something has to change

hvaughn88 wrote:

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many...

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many viewers is because people can relate to the sport and have a sense of what it's like to at least participate. For the most part, everyone has played ball sports growing up, so they have a sense of respect for the game. Everyone drives, so they have a sense of respect for the speeds NASCAR achieves.

The difference is, a very small percentage of a percentage has ever swung a leg over a motocross bike. As a result, they have no idea what is going on or how difficult it is. When someone watches Miguel Cabrera launch a home run, they are in awe because they have probably played baseball before and know how hard it is to hit a home run. When they watch lebron dunk, they have played basketball before and know how high the rim is and what a feat it is to jump that high and dunk. When they watch clint bowyer drive 200 mph with a pack of cars inches away, they have driven a car at 80 mph on the freeway and realize how crazy it is to go over double that. But what do they see when they watch rv, dungey, Stewart, etc launch a triple or blitz the whoops? TV doesn't do justice for these feats and honestly doesn't come off as that impressive on a television broadcast, so people can't relate to it and, in my opinion, aren't drawn to watch it.

I think that is why the majority of people who watch the races are all either riders or people that have at least ridden before because they can appreciate how difficult, dangerous and just badass motocross is. And let's face it, motocross isn't exactly the easiest or most feasible of sports to break into. Honestly, to even figure out if you even like it or not takes a realistic investment of AT LEAST a couple grand. Take into account that a baseball glove, bat and cleats will set you back a few hundred. A basketball can be bought for $20. And all these sports can be played everyday, anywhere and for zero extra money. That is certainly not the case for loading up a bike, driving to the track that is probably not that close, buying fuel, fixing broken parts, etc. Look, we all love mx and don't see these things as huge obstacles because we are probably going to find a way to do so. But to an outsider, it may not seem worth it.

Sorry that's so long winded.

hvaughn88 wrote:

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many...

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many viewers is because people can relate to the sport and have a sense of what it's like to at least participate. For the most part, everyone has played ball sports growing up, so they have a sense of respect for the game. Everyone drives, so they have a sense of respect for the speeds NASCAR achieves.

The difference is, a very small percentage of a percentage has ever swung a leg over a motocross bike. As a result, they have no idea what is going on or how difficult it is. When someone watches Miguel Cabrera launch a home run, they are in awe because they have probably played baseball before and know how hard it is to hit a home run. When they watch lebron dunk, they have played basketball before and know how high the rim is and what a feat it is to jump that high and dunk. When they watch clint bowyer drive 200 mph with a pack of cars inches away, they have driven a car at 80 mph on the freeway and realize how crazy it is to go over double that. But what do they see when they watch rv, dungey, Stewart, etc launch a triple or blitz the whoops? TV doesn't do justice for these feats and honestly doesn't come off as that impressive on a television broadcast, so people can't relate to it and, in my opinion, aren't drawn to watch it.

I think that is why the majority of people who watch the races are all either riders or people that have at least ridden before because they can appreciate how difficult, dangerous and just badass motocross is. And let's face it, motocross isn't exactly the easiest or most feasible of sports to break into. Honestly, to even figure out if you even like it or not takes a realistic investment of AT LEAST a couple grand. Take into account that a baseball glove, bat and cleats will set you back a few hundred. A basketball can be bought for $20. And all these sports can be played everyday, anywhere and for zero extra money. That is certainly not the case for loading up a bike, driving to the track that is probably not that close, buying fuel, fixing broken parts, etc. Look, we all love mx and don't see these things as huge obstacles because we are probably going to find a way to do so. But to an outsider, it may not seem worth it.

Sorry that's so long winded.

Travis_Hudson wrote:

You could make more in the 90's than you can now..........and things didn't cost as much.

hvaughn88 wrote:

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many...

My theory on why the sport doesn't get more viewers like other sports is not very complex. I think the reason other sports have so many viewers is because people can relate to the sport and have a sense of what it's like to at least participate. For the most part, everyone has played ball sports growing up, so they have a sense of respect for the game. Everyone drives, so they have a sense of respect for the speeds NASCAR achieves.

The difference is, a very small percentage of a percentage has ever swung a leg over a motocross bike. As a result, they have no idea what is going on or how difficult it is. When someone watches Miguel Cabrera launch a home run, they are in awe because they have probably played baseball before and know how hard it is to hit a home run. When they watch lebron dunk, they have played basketball before and know how high the rim is and what a feat it is to jump that high and dunk. When they watch clint bowyer drive 200 mph with a pack of cars inches away, they have driven a car at 80 mph on the freeway and realize how crazy it is to go over double that. But what do they see when they watch rv, dungey, Stewart, etc launch a triple or blitz the whoops? TV doesn't do justice for these feats and honestly doesn't come off as that impressive on a television broadcast, so people can't relate to it and, in my opinion, aren't drawn to watch it.

I think that is why the majority of people who watch the races are all either riders or people that have at least ridden before because they can appreciate how difficult, dangerous and just badass motocross is. And let's face it, motocross isn't exactly the easiest or most feasible of sports to break into. Honestly, to even figure out if you even like it or not takes a realistic investment of AT LEAST a couple grand. Take into account that a baseball glove, bat and cleats will set you back a few hundred. A basketball can be bought for $20. And all these sports can be played everyday, anywhere and for zero extra money. That is certainly not the case for loading up a bike, driving to the track that is probably not that close, buying fuel, fixing broken parts, etc. Look, we all love mx and don't see these things as huge obstacles because we are probably going to find a way to do so. But to an outsider, it may not seem worth it.

Sorry that's so long winded.

flarider wrote:

Yeah, I'm sorry, you're going to have to leave.

We can't have any of that here.

But thank you anyway.

Have a nice day

The Oracle wrote:

The teams attending should pay a start-salary that would be spread over the 40 qualifying riders. Wouldn't cost much for each team to raise a little...

The teams attending should pay a start-salary that would be spread over the 40 qualifying riders. Wouldn't cost much for each team to raise a little more money for the privateers. After all, privateers are what drives this sport, how stupid would it look with a 20-man race if noone bothered to use their time and money to TRY qualifying for a national race.

Travis_Hudson wrote:

You could make more in the 90's than you can now..........and things didn't cost as much.

500guy wrote:

You can say the same just about every Profession. There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are...

You can say the same just about every Profession.

There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are Higher and Income is less.

Does not take a rocket scientist to figure out Racing Scooters is a Losing proposition for 80% involved.

Travis_Hudson wrote:

You could make more in the 90's than you can now..........and things didn't cost as much.

500guy wrote:

You can say the same just about every Profession. There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are...

You can say the same just about every Profession.

There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are Higher and Income is less.

Does not take a rocket scientist to figure out Racing Scooters is a Losing proposition for 80% involved.

Travis_Hudson wrote:

You could make more in the 90's than you can now..........and things didn't cost as much.

500guy wrote:

You can say the same just about every Profession. There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are...

You can say the same just about every Profession.

There has been a huge readjustment of Income in America and even around the World, Expenses are Higher and Income is less.

Does not take a rocket scientist to figure out Racing Scooters is a Losing proposition for 80% involved.

Beast666 wrote:

The biggest problem with SX/MX in attracting outside sponsors is advertising space. If you look at NASCAR you have 40 billboards blasting past at 100-200 MPH...

The biggest problem with SX/MX in attracting outside sponsors is advertising space. If you look at NASCAR you have 40 billboards blasting past at 100-200 MPH Also the team members, drivers, tool box's are also decked out in the sponsors logo. In the end the sponsor get a huge return for there advertising $ even if the driver wads to car into the wall. Because for each second that car is on TV it is free advertising for them even if the car is getting lapped by the leader for the 20th time.

Now take a look at SX/MX a very small area to place the sponsors logo on the bike. Look at the photo of Bam Bam at Utah. You have the Muscle Milk on the radiator shrouds and the fork guards. Also on Bam Bam's helmet, jersey and pants. Now picture Bam Bam going by on TV how much of a return does Muscle Milk get on there sponsorship $?? Not much as a TV viewer that does not know much about MX will even know that Muscle Milk is using that bike as a billboard. Yet just surfs thru the channels and comes across NASCAR sees the Home Depot car for a few seconds thinks "Oh crap I forgot to go to home Depot and pick up some tile for the bath room".

Looking at Bam Bam the A-Stars, Honda, DID, Renthal, Dunlop, Spy and Shoei logos are just as prevalent as Muscle Milk. Kinda hard to make the sponsorship work if everyone is competing for advertising space. If Muscle Milk could get more coverage on the bike I.E. frame rails, swingarm, fenders and Bam Bam wore gear that looked like a bottle of Muscle Milk They would get a better return on the investment. Now Honda does not help much in this department as they are making number plates and shrouds smaller and smaller.

Look back at the Peak Honda, Splitfire Kawasaki teams those sponsors got a good bang for there buck

Markee wrote:

Yeah, but MX is not nascar and never will be. Nascar is not football and never will be. Sports like MX have room to grow but...

Yeah, but MX is not nascar and never will be. Nascar is not football and never will be. Sports like MX have room to grow but it will never ever ever be a NASCAR. No need to even pull numbers and compare.

motogrady wrote:

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot. How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really...

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot.

How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really care.
Everyone that qualified at a National, get's a check.
Funded by the fans.
Everybody that considers himself a fan, that really cares, put's up 500 bucks.
Each.
Double that if you really care.
You get a bumper sticker that reads, "I really care".

Who here really cares?

motogrady wrote:

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot. How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really...

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot.

How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really care.
Everyone that qualified at a National, get's a check.
Funded by the fans.
Everybody that considers himself a fan, that really cares, put's up 500 bucks.
Each.
Double that if you really care.
You get a bumper sticker that reads, "I really care".

Who here really cares?

gt80rider wrote:

you and i ALREADY finance our fair share.... ticket prices aren't cheap, beer isn't cheap, parking isn't cheap, buying a new bike isn't cheap, new tires...

you and i ALREADY finance our fair share.... ticket prices aren't cheap, beer isn't cheap, parking isn't cheap, buying a new bike isn't cheap, new tires aren't cheap, etc... the problem is that all the money we already put up never makes it to lower guys in the mains hands, it ends up going into someones bank account that already has millions of dollars in it.... you and i are willing to give more to help out the lower guys in the main, because we are wired to be good, giving people.... when it should be the guys that already have millions of dollars in their bank accounts that make a huge profit each weekend off guys risk their lives for peanuts that should be the guys ponying up to make sure their talent is at least paid a decent amount....


the only way the lower guys are EVER gonna get paid what they are worth is when they stop lining up to the gate and ruin the product...

Socket946 wrote:

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Because guys at the nationals make money from sponsors and outside endorsers...

Not purses.

Trav138 wrote:

Tell Weston Peick that! Doesn't take long for "welfare" to enter the conversation in these threads Nobody is saying 10-30 at the nationals are expecting big...

Tell Weston Peick that!

Doesn't take long for "welfare" to enter the conversation in these threads

Nobody is saying 10-30 at the nationals are expecting big time money. But the fact that they make as little as they do is a complete joke. Just ask some of them

The promoters and Mx Sports could certainly do a little more but they never will. Why? They don't have to

That said riders getting decent results could market themselves better and find some sponsorship $$ outside of the sport imo.

motogrady wrote:

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot. How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really...

Everybody knows going in, it's a crap shoot.

How about a fund, paid out at the end of the year, financed by the people that really care.
Everyone that qualified at a National, get's a check.
Funded by the fans.
Everybody that considers himself a fan, that really cares, put's up 500 bucks.
Each.
Double that if you really care.
You get a bumper sticker that reads, "I really care".

Who here really cares?

motokiwi wrote:

I've said it before and I will say it again, the ball is in Dave Praters court. At the end of the day all Feld's other...

I've said it before and I will say it again, the ball is in Dave Praters court.


At the end of the day all Feld's other stadium events have "disposable talent" i.e talent that is low paid and can be replaced if they don't like the conditions.

Its about time Feld realized supercross is not monster trucks or Disney on ice.
The SX talent literally put their necks on the line for Felds "show" and deserve some respect.

Before everyone gets shitty and says "Na Dave is a standup guy, he shouted me free tickets and he's really nice"... Dave runs the show, Dave can change things. Dave does not give a fuck about the talent, or things would not be how they are.