But it Might Just Work…

So the news is out, there will be no Eagles slayed by Bandits and there will be no Seagulls shot down by Bullets at Shielfield this Saturday night.

Great news for fans of laridae and accipitridae enthusiasts but not such good news for speedways fans, especially those from Eastbourne who find their club going through perhaps the most challenging of times.

There have been plenty of rumours floating around and what’s true and what’s not is actually pretty irrelevant because the facts add up to another speedway club in financial difficulty. It’s not good for the fans, it’s not good for the riders and it’s not good for British Speedway as a whole.

The sport has lost far too many clubs in relatively recent memory and it can ill afford to lose any more and here’s hoping that Eastbourne can find a solution to all of their issues and the can continue to come to the tapes for years to come.

However, all of this doesn’t mean that there will be no speedway at Shielfield Park this weekend, as a Bandits select side take on a Bullets select side in what looks to be fairly interesting looking affair.

Six man teams, more emphasis on tactical rides and more than one nominated race…you can colour me intrigued!

It might not be one for the purists but you have to admire the promotion for thinking outside the box and trying something new. After all, trying something new appears to have worked for cricket of all things so why can’t it work for speedway?

Bon Jovi once sang, “there’s a man out on the corner, singing old songs about change, everybody’s got their cross to bear these days.”

Is there a point to that reference? Well yes, now I love a good musical reference thrown into my blogs but this one, I think is prominent. You see anyone reading this knows just how good speedway can be on it’s day and when it’s right it is simply magical, but my god I’ve seen some whining online about it.

They used to say that happiness was 40-38 back in the old 13 heat days but now that happiness has changed to 46-44, those at the meeting against Poole will attest to that. Many of the old guard may argue with that and say that the 13 heat formula was better and that everything was better “back in’t day.”

Maybe it was but the point is things change, things move on, things evolve and you have to move with the times. It ain’t the 1950s anymore.

Speedway has often been accused of being set in it’s ways and not moving with the times and to be fair, there probably is a great element of truth in that statement.

But as I mentioned earlier, if a small tweak or change can make a sport like cricket exciting and attract new eyes to its product, then why can’t a small change of format work for a sport like speedway, which is at least actually exciting in the first place?

Sure six man teams and two nominated races might not revolutionise the sport, but if you don’t try then how will we ever know?

Did the inventor of those little toy men with the sticky hands and feet that slide down a wall strike gold the first time? No, he had to throw several things at the wall to see what stuck.

I’ve read plenty online recently about a certain team manager and his decisions costing his side wins on more than one occasion this season, so would a format with more emphasis on tactics sort the men from the boys in that regard?

Would six man teams alleviate the shortage of riders we have racing in this country?

I don’t know the answer to any of these questions but this format might just be crazy enough to work, and we may well have those answers around 8:45 on Saturday night.

I’ll be there, potentially looking into the future of our sport…

Of course if you wish to agree, or disagree with the Mythman, have an idea for a feature, or you simply want to chew the fat over all things speedway, you can email me jbspeedwaymedia@hotmail.com or get in touch via the JB Speedway Media Facebook page. If your compliments, or indeed gripes can be contained to limited characters, you can send me a tweet @Mythman666.

Until next time…and there will be a next time.
Right I’ll hae’tae gan
Mythman