Enter the Roman Gladiators ...
as a former motocross racer in the 70s, it's sad for me to see what i consider the continued deterioration of a sport i once loved.
once upon a time, motocross was a cross-country race over natural terrain and obstacles. there were jumps and berms and whoops, but they were pretty much part of country that was already there. hills. drop-aways. good tracks might have creek crossings. man, riding those tracks were a blast. load the truck with premix and gatoraid and head for the hills. your buddies would all be there.
then supercross came along and tracks are purpose-built with the goal of launching riders through space. the higher, the further, the better. worse, jumps are designed such that if you are forced to choose between clearing an intermediary jump, or slowing down. they call it a "triple" or even a "quad." this has led to lots of serious injuries, i'm sure.
now even that isn't enough. the "gravity games," a new form of competition tests riders' ability to risk life and limb with aerobatic stunts that have no bearing or relation to motocross' roots. i won't even watch this competition, because i'm convinced we're on the cusp of a stunt one-upmanship that will soon get someone killed. flipping over backwards? why not twice? why not without hands? and the crowd just eats it up. they want to see big air and big crashes. sort of like the roman gladiator days. morbid fascination run amock. lost in the carnage is any apparent sense of sportsmanship or contest of speed.
younger riders reading this will no doubt think me a relic. that's cool. i've been called a lot worse. but i remember the old days, see, when there were tracks everywhere, where speed and sportsmanship were the games, and where you didn't have to kill yourself to prove your skill.
bottom line: i think the gravity games suck, and when riders start getting paralyzed and killed, they will be shut down. i say: "good rittance." as a society we should have moved beyond the roman gladiator days.
as a former motocross racer in the 70s, it's sad for me to see what i consider the continued deterioration of a sport i once loved.
once upon a time, motocross was a cross-country race over natural terrain and obstacles. there were jumps and berms and whoops, but they were pretty much part of country that was already there. hills. drop-aways. good tracks might have creek crossings. man, riding those tracks were a blast. load the truck with premix and gatoraid and head for the hills. your buddies would all be there.
then supercross came along and tracks are purpose-built with the goal of launching riders through space. the higher, the further, the better. worse, jumps are designed such that if you are forced to choose between clearing an intermediary jump, or slowing down. they call it a "triple" or even a "quad." this has led to lots of serious injuries, i'm sure.
now even that isn't enough. the "gravity games," a new form of competition tests riders' ability to risk life and limb with aerobatic stunts that have no bearing or relation to motocross' roots. i won't even watch this competition, because i'm convinced we're on the cusp of a stunt one-upmanship that will soon get someone killed. flipping over backwards? why not twice? why not without hands? and the crowd just eats it up. they want to see big air and big crashes. sort of like the roman gladiator days. morbid fascination run amock. lost in the carnage is any apparent sense of sportsmanship or contest of speed.
younger riders reading this will no doubt think me a relic. that's cool. i've been called a lot worse. but i remember the old days, see, when there were tracks everywhere, where speed and sportsmanship were the games, and where you didn't have to kill yourself to prove your skill.
bottom line: i think the gravity games suck, and when riders start getting paralyzed and killed, they will be shut down. i say: "good rittance." as a society we should have moved beyond the roman gladiator days.
