There is a first time for everything, and there's a last time for everything. Once in a while, both turn out to be the same thing at the same time.
Watching the F1 races at Sepang last weekend was one such time.
Getting there was a chore; more than an hour in a bus (and another hour back). When we got there, we needed to take another bus to get to our hillstand. Lots and lots of walking later (up some very steep hills), we were dehydrated from the heat and humidity. Stupid organizers won't let us bring in our own water (forcing us to buy their RM5 bottles). It was hot, very hot. We were sweating, sticky and uncomfortable, wishing for every breath of wind that came our way.
The race itself was interesting for about 5 minutes: when the race started and after the first 2-3 laps. After that, everything got blurry, and we didn't know who was where, what position everyone was in, and what was going on in the race itself. And being limited in view to about only a 1/3rd of the track, we didn't know what was going on in the other 2/3rds. It got really boring, really quickly.
The only good thing was the unique sounds an F1 engine makes, something that'll probably never be properly replicated through a TV's speakers. But cool sounds are not enough to persuade me to leave home next year.
The comforts of watching the race at home should not be underestimated. The luxury of actually watching the race as it happens, seeing in slow-mo the overtaking action, the spills, the crashes. The advantage of commentary to tell us what's going on. The cool breeze of the fan and air conditioning; the nearby fridge and ice cubes. The toilet, the bed, the easy chair, a good book when the action subsides for a minute, or the ability to switch channels when the races goes through a slow patch.
The foreigners must be mad to fly around the world to watch the races live. One race is more than enough for me. I'll be sticking to STAR Sports on Astro from now on.
