Edited Date/Time
7/31/2015 8:38am
What does the general public see when they hear people talking about dirt bikes, is it still gigantic crashes and broken bones? Or is it a better image than that. Regardless, if the image is bad, what caused people to feel that way and how should the sport change that. If it is good, how can we continue improving the image of the sport?
Bunch of heathens in a field with leather likker and ho's.
The truth is that people who have never ridden a dirt bike just have a hard time understanding what they're seeing when they watch a dirt bike race. Never mind the image, if you want the sport to grow the answer needs to involve getting more people on a dirt bike. As pure means of entertainment as a spectator... professional sporting in general has become such a HUGE and competitive industry. The average person has hundreds of different sports they could watch. If they want something to have in common with coworkers to talk about at the water cooler on Monday which is very likely to be the case then motocross isn't going to be what they're going to want to watch unless they're working at a motorcycle shop.
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I had to explain... No racing is different.
P
I also remember back in the 70's-80's if you told someone you rode or raced dirt bikes they looked at you like you belonged to a Cooks Corner biker gang (Again from the 70's-80's) Today they think you are an X Games freestyle jumper.
The general public does not view the sport of Supercross or Motocross as they should. Indy on dirt. Top athletes. Lifelong commitments.Incredible sacrifice and commitment.
On the good side however, there are simply more people who do ride now. Either racing or desert, or dirt etc. So there is more to talk about when you see a dude in line at Walmart with a Fox hat, and an Anaheim SX T-shirt on.
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Newmann I would love to see live heartrate of riders while they ride, that is the next step for our sport. Maybe they can make it conbect with the LIT pro so we can get speed and G force too.
knew what MX was and appreciated the skill. Today so few ride, most cannot appreciate the effort and skill it takes to ride that fast. I would also say that there may not be an image "outside" of the sport..does that relate to the lack of big outside sponsorship....
a few say it's better that MX/SX is small and I tend to agree....
Me - "Sort of, but outdoors on longer tracks and more natural terrain. Faster speeds but safer"
Them - "
To me, it's a family sport, one of the most physically demanding sports around, requires toughness and to be competitive you must work at it off the track as well. Almost everything is about moto, especially when riding season is on.
Here is what the public sees:
Backflips
drugged up low life tatted dudes
Backflips
Monster skanks (I appreciate them though)
Double backflips
Broken bones, paralysis
The hard work of riding isn't obvious (the bike does all the work) the hard work just to get to the track isn't obvious (a good enough job to pay for it, time outside of work to work out, do bike maintenance, prep for the weekend at the track, easily takes between an hour to 4 hours of your time every day after work, and then all the driving time).
To change the public's perspective, we need to stop showing how "bad ass" the sport is. What I mean, is to stop the focus on all of this appealing to the young, "cool" crowd, the people that drive around in their rusted out civic with a big fox sticker in the back window, and while they can't afford a bike, they have a brand new jersey they where anywhere in public. That isn't where the money is, and that isn't a demographic the big money sponsors want to advertise to (aside from the energy drinks, whose core purchasers are this exact group because their product is cheap enough to be bought with a pack of smokes at the corner store).
What needs to be shown to those outside of the sport is how much skill it takes, the fitness and determination it takes. Yes, we have some of the most fit, some of the toughest dudes around in this sport, and that needs to be shown, but the entire image that gets put through voluntarily by the heads of this sport is not attracting any outsiders to the sport... It should be more popular than NASCAR or F1 as almost anyone can buy a bike similar to what is being raced, and the stories of the riders and the drama that goes on is just as entertaining as anything any other sport has to offer.
How to improve the image, I don't know, but it really sucks.
However, keeping the sport "low key" is part of why it is still affordable.
The best way to get more people on dirt bikes is to have more open riding areas...and I'm not talking JUST about tracks. I started riding in the desert up the street from my house...most people I know starting riding under similar circumstances.
Mom and Dad may not buy their kids a bike and take them to the track...but they will probably be more likely to buy them a bike and let them ride around in the local OHV area.
The entire industry needs to start fighting (with their voice, influence, and money) to keep public riding areas open.
It boggles my mind why the motocross industry (racers, teams, manufactures, gear companies, aftermarket companeis, etc.) does put their weight behind keeping riding areas open. The Greenies have big companies supporting their efforts to close them...but on our side, the big companies that we all support are silent on the subject.
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