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And about the racing, shit luck again.. like alot of other teams. The weather was horrible and ruined alot of possibly good battles. I hope the same team goes next year, france will habe better weather and i really think they can win if everything goes their way.
The Shop
I'd be happy as hell if a buck or two was added to every MX/SX admission ticket to support the MXoN team. I'm no mathematician but that's a fair bit of money.
Risk? That's something that just can't be mitigated. A fair amount of injuries happen at the practice track. If you were a top rider...would you rather have an injury practicing or at the Nations. Neither is good but somehow when you're 50 years old and you tell your grand kids that your career ended representing your country it's just gonna play better.
Don't get me wrong...I dig money the same as the next guy but, lame as it may sound, I'd rather be respected than rich.
Never again will I diss a rider for not wanting to be on the team but neither will I fail to praise those that do. Ok, rant over.
They gave it all they had, and you can't ask for anything more than that.
Hold your head up high guys.
I mean this in a good way. The USA isn't at the top and hasn't been for a while. "We" Team USA (yes, I feel like many of us have that national pride and feel part of the effort as fans) have been beaten enough that the USA is now considered one of the top teams, but not THE top team like once was the case after a crazy amount of wins.
Credit to the other nations for raising their game and not the USA for lowering theirs because in my opinion, racers still try their best to find a way to get it done. Whether it is prep or organization or riders, the teams all are put their effort forward and it is a real team event. No single thing is holding a team back or elevating a team to the podium.
What I will say is, sending a team that openly shows they want to go, they will do everything in their power to do well, and they won't quit no matter what is all a fan should ask. There are still dimwits out there who didn't even likely watch the race only seeing the result and saying (Waterboy quote) "WE SUCK AGAIN!" but the true fans from around the world know the USA team was a contender for a podium, fought hard, and is still a really strong group of racers and personal.
Thank you to modern media, Tom and Matt, as well as Jason, Zack and Justin for letting us watch from abroad and feel part of the team. I applaud this effort.
Cooper coming in was going to be interesting to me being pretty young and tossed into such a crazy situation; however, STARTS at the MXoN are always extremely important and he's proved he can do that. After Saturday, I actually had my hopes brought up because I know Jason and Zack are "gamers" and will show up and not quit on raceday and Cooper showed he's in a great spot. Of course things didn't work out, but I think that qualifying effort and single qualifying moto win from Cooper solidified to me that the USA isn't far off from being a contender to win again in the near future. Zack and Jason had adversity, they didn't quit, they had respectable results in touch conditions with tough circumstances. I can get behind that too.
I'm glad to see many fans behind these guys and praising their efforts versus making excuses or putting down the talent from the other nations. For those falling in the minority still doing that... well... I don't have many nice words so I'll sign off from my book with the positive thought from above and a thank you to Team USA, Team Fried and Jason, Zack and Justin Cooper. Thinking the podium comes back in 2020!
Pit Row
Of course the reality is that for most team's riders it would have cost them personally to get to the race but that's all part of the romance of MXoN. The fact that Team USA also went out 3 weeks early to train & prepare was fantastic and that level of commitment is a genuine credit to your nation.
Although, I fear that Team USA are one win away from American fans becoming chest thumping, arrogant assholes to the rest of the mx world again. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see..
The US could easily cut down on the cost while at the same time ending the jokes about how many people we bring with us to the race each year. It's a reflection of American ego and self-importance to flood the paddock with what are essentially groupies. We would benefit from being a bit more humble.
Post a reply to: Thank you Jason, Justin and Zach!