The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Thought I would be the first to bring this up, but looks like Chris Isidore of CNNMoney beat me to it: Is Danica Patrick the next Anna Kournikova? Kournikova never won a tennis tournament, and Patrick has yet to win a race (although it is still early in her career.) Though, after she placed 8th in yesterday's Indy 500, I can't help but think that she might be the next athlete whose good looks and marketability exceeded her athletic talent.

Kournikova, it seemed, spent so much time living the "model" lifestyle--photo shoot, party, tv commercial, party, party, party--that she never even got close to developing her potential on the tennis court.

From Isidore's column:

Patrick says she needs to start winning soon to maintain her appeal to advertisers.

"What I always kept in mind, and what I really believe, I just need to win," she said when I asked her whether marketing considerations weighed in her considering a jump to NASCAR. "Wherever I'm at, it will be a big deal when I win, and a lot of other things will materialize and things will happen."

Here's an idea: Patrick should suspend all of the photo shoots, red carpet events, and everything else non-racing related for about six months and focus just on seeing that checkered flag.

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