How many times have you been talking about NASCAR or racing, and Jimmie Johnson comes up and you hear someone say, "I don't like him". Although to me, thats a stupid statement seeing how I am a huge supporter of Jimmie, but being a lifelong NASCAR fan I fully understand "most" of them.
Also when they say that they are not on the Jimmie Johnson bandwagon for whatever reason and you probe deeply into their decision and ask them why they don't like Jimmie, have you noticed that 99 percent of them can't give you a reason. You'll get an answer like, "I just don't like him" or "He wins too much". These are not reasons to dislike Jimmie. It simply is a lack of understanding and being able to relate to him.
Everyone that knows me, knows I am a huge NASCAR fan and have been for over 40 years. I grew up in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina and if thats not the heart of NASCAR, then no where is.
NASCAR since its beginning has had many dominators of the sport. Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and of course Dale Earnhardt Sr. These guys had and still have legions of devoted fans out there. People even get tattoo's to support their driver. They also have a ton of t-shirts and hats that are worn every day, even to church, showing support for their drivers.
To convert someone to a Jimmie Johnson fan that might be wearing the colors of another driver is simple. What I do is educate them and compare them to Jimmie Johnson. I educate them on the fact that Jimmie was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he did not come from a famous racing family, just a devoted family, possibly like theirs. He worked hard to get where he is at now. He was a regular guy and still is. You see also, everyone has a little Jimmie Johnson in him, there is something they can do well, usually very well. I was talking to a guy that bass fishes a lot the other day. He has won several tournaments because he has worked hard at. I told him that he was the "Jimmie Johnson of bass fishing". He liked the comparison and is now a member of the Jimmie Johnson Nascar Champion fan page.
The next time your faced with a non-fan of Jimmie. Handle them the way I do and you will disarm them quickly. It's ok to also have other favorite drivers. It's not ok to diss someone when you can't give a reason. With JJ, there are really not any reasons to diss the guy, however NASCAR changed the rules so another driver may get a shot to with the trophy, but thats another blog post yet to come.
By the way, I have been a fan of Jimmie since before he won his first race in NASCAR.
