Monday, August 31, 2009

My World Tuesday #46: The Rock


"The Oldest Trophy"
Rockingham, NC - November 2001 (Click for detail view)

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Ask any hockey fan and they'll tell you that the Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports. I"m as big a fan of the sport as anyone -- bigger than most -- but I challenge this assertion on the grounds that the America's Cup predates the Stanley Cup by a good 50 years or more. But neither of those has the age on them that this trophy does. The Rock at North Carolina Speedway hasn't been a trophy for 65 million years, but the rock that makes it up has probably been around that long. It takes a long time to form granite. Every driver in the Series Formerly Known as The Winston Cup that wins a race here has his name carved into the face of the stone for the archaeologists to dig up in 500 years. (Click the wide shot for a closeup.) Imagine being on a dig in the year 2509 and unearthing this stone with these names etched into it. Surely these must be the names of great leaders, right? MmmmNo. Just the leaders at the checkered flag.
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18 comments:

Sylvia K said...

A fun and intriguing post as always, Mojo! Great shot! And, yes, it would be fun to see what they would make of this in 2509!

Have a great week!

Sylvia

Carver said...

Now that's what I call a trophy. Great shot and post.

Martha Z said...

Old indeed, a very unusual trophy.

maryt/theteach said...

A very old trophy, Mojo. :)

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

How fascinating! The permanence of this trophy is something to be envied by sportsmen and women from other fields!
Janice.

Anonymous said...

Good one!
Great My World Post!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Mojo: Really cool rock, congrats on being # 1 on the list.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating information. I'm sure having one's name carved on a rock is in itself a wonderful achievement.

I enjoyed the post.

Barbara said...

Fascinating post, I like the thought of the rock being discovered millions of years in the future!

Jane Hards Photography said...

The other half, before he became an artist was a geologist so I know all about rock formations. I also know all about Speedway, well British, I used to go. Interesting take on a my world.

Gemma Wiseman said...

Incredible way to pass on a trophy! And everyone can share the pleasure of it all! Wonderful post!

Gemma Wiseman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chrome3d said...

Do you actually think Jeff Burton will NOT be remembered 500 years from now?

Reader Wil said...

Very impressive to find something from the dawn of times!

Daryl said...

Look ... its a rock!

Unknown said...

Didn't know that - pretty cool!

Larry D said...

Hockey players get to skate around holding th cup aloft, Im pretty sure you cant do that with this great piece of granite, wonderful photo!

Marites said...

I wonder if i can have my name there:) nevertheless, it's really interesting trophy.

My world is up here.