Ribbed for Pleasure
File under “Corrections & Amplifications.” Last week, Fly on the Wall reported, somewhat fallaciously, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. behaved more like a professional wrestler than a racing champion when Memphis Motorsports Park offered to provide the popular speedster with a lifetime supply of his favorite Rendezvous ribs if he’d come to town for one little race. It sounded like a delicious offer made in good faith and fun, but the source material quoted Earnhardt describing the offer as “some ridiculous deal … to try to get people to buy tickets. “I don’t want to sound like a jerk,” he said, sounding more like a heel than the good guy he’s known to play.
As it turns out, there was a bit of missing context. A source close to the ‘cue-related kerfuffle has since explained that Earnhardt, who rhapsodized about his love for Memphis barbecue on a recent episode of MTV’s Cribs, might not have been so surly if our local raceway had actually offered a lifetime supply of the Rendezvous signature char-grilled racks, which are his favorite. Instead, he was offered some other brand of ribs which may have been perfectly delicious but weren’t Earnhardt’s stated rib of choice.
Although he was merely exercising his God-given right to stand up for the ‘cue he loves, Earnhardt did come off as something of a jerk. But our kind of jerk. The Fly Team is sorry we ever doubted him.
Shooting Birdies
The Associated Press knows as little about Broadway musicals as it does about Memphis music icons. According to the AP, “the swivel-hipped Conrad Birdie is coming back to Broadway” when New York’s Roundabout Theatre presents a revival of Bye Bye Birdie, “the musical tale of an Elvis Presley-inspired rock-and-roll star and his effect on the teenagers in one small Ohio town.” Conrad Birdie is actually based on Conway Twitty, whose overt sexuality made Elvis seem like the very picture of decorum and civility.
