Quote:
Originally Posted by Sightseek
Smarty Jones was connected to likeable people, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and got tons of coverage in mainstream media (even before the Derby). There was a story there...the horse who had a terrible accident, the dying owner, the blue collar family man trainer. Nothing was likeable about Big Brown but the horse. I know plently of people (myself included and a few other regulars on this board) who became attracted to the sport because of the media (overhyped or not) over Smarty, I've never heard anyone say they became a fan because of Big Brown.
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Big Brown was a huge flop in the Belmont so I suppose no one wanted to embrace a loser.
As far as the "feel good" story I'm not so sure that captured the imagination of fans as much as SJs' courageous effort in defeat.
One thing Big Brown had over Smarty Jones PR wise was UPS.
09-30-2010, 10:30 AM
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