the one televised horse racing event that I have no trouble inviting outsiders to. The only ones watching the BC with me this year - like every year - were a few hardcore racing fans. That's just the way it is. Zenyatta reeled in a few more curious Americans with the story's appearance in celebrity/newsmagazine segments; that was good, but only in passing. It didn't cause very many to make the BC a must-see American event, this year or last.
It will have zero long-term impact. The vast majority of Americans now will say "huh?" and it will be even fewer two years from now. It is not "somewhere in the middle" unless "the middle" is loosely defined to encompass everything except the very extremes.
Well stated, unfortunately.
What horse racing has missed has been the superstar for which the buzz is unrelenting; one for whom the word "legend" fits without any caveats.
The approximate formula: A horse that gains a Triple Crown undefeated and where the wins are convincing. Who can lose maybe once under challenging conditions but who then trounces the conqueror and then wins the Breeders' Cup Classic in a waltz. Who then returns the next year to win overseas once or twice, so that most people worldwide begin mentioning "best that they've seen recently." And so stubborn baby booomers admit, yes, he is clearly better than Secretariat. Being able to speak with a vocabulary of about 200 English words would seal the deal.
But that is the standard which a horse racing figure must meet in order to break through the noise of 650 TV channels. A legend must truly be legendary, and not just a lesser replica of past Top Ten occupants. Like lately.
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