We're not rednecks

My husband wore a NASCAR shirt each time I gave birth. That doesn't make us rednecks, does it? We have all our front teeth, we don't smoke or drink, we both were in the national honor society in high school, we don't live in a trailer with the tires still on it, and we can hold our own in a nice restaurant. Unfortunately anybody interested in NASCAR or any type of auto racing seems to be put into a category by outsiders-and it's not a flattering one. Not to say that there is not some truth to this stereotyping. We have been to two races at Watkins Glen International Raceway, and we have seen the proof. Men and women......no, males and females, with their bodies barely covered, hooting and hollering, stumbling with a beer in their hands, toting kids by leashes. The only clean thing on them is usually the beer cooler-which looks like it is their pride and joy. At one race, there was actually someone so drunk, he vomited all over, then stood up and kept cheering his favorite driver. Yes, it is understandable how a person can be so blinded by that image that they can't see past it to the rest of the crowd: the families, the father and sons, the couples enjoying a day on their own. Yes, I drive a truck and I wear cowboy boots. My husband drives a bigger truck and wears jeans to church, but we consider ourselves to be much more civilized. But, I'm sure to some other breed of race fans, we might as well be rednecks. I'm just not sure if I should be insulted or not.