Cena is the 10-time WWE World champion of a form of sports entertainment, wrestling, that epitomizes everything NASCAR is trying not to be.
Conspiracy theorists have accused NASCAR of fixing races with timely debris cautions and other erroneous acts. Now a man who makes his living off of fixed showmanship is the honorary starter.
Cena is basically the WWE promo man who plays the roll of a good guy who never loses. He is a wrestler that fans of the sport love or love to hate.
NASCAR has personalities that elicit such reactions, namely the brothers Busch, but that is where any similarity between NASCAR and the WWE should end.
Last week at WWE Raw, Carl Edwards drove his No. 99 Fusion through some staging area to be greeted by Cena.
Cena, of course, was surprised by Edward's invitation to be the honorary starter of the Daytona 500. His surprise acceptance had all the sincerity one would expect from someone who is a star in the world of the WWE.
It could be argued that NASCAR is using Cena to draw in the demographics that appeal to the WWE. The coveted younger target group is sought to replace the aging diehard race fans that helped build the fanbase enjoyed by NASCAR.
Cena, always the promoter, is more than willing to wave the green flag and garner the media attention that is sure to come in order to promote WrestleMania XXVIII where he will take on The Rock.
More than likely, most of the viewers who happened to notice Edwards and his race car on Raw have already forgotten he was there and why.
It might be safe to say that Cena being the honorary starter will not convert masses of WWE fans over to NASCAR and those who enjoy both sports will continue to do so.
The Daytona 500 is the most important, most revered race of the NASCAR season. It is the Super Bowl of the sport and every driver's goal is to win the prestigious race.
For such an important race, one would think that the honorary starter might be someone worthy of respect by the fans and deserving of the honor.
Cena is probably no more or less inappropriate than some past personalities like Mariah Carey or Whoopi Goldberg, who waved the flag that starts the great event.
NASCAR is trying to attract a diverse group of people, including children, to the sport.
The WWE, with its staged performances and scantily clad ladies rallying the fans to frenzy mode, does appeal to kids. They look at some of the wrestlers as villains and superheroes.
Hopefully they disregard some of the antics of the WWE women.
Cena was once a superstar of the WWE, but even aficionados of the entertainment sport are beginning to find him a bit of a bore.
This article is certainly not a condemnation of Cena as a person. It is well-known that he is active with Make-A-Wish Foundation and that he has helped hundreds of children.
Cena is more than a WWE showman, having done some acting gigs, commercial endorsements and considers himself a rapper and hip-hop musician.
When drivers strap themselves into their cars, they know the dangers of racing and NASCAR is entertaining, but it is a deadly serious sport.
In the grand scheme of things, the celebrity who waves the green flag at the Daytona 500 is really not a huge issue. Most people really could not care less who does it.
We can only hope that the decision made by Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR to use Cena doesn't appear as the dumbing down of the sport to "rasslin" and "racin."
This article was written to explain why Cena was not the best choice for the honorary starter of the upcoming Daytona 500. It is strictly an opinion and there will most certainly be those who disagree.
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