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I found myself down a Ricky Carmichael rabbit hole today on YouTube and was trying to figure out what made him just so awesome. He didn't have great style (like Reed or Windham), didn't scrub (like Stewart), didn't annihilate corners (like Tomac)... then my mind wandered onto another topic about those other guys.
Was 1999 to 2009 the peak decade of motocross star power or was I just the right age to think so? McGrath, Carmichael, Reed, Stewart and Pastrana were all larger than life. Behind them we had guys like Windham, Lusk, Langston, Larocco and a bunch of other premier class racers who grown men would be star-struck to stand next to. FMX exploded with X Games and the backflip thanks to guys like Hart, Deegan, Metzger, Twitch, etc. Robbie Maddison headlined New Year's Eve. Jessica Patterson and Ashley Fiolek (and her story) made the WMX interesting.
And then we get into other sports. Does skateboarding have anyone near a Tony Hawk today? Does baseball have a Ken Griffey, Jr. or anyone else who could headline a video game?
Did Instagram and proximity take away the magic, or did I get old and realize they're all just people?
Was 1999 to 2009 the peak decade of motocross star power or was I just the right age to think so? McGrath, Carmichael, Reed, Stewart and Pastrana were all larger than life. Behind them we had guys like Windham, Lusk, Langston, Larocco and a bunch of other premier class racers who grown men would be star-struck to stand next to. FMX exploded with X Games and the backflip thanks to guys like Hart, Deegan, Metzger, Twitch, etc. Robbie Maddison headlined New Year's Eve. Jessica Patterson and Ashley Fiolek (and her story) made the WMX interesting.
And then we get into other sports. Does skateboarding have anyone near a Tony Hawk today? Does baseball have a Ken Griffey, Jr. or anyone else who could headline a video game?
Did Instagram and proximity take away the magic, or did I get old and realize they're all just people?
The majority of riders named above came from a blue collar background. Majority now are a bunch of spoiled rich kids. The blue collar kid knows what they have to do and what’s at stake and doesn’t want to waste any opportunities. The rich kids expect everything to be handed to them or mom and dad will buy the ride.
Those of us who got to witness Stewart, Carmichael, Reed, Pastrana and McGrath out there racing are very fortunate. They were good times. Times were also good when Dungey and Villopoto were around. We're going through a slump right now. Thankfully we have Herlings and Cairoli to watch across the pond.
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