Formula one motor racing is still exciting to watch though I would say that it has tamed down more since the advent of better safety procedures and protocols. All this is for the better, but somewhere something is lost to the sport's excitement.
I keep asking myself why I prefer to watch the Isle of Man TT as opposed to the Motor Bike Grand Prix of today? The answer is because the Isle of Man TT is more dangerous. Why do I enjoy reading about the past Formula one races in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc as opposed to the races of today? Again, it was more dangerous back then.
I'm compelled by the danger of the Isle of Man TT even though I would never possess the dare to indulge such a sport personally. Almost every year, a rider is killed in a high speed crash. 2014 saw two racers killed. I feel great sorrow for the men who pitted their wits and lost, but I can't help thinking there is something inside us all that makes everyone want to be a chancer now and then. It obviously varies in degrees and subject matter. A chancer that can some how narrow the odds by pitting ones self against the elements in a chosen field (of some kind.) A business or industry - perhaps sport, like a dynamic footballer where the prospects of failure can be soul destroying, yet not life threatening. Then there are lone crusaders like boxers and motor racers. (True warriors or gladiators) The level of challenges vary and for some chancers it becomes death defying feats - to run parallel with the threat of oblivion in the mortal world, where defeat is ultimate, or to come out of it victorious and buzzing.
Usually we do it for some type of adulation or gain - a trophy beyond that of a mere silver shiny cup. Something else like a moment in eternity that one might live off for the rest of his/her life. What drives us to do such things and what compels people like me to get a buzz out of watching the courage and insanity of the riders who try to defy the odds in a contest of speed along roads that twist and turn, go up and down with solid obstacles, like brick walls, at so many turns if not negotiated right?
The TT contest is an absolute beast that devours many people who want to be consumed by the danger and spat out at the other end of the ordeal intact and alive, carrying the dramatic memory forever when they ran parallel with potential and fatal death, yet did not succumb. Some even evolve to try and do so better then any of the other contestants. For many, it is just to watch the chancers as they pit their wits against one another along the circuit of road going around the island.
The Isle of Man is a haven for such dare devils that attracts people from all over the planet. Many come to be consumed by the monster called the Isle of Man TT. Contestants and spectators alike. For a few days the rules are changed and the knights can come out to play their dangerous and sometimes fatal game, while we spectators can watch and enjoy the wake of the high speed buzz. Even become appalled and saddened by those who will fall prey to the consuming monster. We can't help it because we are all compelled by the intoxicating danger. It is a small Haven were the beast remains untamed and gloriously vicious and brutal.
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