Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but paid users have great benefits. Paid member benefits:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
The Shop
If you want to brag that you are in the top 40 fasted 40+-50+ that should include anyone who qualifies under the rules.
The rules are there from the beginning they don't change them during the year. it seems like a non issue.
That sounds like an awesome day for fans and riders.
Can you imagine as a young guy how exciting it would be to line up with guys that you see in the magazines. What a great experience.
That is what you meant right ??
TDeath 21 earlier posted about sprint cars. I race sprint cars, and I often line up next to full time pro's backed by million dollar plus teams. And there is money on the line, so I am getting beat out of money by these guys, but it is what it is. I can go race nothing races for pocket change if I want easy wins. If I want to win something meaningful I have to go up against the bad asses and their bad ass budgets. I could also move down a class, but I have no desire to do that. If you can't hang, get a new hobby. In MX parlance, get a quad.
Also, I used to play hockey. I never played organized hockey at a high level. I played a lot of pickup games. Some of the pickup games included former NHL players, former European pros, former Division 1 college players, high school players, 25 year old beginners, 12 year old kids, whatever. Seeing the old pro's in the locker room, my thought process was never "Oh crap, I'm gonna get my ass kicked" it was always-" This is gonna be a good game". Sure, I didn't get to touch the puck as much, and I couldn't make as many plays, but the plays I made meant more to me because I knew that I was playing with the best.
If I am going to spend 10k and take a week out of my schedule I want to race the best. I figure I can whip tomato cans in my own backyard.
Per my hockey experience, I was not going to the NHL. I got hit by a car at 15 and lost my chance to play High school hockey, plus I was way too small. I didn't reach 5'6" until I was 21. That being the case, these former pro's playing in the same pickup game as me was the chance to experience playing high level hockey. These guys were not household names, but they were good, and now I know what it feels like to play hockey at that speed. and I am glad to have that experience, which I would not have had otherwise.
Mike Brown may just be out there to have fun too. There is a difference between a national and an over 40 race. If Mike goes to a national, he may line up against a kid willing to break his leg for a point scoring position. In an over 40 race, everybody has to go to work tomorrow. I have had that problem in hockey games, those old pro's are going into the office the next day like me. I have had high school kids twice my size blast me through the glass because they were trying to prove something. I was in my 30's and didn't want any of that shit.
I listened to Keefer's podcast, and I thought he hit the nail on the head when he said lining up at Loretta's was a win in itself, and I would see the opportunity to line up next to a legend as icing on the cake.
But let's not pretend they're some guy showing up to your local pickup hockey game.
If you start excluding riders , then guess what? The championship remains hollow and means absolutely nothing.
Ex-pro's that still want to race here and there....excluding them is just beyond stupid. They deserved the right to be there.
I like what Jay said earlier too , which holds true in any class...." You want a trophy , get faster ".
If you go to a big AM race like this , you better bring your A-game. Some of the guys you are racing with started bringing their A-game 10 , 20 , 30 years ago......where were you? Sit down , shut up and take your lumps like a man , and then feel privileged that you got to race against some legends in this sport.
I've never been a pro, I will never be a pro, and I sure as HELL was never a factory pro, AMA national champion, or FIM world champion. I will NEVER possess the skills they did and DO today. They get bike and gear support like I will NEVER have when they decide to race at the national AMATEUR championships.
This whole situation has been obscene and a travesty for a long time, and there is no convincing those who are big enough assholes to say, "sit down, shut up, and take your lumps like a man." I didn't race at LL's to race against the former best pros in the world, I went to race an AMATEUR championship against...oh I don't know...AMATEURS.
There should clearly be a class for former AMA/FIM pros. There isn't, and they make some rule that says that after 5 years the fastest pros in the world get to race against people who have never been pros.
It's bullshit of the highest order if anyone is trying to be fair. If you aren't worried about fairness, than it's not an issue.
Pit Row
Ego's run amuck among racers like us Jay.
If the local A vet guys should train harder and get faster, then couldn't that same analogy hold true for a former factory rider who didn't have a normal job for 12 years and instead trained like a cyborg to be a total badass....and still has connections to the best equipment in the sport?
I mean they should at least be able to do some training and be competitive in the 25+ class.
Post a reply to: Mike Brown getting heat over LL?