Posts
3
Joined
3/27/2018
Location
Charlotte, NC
US
A hot topic throughout the motocross community is the growth of the sport. Some people think it is growing, some people think it is remaining stagnant, and some may even think that the sport is dying. There are some strong arguments being made on all sides, but there is a question that comes into my mind after hearing all of this, and I’d like to get everyone’s thoughts on it: Do we really WANT motocross to grow?
Sure, it would be nice to see some growth, but if it were to become too mainstream, then that might not necessarily be a good thing. I think most of us can agree that at least part of the reason why the sport is so amazing is that it is not too popular. This is why the motocross community is so tight-knit. I have to say that it’s pretty cool how you can share a strong connection and make an instant bond with some random person who rides just by seeing their fox t-shirt or whatever. The people who we ride with often end up becoming some of our closest friends in life. My point is, all of this is a lot harder to come by in more traditional sports.
Personally, I grew up in a city of around 800,000 people and got into the sport completely on my own four years ago, when I was 15. Most of the kids where I’m from play traditional, mainstream sports like golf, tennis, basketball, baseball, etc., and it felt great to break out of that and get into something completely different. When people ask you what type of sports you play and you say “I race motocross.”, you always get some type of crazy reaction. (Some reactions include: “Woah thats crazy!”, “Where the hell do you do that around here?”, or even “Wait, what’s that?”)
But even if you’re not from an urban area, there is still definitely a great type of camaraderie that all riders share that probably wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the sport being so unconventional. Another thing to keep in mind is that the sport may become even more regulated with growth. For example, I’ve heard so many stories about the “good-ole days” of freeriding in the hills in cali, and how so much of that was banned with growth. Just imagine how much worse this type of regulation would be if motocross became mainstream.
So, what do you guys think about all this? Anything I missed? I’m NOT trying to start any type of argument here, but I just wanted to get some other perspectives.
Sure, it would be nice to see some growth, but if it were to become too mainstream, then that might not necessarily be a good thing. I think most of us can agree that at least part of the reason why the sport is so amazing is that it is not too popular. This is why the motocross community is so tight-knit. I have to say that it’s pretty cool how you can share a strong connection and make an instant bond with some random person who rides just by seeing their fox t-shirt or whatever. The people who we ride with often end up becoming some of our closest friends in life. My point is, all of this is a lot harder to come by in more traditional sports.
Personally, I grew up in a city of around 800,000 people and got into the sport completely on my own four years ago, when I was 15. Most of the kids where I’m from play traditional, mainstream sports like golf, tennis, basketball, baseball, etc., and it felt great to break out of that and get into something completely different. When people ask you what type of sports you play and you say “I race motocross.”, you always get some type of crazy reaction. (Some reactions include: “Woah thats crazy!”, “Where the hell do you do that around here?”, or even “Wait, what’s that?”)
But even if you’re not from an urban area, there is still definitely a great type of camaraderie that all riders share that probably wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the sport being so unconventional. Another thing to keep in mind is that the sport may become even more regulated with growth. For example, I’ve heard so many stories about the “good-ole days” of freeriding in the hills in cali, and how so much of that was banned with growth. Just imagine how much worse this type of regulation would be if motocross became mainstream.
So, what do you guys think about all this? Anything I missed? I’m NOT trying to start any type of argument here, but I just wanted to get some other perspectives.
Money brings lawyers and moto is rich for lawsuits.
The Shop
I believe that that the racing side of the sport needs to grow, that initiatives must be taken to build new race venues and provide value for money race events as opposed to events with 30 or more separate classes on the day ,where nobody gets much track time.
If this isn't done...motocross racing will disappear altogether
Globally for every new track I'd guess two or three are closing, not a good ratio.
Perhaps what I read a while back on here was correct(sorry, don't recall who said it). "Dirt bikes are just not cool anymore". I think this may be the answer we didn't want to hear.
At the pro level, growth is nice so there's more jobs for the top level guys. And so us old slow fuckers get better TV coverage. It would be good to for more bench racing. Take NFL for an example, it's boring as hell but it's interesting because everyone is talking about it, not because the games are entertaining.
What I don't get is the guys saying we need better prizes etc at the local level and that they can't/won't race if there's no money on the line. Guess what, for 99.999% it's a hobby and will cost you money - same as every other sport out there.
I'd like to see a motocross gross domestic product broken down at 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020.
My guess is we peaked around 2000 and we are downsizing due to cost. Thanks, four-strokes!
If no one in the kids family rode, they probably won’t grow up doing it either. Shit isn’t like it was. A lot of us were lucky to do so.
More bike sales means a bigger r&d budget from the manufacturers.
More riders on local tracks means tracks stay open and prices (hopefully) stop rising.
Bigger team budgets allows for more factory rides and plays for more of an even field, avoiding an F1 like situation where the best 2 teams WILL ALWAYS win.
Oakley and Fox going mainstream and selling themselves in the Malls stores......didn’t change 1 thing for me!
There was a big explosion in the late 90's/early 2000's that fizzled by 08-09. Based on history of the 70's and late 90's we are about due for another explosion, but I'm not sure it will happen. If electric bikes were cheap that could drive it, but they aren't.
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