The first thing is the sound.

The moment I stepped off of the Light Rail Sunday afternoon I felt it. Felt — not just heard. It isn’t like any other sound if, as was my case, you’ve never been to a live race before. It’s loud, sure, but that’s not the thing. It envelops you.

I crossed a bridge over the track — with cars from the Indy Lights series running below — and headed to the race grounds near the Convention Center and Eutaw Street. There I found food, drink, merchandise trailers, stages for entertainment, and general mingling. It was weird to see such a normally traffic-choked area of downtown cordoned off for a festival scene. Weird, but good.

And that may be the best way to describe the whole of the Baltimore Grand Prix experience: weird but good, where “weird” in this case is not at all a bad thing. “Weird” meaning different, unexpected, and surprising.

So many people in attendance. Way more than I thought I’d see. And all different kinds, as well. I saw young and old, white and black and brown, male and female. Plenty of each. Mst importantly, they all seemed to be having a genuinely good time. I didn’t see any fights or any standoffs. I didn’t really see anything negative. It was like a classic Baltimore street festival writ large, albeit with far more corporate sponsorship.

So much ink — both digital and actual — was spent over the past few months debating whether or not this event was “good” for the city. Whether or not the money spent to host it was worthwhile in light of this city’s many needs and whether or not the inconvenience of closing the roads was worth it. This being an election year, plenty of folks lined up to take sides.

I can only say this: having been there, amongst the crowd, this was definitely a good thing.

I’m not alone in that assessment. John Oreovicz at ESPN gushed about the event, concluding that:

For three decades, street races from the Meadowlands to Miami have been jockeying to call themselves the “Long Beach of the East.”

And in the Baltimore Grand Prix, it looks like INDYCAR finally found one that deserves that crown.

Whether or not the BGP ends up being a long-term Baltimore tradition remains an open question. We don’t even definitively know if it will return next year. I hope it does.

(Note: the video above is admittedly nothing special but I think it provides at least a little bit of a window into the feeling of “being there” for folks who couldn’t be. Turn up your speakers for maximum impact.)

The “big” controversy, at least in mainstream terms, has revolved around the removal of trees to create sight lines for attendees. Anecdotal evidence shows that there’s broader opposition, as well, based on typical gripes about traffic, congestion, improper use of City resources, and/or general dislike for the very idea of an auto race in Baltimore. Plenty of people out there would be perfectly happy if this event never happens, or never happens again.

On that, I have to call a little bit of bullshit. For two reasons.

First, much of the hate is brutally shortsighted. Too much talk about how it’s not worthwhile or interesting based entirely on personal feelings. Too little consideration of the big picture.

This is Baltimore on an international stage, hosting something only two other cities in the US (Long Beach and St. Petersburg, FL) get to host. Philly doesn’t have this. Chicago doesn’t have this. Atlanta, DC, Seattle — they don’t have this. It’s a potentially transformative event in terms of the tourism (read: dollars) it brings and the way it changes perception of where Baltimore sits on the national stage. Whether or not we “like” it isn’t entirely relevant in that context.

The second — and more troubling — reason to call bullshit on the opposition is the extent to which it’s rooted in politics.

Launching this event in a mayoral election year was a huge mistake. As a result, the Grand Prix has become a flashpoint, a way for folks who oppose the current City administration to earn attention by piggybacking on something in which the media and public are already interested. For these people the bigger picture is irrelevant — they simply want what they want. That is, after all, the essence of politics. But make no mistake: their critiques have little, if anything, to do with whether or not the Grand Prix itself is a good idea.

I put up a post on Twitter a few weeks ago calling Grand Prix hate a classic “this is why we can’t have nice things” scenario. I said that — and stand by it — because I’m frustrated by how some people can’t put their personal trips aside while we wait and see whether or not this thing actually works.

Maybe it won’t work. That’s certainly a possibility. If you read this this excellent background piece by Julie Scharper and Justin Fenton at the Sun, then follow it up with this news about new legal trouble, you can see that the organizers have their hands full.

Maybe the problems are too deep to overcome. Maybe they’re not. We won’t really know until we’re two or three years in. If, after that, things haven’t gone well? I’ll be the first person to say “They gave it a shot and it didn’t work. Adios.” But I’d like to actually give it a shot because I think it could be very good for Baltimore, in much the same way that a Ravens Super Bowl win, an Orioles playoff run, or another MLB All-Star game would be good for Baltimore.

If it needs to be said after all of that, I’ll note that I fully respect the individual right to speak out, organize, and generally participate in matters of civic interest. Indeed, I’d argue that it’s more of a responsibility than a right. But I also think that folks who choose to enter that arena have a corollary responsibility to do so in a smart way. Using opposition to the Grand Prix as a way to sow personal and/or political oats is not smart. It’s not productive. It’s small. I hate to see that.

Let’s enjoy the fact that world-class racing is coming to Baltimore. Let’s let it happen, then see how it works. Let’s do this with an eye on whether or not the City wins. Let’s respond accordingly after the actual returns are in.

Surely that’s not too much to ask?

This weekend is a smorgasbord of its own for sports fans with no less than three major auto races, the continuation of Grand Slam tennis at the French, and all the baseball you can handle. Not that I’d recommend sitting inside all day watching TV when it’s as nice as it is outside, but should you find yourself in spitting distance of a remote you’d do well to consider your options.

– The Orioles dropped back below .500 on Friday with a loss out in Oakland but, in fairness, they were kind of due. Five wins in a row before that was a pretty impressive feat and they are, on the whole, playing well. I have a hunch we’ll like where they sit on Tuesday. Meantime, the comments below look like a nice place to keep a running tally.

– Three major auto races dot the schedule Sunday, any of which is worth at least a check-in or two.

You’ll probably have to watch in on tape delay, but the Monaco Grand Prix is one of the more entertaining stops on the F1 schedule. Dan asked about this in the comments, saying that a friend recommended it as the one F1 race to watch if you’re going to dabble. I’d say that’s accurate. It’s a glitzy affair off the track and the course itself is a fun one to watch.

F1 has been all Sebastian Vettel, all the time this year. He’s on the pole and it’s more than safe to call him the favorite.

Then there’s the Indy 500, the crown jewel race of American open-wheel racing. Beyond that, it’s one of the most iconic annual events this country has. The Indy 500 is America. This brand of racing has lost some of its luster in recent years but the shine will never come off of Indy.

Indy tends to be fairly wide open so I’m not sure who I’d pick here. And, really, it doesn’t matter.

Finally, the longest race of the NASCAR season, the Coca-Cola 600, closes out the day. I don’t recommend watching the whole thing but maybe tune in for the end if you’re around. This is a prestige race for these guys and things usually get pretty intense towards the end.

– As I guessed it would be, the French Open has been great so far. What I’ve managed to catch, anyway. We’ve already seen Tomas Berdych go down on the men’s side, along with #1 Caroline Wozniacki on the other. Anyone can beat anyone at the French. Except Novak Djokovic. That dude’s on a potentially historic run. It’s nuts.

– There’s probably some Arena Football or beach volleyball on, too, and I can’t recommend against those things.

All that, and: it’s summer, folks. Kick it off in style. Have fun and be safe.

This is obviously great news for me and anyone else who happens to be a motorsports fan. Much more importantly, it’s great news for the city. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: short of hosting a Super Bowl (not going to happen) or another All-Star game (I wish) this is about as big as it gets. IndyCar is the third most important series in the world, second-most in the US. It’s not NFL football but it’s a significant international sport. Baltimore takes a step up with this move and that’s awesome to see.

Kudos to the city officials and Baltimore Racing Development folks who brought this thing together. I just hope they do their homework, because in order for this to work they’ve got to nail the details.

I’ve been keeping tabs on this story from the beginning and I’m stoked that it’s finally coming to fruition. Part of the reason is because I’m an unabashed auto racing fan. More important than that is the fact that hosting an IndyCar race puts Baltimore in some pretty rarified air.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, the Indy Racing League (IRL) is America’s top-level open wheel series and roughly the third most important series worldwide. It’s not as popular as it once was (save for the Indy 500) but it’s still big. The drivers are world class by any measure and only Formula One — the top-level series worldwide — is more significant in terms of open wheel racing.

By landing this race Baltimore becomes just one of 17 cities to host an IRL event. As noted in the article linked above, that means an infusion of at least 100k spectators along with a significant, national television audience. This is a chance for Baltimore to shine, and if all goes well it could eventually reach a Preakness-type level of excitement and civic pride.

For comparison, consider Long Beach, CA. They host a street course race similar to what we’ll have next year and this article from the Long Beach Press-Telegram provides some insight into the benefits an event like this can provide. They drew 170k spectators for the three-day weekend and were “delighted” with the outcome. I think we’d probably use the same term with even half that number.

Beyond that, and almost as important, this is one hell of a cool event. Finely tuned race cars turning high-speed laps with Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor as a backdrop is something I want to see. Something I’m eager to experience.

So raise a glass to victory for Baltimore. August 2011 is a ways away but when it arrives we’ll get an opportunity to both have a lot of fun and also show the world that this is, in fact, a hell of a city.