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37805
Joined
11/25/2008
Location
Thru-out, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
5/18/2012 10:42am
In reflecting on the events that went down at the Mexican MXGP, I am SO Damn proud of our True American Racer.
The way things have been going these last few years...it's nice to see a young American hang it out there and actually take a stand...& -RACE- when all the spoon-fed "Regulars" were sitting on the sidelines & spewing shit.
His way of doIng things is straight outta the Old West...Doc Holliday kinda stuff.
Bravo, Miguelito!
Bravo!
The way things have been going these last few years...it's nice to see a young American hang it out there and actually take a stand...& -RACE- when all the spoon-fed "Regulars" were sitting on the sidelines & spewing shit.
His way of doIng things is straight outta the Old West...Doc Holliday kinda stuff.
Bravo, Miguelito!
Bravo!
Seriously dude, what are you talking about? Taking a stand? That's what the other riders did!!!! And they demonstrated more unity (and effectiveness) than any riders boycott or union ever attempted in the USA. (and we've been hearing of rider unions for how long now?)
I have no ill will toward Leib but to put a Doc Holiday Americana twist on what is essentially a dude crossing the picket line is beyond ridiculous. The other riders stood up to Youthstream. Is that not praise-worthy???
BTW: I notice you did not mention Max Anstie or the Mexican riders that lined up on Saturday. You don't see them as heros, huh? Just Leib.
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Whether sitting out was right or not is debatable. What definitely was unprofessional imo was the reaction of some of the other riders. Giving the cold shoulder is one thing but spitting (I believe this happened once to Max) and flipping people off is another altogether. Just makes the sport look crappy.
Does anyone know how much Desalle makes?
I have already said that i do not agree with the insult after he was hurt, and definalty not with the spitting on Anstie, but i do think the riders need to stand together or else nothing will change,
My point was that Desalle's point of view is VERY different than Leib's.
For the others to just presume it to be dangerous without actually taking that sight lap makes them look a little silly.
However, I agree Leib being American has no relevance in this situation.
A real american stands bye his comrades through thick and thin. Leib had nothing to lose,and everything to gain. All of those other riders risked their jobs for HIS safety and their own.
We should be applauding the riders who risked their necks to get a safer work environment for ALL of the riders. THAT would be the american way.
Desalle and a whole lot more riders and teams there stood up for themselves,its their livelyhood at the end of the day,if it was another rider/team member that spat on Anstie that's very unprofessional,I know things got heated at times and 2 guys crossing the picket line would certainly fan the flames
Ironically that optimum gate pick didn't get him a great start anyway and his unfortunate crash was with a local lapper too,but that's another issue I guess,I've been a big fan of the guy since he's been raving the GPs but not of his and Anstie's decisions here,unity is definitely the way to go
I appreciate the support for a pal here but its probably making the situation worse
Pit Row
I liked Matthes podcast from yesterday, but it would have been good to hear the point of view from a dude that chose not to race.
Pretty fucking pathetic if true.
(Presuming this isn't chinese whispers)
but just wondering what this place would say if all the riders sat out practice at hangtown cause they thought it was too dangerous but Roczen and Musquin rode 'to get a better gate pick'
Or better yet, had it been Christophe Pourcel who was the guy who went against the grain, the members of this forum would literally be setting up an assassination fund on paypal right now.
But because it was Leib, he is a hero. I feel bad for the kid right now because at the moment, I think he was given some bad advice, and now he has to deal with the fallout. In retrospect, I bet he would have done things differently.
Nobody stands to gain more from the riders unity than guys like Michael Lieb. I dont expect any homeschooled MX kids to really understand that. And I know its not easy for any hyper-competitive athlete to not cross the picket line after all the preparation and momentum Leib had after his last race. The kid just didnt see the bigger picture and if you take all things into consideration, its understandable. It was wrong, but it doesnt make Leib a bad person. People make mistakes. His wasnt a lack of good judgement, it was probably just a short-sighted decision.
He had to look out for himself and do what he felt was right at that particular moment in time and his first priority was fulfilling what he felt was a duty to the team. I applaud him for that really.
The the teams too. They are the ones largely funding this charade. (Don't think that if the teams had not agreed with the action then they wouldn't have just told their riders to STFU and go race).
I'm really pleased that this protest held together (pretty much). It shows that if they are united, they are strong. He can't ban all of them.
It seems to me that this was not just about dust. This was alluded to in both the Adam Wheeler article and also the Pulp MX podcast.
If you have a problem at work and your boss does not listen or communicate all of you stand up and refuse to work to force a solution. This is the same thing, accept the riders pay to enter so they expect things to be safe. At every race!
If Desalle said that to Lieb then it's indeed pathetic, but putting Lieb up on a stand because he went racing while the others did not AND calling him a 'badass' for that is quite childish aswell.
No one has inside info from YS or ALL of the teams, so please, stop your specualtions about what is up because no one realy knows the true story.
Post a reply to: Michael Leib: Real American Racer