Like it or not, it's impossible to overrate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: overrated or misunderstood? It's a topic we've ground into powder here, but it's still very much in debate out in the world at large. Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi recently took on the topic, and man, he pulled no punches:

When is the world going to realize that Dale Jr. is the most overrated athlete in the history of professional sports. Seriously, has there ever been an athletic endeavor in which the most popular athlete (by far) has never won a championship and is probably not even among the top 10 athletes in his sport?

He brings up the usual tropes that we've discussed here (Junior blames everybody else, Junior is cruising on his Daddy's name, etc.) I don't know Bianchi, but the impression I'm getting from his commenters (and his photo) is that he's one of those sports types who throws out some absurdly hyperbolic, over-the-top statement to get people talking. Which is fine; debate is always fun, and he backs his up with facts, which is more than many sports yellers do. But I'm going to try a little thought-experiment here and see if I can broaden the debate.

Here's my point: it is impossible to overrate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Impossible.

Before you trash your computer in anger (or celebration) let's play this out. Look, nobody can realistically deny that athletically, in the field of competition, Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't stacking up with the leaders in his sport. Hasn't won a single Sprint Cup race in more than a year, hasn't ever finished higher than 3rd in a season and 5th in the Chase, currently ranked behind Joey Logano, et cetera et cetera. Supporters alike can trot out all the statistics they want (he's got more wins than Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch!) but the simple, inescapable, objective truth is that Junior is, at this moment in time, nowhere near the best driver in NASCAR. He's not even in the conversation.

Thing is, on a broader scale, that doesn't matter. We're past the point where on-field achievements are the be-all, end-all of any athlete's popularity. Like it or not, this is the age of branding, not of championships. The game doesn't end when the game ends, if you get what I'm saying. NASCAR goes Sunday to Sunday, not 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, and on that larger track, Junior reigns supreme.

Just as it's possible to watch the Super Bowl two ways -- for the commercials and for the game -- it's possible to watch NASCAR two ways, for the spectacle and for the race. You can succeed at one while failing woefully at the other.

NASCAR isn't a backwater, run-through-the-hills Southern bootlegging sport anymore. Part of the tradeoff of being able to see every race live, in hi-def, on your computer, with (ahem) sterling Internet commentary is understanding that the sport has to appeal to a wider base than just the hardcore race fans. Dale Earnhardt Jr. straddles that line in a way even Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch can't, for any number of reasons.

Once you get past a certain level of fandom, it's not about wins, it's about presence. Junior may not be the best driver out there, but he looks and talks like what America expects from a driver. Allow me to quote myself, from when I went to a Junior autograph signing at Daytona and plunged into the green-and-white heart of Junior Nation:

His popularity stems not from who he is, but what he represents. Sure, he's the son of a legend, but he's not The Intimidator Reincarnated. He's everybody's dream boyfriend, dream best friend, dream son, dream big brother. "He drinks beer," a guy named Dave from Montpelier, Virginia told me, and that pretty much sums it all up. Dale Earnhardt Junior drinks beer, and millions of people love him for that.

That's why it's impossible to overrate Junior as a representative of NASCAR. He's the sum total of everyone's hopes, dreams and expectations about the sport. And if he doesn't win, so what? The rest of us lose more often than we win, too. But for what he's done for the sport over the last eight years, all of NASCAR owes Junior respect. Not love, not fandom, just respect.

But, you know, Dale, a win once in awhile wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, would it?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most overrated athlete in the history of sports [Orlando Sentinel]
Shiny Happy People: Out amongst the Junior Nation [From The Marbles]