Dan Robinson
EF5
"Attention seeking" has been a common and rather pejorative caricature over the years used in the criticism of a chaser who utilizes common chase vehicle accessories. But is it really a fair assessment? I say sometimes yes, more often, no.
NFL/college football fans display pride in their teams and love for the game with pennants, t-shirts, bumper stickers, jerseys, etc. In Pittsburgh you'll find black cars with Steelers stickers, license plate holders, pennants on the antenna, and Terrible Towels on the seat backs. Some black cars even have yellow stripes. When I wear a Steelers shirt, almost anywhere I go I run into a fan who enthusiastically strikes up a conversation about them.
In St. Louis, it's the same thing with Cardinals fans. A red t-shirt with a Cardinals logo earns you a bit of acceptance here. There are Cardinals bumper stickers, logos, vanity plates and regalia almost everywhere you look in some places.
You'll find the same thing with bass fishing. Golf. Hunting. Mountain climbing. Skydiving. Surfing. People generally like to publicly display their affinity for something they love in some way. Something that 'marks' them as a member of that group. Some do it big. Others small.
No one says to the guy with a Steelers sticker on his car (or more) "You're just after attention". No, he's a big fan, and wants others to know. Why? I don't know, I'm no psychologist. But could it be, maybe, that storm chasing is no different? For us, over the years, it's been Skywarn stickers. SPC stickers (I had one). Vanity plates. And dare I say, amber lights, weather stations and antennas: the quintessential "chase vehicle" imprinted into our heads by the NSSL vans and Vortex I vehicles. (I wrote a more detailed blog post about this here)
I'm not saying there *aren't* those just "seeking attention" in the immature and frivolous sense. Clearly, there are some. But maybe, just maybe, some are simply trying to "look the part", as misguided as some of their methods may be.
I've migrated across various angles on this issue. When I started, I had nothing on my car. I eventually cycled through phases with logos, amber lights, weather stations, stickers, vanity plates over the years. I'm now almost completely incognito.
Why did I have amber lights and logos? Back then, it was a combination of things. 1.) I loved storm chasing. 2.) The items were fun to build and install. 3.) I wanted to look the part - to avoid suspicious locals/police, and to 'mark' myself just like a Steelers fan does. 4.) I also figured there would be some actual use for some of the items ("if Vortex I/NSSL used them, they must be legit"). 5.) I wanted to advertise my web site, just like the local HVAC company does on their vans.
I learned through the years that none of those things really matter much. I still love storm chasing. But, I never got any appreciable traffic to my web site from the logos. I almost never switched the amber rotator on (I used it more during icy roads). The weather station broke and never really worked well to begin with. The only accessories on my car now are things I actually need and regularly use.
I've also changed as a person. I've learned that I really don't like the impromptu attention during a chase or at the late-night gas station or restaurant stops. I want to 'blend in' more now. But what about the guy who decks his car out? I admit even now I have mixed feelings. Part of me cringes. Part of me says, there's a guy who is doing something he loves, and I can identify with it to some extent.
I will probably never go back to having a high-profile vehicle that screams 'this person is a storm chaser'. But hopefully we can try and understand why it is still a "thing". Maybe this post helps answer that, if just a little.
NFL/college football fans display pride in their teams and love for the game with pennants, t-shirts, bumper stickers, jerseys, etc. In Pittsburgh you'll find black cars with Steelers stickers, license plate holders, pennants on the antenna, and Terrible Towels on the seat backs. Some black cars even have yellow stripes. When I wear a Steelers shirt, almost anywhere I go I run into a fan who enthusiastically strikes up a conversation about them.
In St. Louis, it's the same thing with Cardinals fans. A red t-shirt with a Cardinals logo earns you a bit of acceptance here. There are Cardinals bumper stickers, logos, vanity plates and regalia almost everywhere you look in some places.
You'll find the same thing with bass fishing. Golf. Hunting. Mountain climbing. Skydiving. Surfing. People generally like to publicly display their affinity for something they love in some way. Something that 'marks' them as a member of that group. Some do it big. Others small.
No one says to the guy with a Steelers sticker on his car (or more) "You're just after attention". No, he's a big fan, and wants others to know. Why? I don't know, I'm no psychologist. But could it be, maybe, that storm chasing is no different? For us, over the years, it's been Skywarn stickers. SPC stickers (I had one). Vanity plates. And dare I say, amber lights, weather stations and antennas: the quintessential "chase vehicle" imprinted into our heads by the NSSL vans and Vortex I vehicles. (I wrote a more detailed blog post about this here)
I'm not saying there *aren't* those just "seeking attention" in the immature and frivolous sense. Clearly, there are some. But maybe, just maybe, some are simply trying to "look the part", as misguided as some of their methods may be.
I've migrated across various angles on this issue. When I started, I had nothing on my car. I eventually cycled through phases with logos, amber lights, weather stations, stickers, vanity plates over the years. I'm now almost completely incognito.
Why did I have amber lights and logos? Back then, it was a combination of things. 1.) I loved storm chasing. 2.) The items were fun to build and install. 3.) I wanted to look the part - to avoid suspicious locals/police, and to 'mark' myself just like a Steelers fan does. 4.) I also figured there would be some actual use for some of the items ("if Vortex I/NSSL used them, they must be legit"). 5.) I wanted to advertise my web site, just like the local HVAC company does on their vans.
I learned through the years that none of those things really matter much. I still love storm chasing. But, I never got any appreciable traffic to my web site from the logos. I almost never switched the amber rotator on (I used it more during icy roads). The weather station broke and never really worked well to begin with. The only accessories on my car now are things I actually need and regularly use.
I've also changed as a person. I've learned that I really don't like the impromptu attention during a chase or at the late-night gas station or restaurant stops. I want to 'blend in' more now. But what about the guy who decks his car out? I admit even now I have mixed feelings. Part of me cringes. Part of me says, there's a guy who is doing something he loves, and I can identify with it to some extent.
I will probably never go back to having a high-profile vehicle that screams 'this person is a storm chaser'. But hopefully we can try and understand why it is still a "thing". Maybe this post helps answer that, if just a little.
