Perhaps we are jaded, here in the 21st century. We have high expectations of everyone and everything, particularly when it comes to our entertainment. Quick and effective is required.

Red Bull Air Races at the Abu Dhabi Corniche? Planes racing? That must be fantastic to watch!

Uh, no.

A lot of this is about my expectations. Which were high.

I assumed.

I envisioned maybe four planes racing — at the same time — around a long course.

They would be jockeying for position, perhaps even flying way too close to each other … and no, that is not it at all.

This bit of air racing was timed, with planes going out alone. No head-to-head racing. Against the clock, only.

And it was boring to watch — at least on the fourth floor of an outdoor lounge in a hotel across the street from the water.

(See for yourself: The National has posted 50 seconds of video. And this photo, above.)

The first guy out, OK, that was interesting.

The pilot came in from the east and passed between a set of tall pylons (anchored in the shallow water), then through a final set of pylons just in front of us, and went into a steep twisting climb which, I thought about later, probably helped them scrub off some speed as the racers fought to send their little planes back in the opposite direction they had come.

The climb was interesting and steep, but it was the highlight of the run. The rest of it was passing between pylons in a not-very-interesting course.

And every racer covered the course in the same way, with the steep climb at the far end. Maybe one or two guys waggled their wings, but … big deal.

And, of course, never were two planes on the course at the same time. Touching wings at that speed … well, it could be a disaster. Of course.

(And the Red Bull series had been on a three-year hiatus, apparently mostly for safety reasons. If you followed the link, before the break, above, the Red Bull press release notes how the pylons have been made safer.)

It wasn’t just me who quickly lost interest.

We were among a crowd of about 75, many of them kids, and after the first half-dozen passes, the kids were bored. They began to fidget and run around, and soon the family units were streaming out of the lounge — with the event only half over.

I couldn’t blame them. Every pass was essentially the same. Climb here, swoop there. Repeat.

(Here is The National’s results story on the event.)

It was Peggy Lee who popularized the song with the title I used for the headline. The lyrics tell of a jaded woman disappointed by the circus and a fire and being in love — who suggests “if that’s all there is” to “break out booze and have a ball”.

I was not that disappointed. I did not order a drink. But it was a letdown.

Yes, that’s all there was.