If I'm being honest...

I really liked the RedBull Straight Rhythm when they did the 2 stroke races just because it was different and had all the throwbacks and trick bikes. KTM kinda killed the event though, IMO, because their bikes were so modern and the older bikes were disadvantaged. (Not knocking KTM tho, I think it’s great they still make 2T and 4T)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't smx a response to wsx after ama dropped fim?

They were afraid that wsx might grow into a straight-on competing series, drawing riders and fans away.

I'm not all that jazzed on smx or wsx and I do miss monster cup, I thought it was a cool one off race.

I know I'll get heat for this but the season is way too long, for a great many reasons I think the sport would be in a better place if there was 10 sx race season, 10 outdoor season and the other odd one off races would fill in to make a 25 to 27 total race season.

This would allow for a better schedule, better statium and outdoor track choices, not to mention more room to prepare for mxdn.

And let's be honest, the year long season is a bitch of a grind for riders, staff and their families.

It’s weird how we went from each series completely ignoring the existence of the other (sx/mx) to now where they almost ignore the fact that there is a supercross championship. Calling it round 4 of 31 is weird to me. 
A 3 round “championship” called the playoffs, that isn’t in playoff format is beyond ridiculous.

While I’m ranting, these aren’t “hybrid” tracks either, they are SX tracks without whoops

Adding a 3 race, tricked up escalating points format to a riders championship total is a complete cheese move. Deegs calling himself a 5 time champion turns it into blue cheese.... jmo.

Oh man, you almost had me 🙄

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't smx a response to wsx after ama dropped fim?"

No. It was in the works before WSX was a thing. You think putting together something like SMX is done overnight? 

Two different series coming together to form SMX is not that simple. Both series had different TV deals, title sponsors, etc. There's a lot of planning that went into creating SMX. Pitching different TV networks, contracts, sponsors, etc., doesn't come together in a blink of an eye. 

Is it Deegz you love, or the blue cheese?!!

Why not one race at the end of the year at LA Coliseum to decide the Grand National Champion with a huge purse.

Im not a fan of the SMX as it dilutes the prestige of the Supercross and Outdoor titles 

The only thing broken with the pre-SMX setup was the riders not getting paid. SMX is terrible. 

In my opinion, an SMX title isn't nearly as prestigious as a US Motocross National, US Supercross, or MXGP title. My biggest problem with it is 90% of the outcome is based on a single race.  After qualifying for the "playoffs" (they're not playoffs by any definition of the word), someone could theoretically win the championship by winning the 3rd round and skipping the first two.  Racing is racing and I enjoy watching SMX, but it's basically a sideshow and I wish the purse were re-allocated to the Nationals and Supercross. 

It never will be because of the points structure. If it was a true, Grand National Championship combining Supercross, motocross, and a few other rounds with no double triple points, then it would be more prestigious. As of now, you can sit out an entire series, race a few to get into the playoffs, then win the entire thing in three races. It just can’t compare to someone who grinds out every round of SX or outdoors. 

I am super happy that the riders get paid a lot for it. These guys still are way underpaid. 

I get how the play-offs became “SMX”…but, I’m also…like many of you…

Having a hard time with EVERYTHING being under the Super Motocross Championship umbrella.

At the same time there’s -almost- enough Grand National Championship nostalgia to it to make up for all the glitter and silliness.

Now, all you damn kids…

GET OFF MY LAWN! 

ps - as someone that’s in here…a lot. And goes to the races…a lot. And is around the “goings on”…a lot. I’d like to claim the following as a few points that I hear discussed often and seem to have a lil bit of consensus…

We could have a few less Supercrosses and the over-all schedule could be shorter…but, I’m not giving up ANY MORE NATIONALS!

While we’re here…9 Whoops isn’t legit. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Ever notice how more whoops creates a more legit race? DOH!

Oh…and with a few less races we could finish up a little earlier. Also, I don’t know that we really need to take a break during The Nationals for the Amateur Nationals…but, that’s not gonna be a popular opinion (Pssst…the implication would be LESS direct “factory involvement” in the am’s). Yup, nowadays, there’s too much “us n them” at the am level & I can see a way out of it. 

Like I said…

GET OFF MY LAWN!🤣

SX > MX > MEC > RBSR > County Fair Races > Backyard Racing > India SX > Superstupidcross

they really are f'ing up our sport right now with this super stupidcross garbage... and yes, we had it way better during the Red Bull SR and MEC days.... they say they wanna make our sport more accessible to the mainstream, then muddle it all up with chit that doesn't even make common sense and put it behind a paywall with absolute garbage split screen viewing and unlistenable announcers with a f'n quad hum behind it... they just milking every last penny out... then they shove all that cash in THEIR pockets and just let the riders suck it.. seems the riders dont even mind it, so they deserve what they get... but We, the consumers, that pay for all this, are tired of this chit... 

If we're being honest, we all know the SMX title doesnt mean anything. The championships happen chronologically in order of importance, SX, MX, SMX. 

I don't have a problem with SMX, it brought together the two promoters to work together for better of the sport, more money across the board with all three series (how anybody doesn't think that isn't good for the sport is beyond me) and a TV package that is the best we've ever had, So I like it....now how could they improve it and expand it without adding races or deleting races?....My 2 cents is to expand the SMX finals by taking 2-3 rounds of SX and have the points for both SX and the playoffs do the same thing with the outdoors, save the double/triple point thing for the final two as it is now. What that would do is increase the number of SMX playoff races by 4-5 plus the three race finals, that would help legitimize the championship as a 6-7 race series within the two series we have...

Remember that one thing SMX does is to provide a small incentive for riders to race the MX series who otherwise might choose to take the rest of the summer off.

By making a few outdoor rounds as part of the SMX playoffs would also encourage SX only racers to race a few outdoor rounds.

This. I heard about in towards the end of 2019 that mx sports and feld were talking about some combined series. Covid and tv deals put it off a year. 

Add a round of sx and a round of mx have the last few rounds double points, combine all the points and have a Grand National Champion and spread that money to the top 20. That would make everyone race outdoors 

RC won a 125 SX title, he won every race 🤔

Its also made to steal talent from mxgp.

SUPER-MOTOCROSS

He did, he won the 1998 east regional SX championship ( it was called 125 class at that time) but still the same 250 east class as today.

Also, playoffs exist in other sports due to varying schedules. In an effort to truly determine who is "best" in a given season, you get all the best teams and have them play each other. This is not needed in SX/MX/any type of racing, because the whole field competes against each other already. Whoever has the most points at the end of the respective series was the best over the course of that season and deserves the title - there is no more clarification needed.

I would probably like it more without the silly points structure. That someone can win both championship by a wide margin and then have one incident and be out of the running is like the NASCAR playoffs they just changed. Be ok all season do well at the right time and win the last race and you are champion. 

To me it is a 3 race series for a lot of money, not a real championship

I'm with the OP; the SMX championship is the culmination of two more important series championships. There has only ever been three seasons of said championship. Thus, Ricky Carmichael is NOT a 12-time SMX Champion. (Wouldn't he be 14-time anyway?? 10 outdoor titles and 4 450 SX? Or are they pretending the dual-points structure extends back into the 2000s and thus only measuring seasons when he would have won the SMX title? But I digress...)

The racing we are enjoying right now is SUPERCROSS. We'll soon move over to the outdoors, which is MOTOCROSS. After that, I find the SMX championship important, but it's more like a bonus extension of the season for me. I applaud the entities involved for finally getting some good pay into the pockets of the riders who otherwise wouldn't earn very much. As far as the importance of the SMX championship, I think it is less important than either the SX or MX titles.

It feels the the AMA, Feld, and MXSports (Hereinafter referred to as the SMX Cabal) are using SMX term as an single word to describe MX, SX, SMX. By calling champions as "SMX" before the term was coined seems to be intended to simplify for the fans to one single thing. Yeah, they race in stadiums sometimes, outdoors sometimes, but it's all SMX. Core fans will never like, but also aren't important to the Cabal, because the core won't go away in any meaningful numbers. 

All they needed to do was combine points for each rider in SX and MX to make a “Grand National Champion.”  But if they did that they would not able to steal weekends from other events like WSX, RBSR, MC, Des Nations, Paris, AusX, or any other event. 

Don’t forget the additional money that is going to the riders. NBC/Peacock wanted the playoff aspect it was there idea. The extra money wouldn’t be there without it 

This! 

Everyone wants all 12 nationals. No one wants all 18 rounds of SX. (Talking fans here)