Jim Boeheim’s meeting with Tony Stewart was an interesting exercise in what happens when two celebs who would never cross paths connect on a promotional level.
The back story: Tony Stewart’s tooling around Central New York for the race at Watkins Glen; Boeheim is the grand marshall for the Nationwide Series event.
The meeting raised some interesting revelations, along with questions.
1. Boeheim claims he can’t drive a stick shift. How is this possible? Boeheim is 65 years old. He was born in 1944. This can only lead to one conclusion; Papa Boeheim was a big-timer who could afford auto transmissions when they were novel in the 60’s. That or Boeheim was a bicyclist. Either one is awesome.
2. Tony Stewart tried his hand at basketball drills. Let that resonate. This is Tony Stewart. A race car driver as an athlete? Semantics The Fizz won’t touch on a Friday in July. However, we do know that Stewart himself has embraced the parity of his “elite athlete” stature. Take his Burger King ad.
This clearly will equate to zero cross-promotion between the two. No high school baller is going to jump to the ‘Cuse because Boeheim is “down with the Nascar.” And nobody on the circuit is going to suggest Tony Stewart has gained any cool points by hanging with Boeheim. But it was good for a laugh; and for The Fizz, that’s plenty enough.
Posted: Ted Conroy
