X games?

X Games is a hard core sell out.

Everything turned bad when they decided to have multiple events over the year vs ONE EVENT at the start - suddenly an x gamges gold medal got commoditised!

2 things they took for granted:

1. There is not ONE SINGLE EVENT to watch anymore that defined the measuring stick - once a year for everyone to see

2. The idea of once a year gave an X GAMES GOLD MEDAL a certain level of objective reality to sponsors to fund the athletes - introducing multiple rounds per year totally fucked that. Suddenly the supply chains pricing has gone bad.

If DP and the boys dont watch out their show will one day follow this mono myth

Harley Davidson flat track going on now (live on YouTube, link in my next post) and Dave mirra memorial BMX park best trick later

Its all changed over time. I miss the original Step up with the Tomcat laying it down. That era. 15 ft was a big deal. FMX needs the whole stadium. and one minute runs.

I’m gonna say 03-04 was probably the pinnacle of X-Games.
I mean just look at the stands....the coliseum was sold out, and I know damn well they had millions of views on tv.
I can remember X-Games week being a national holiday in my house growing up.....hell if we went out to dinner it had to be somewhere with a tv so we wouldn’t miss any Moto event.

I don’t know what changed, but it’s a pity these guys today don’t get the same recognition as the generation before them....back flip body variable? Insane! And it won’t even make the homepage of vital

https://youtu.be/aH92VnMNt_M

Can only dream they capture this same energy again one day

I really miss Speed and Style, Head to Head, Rallycross and the coolness of the whole event. Watching best whip with and empty stadium makes me feel like "How can this be possible?"

Speed and Style was fun to watch when Pastrana was doing it. I'm sure most of these guys are no slouch on a moto track, but seeing the gap between a freestyle guy and a pro moto guy was interesting.

Step up and quarter pipe are my favorite events to watch. Quarter pipe I feel still has that "rawness" being that some of those guys don't have access to one to practice on so what you're seeing there is them, off the cuff, going for it which is nuts.

Best whip was cool. I was really impressed with Vicki Golden. I remember a few years back watching her at best whip and she was basically throwing whips comparable to a C class rider which looked really dumb compared to the other riders but man that girl can whip a bike now!! I liked how animated she was with her body english and think she should have placed better than she did.

The actual FMX and Big Air events I think everyone is a bit numb to now. As mind blowing as it is, the backflip is just over-done and everyone looks exactly the same doing it. There doesn't really seem to be much personal flare you can put on a backflip vs back in the day watching Mike Metzger do a run compared to Mike Jones. They all look the same now. Also, all of the big personalities that blew the sport up are gone. Travis Pastrana, Mike Metzger, Carey Hart, Mike Jones, Brian Deegan, Trevor Vines running the 4-stroke etc.

To the casual fan, being that the FMX guys are all foreigners now, they may not be real familiar with who they are so that could be a factor. It'd be like going to a race and not knowing a single rider. It's still cool, but you don't really have anyone you're rooting for. I don't really follow Freestyle Motocross or know if there is an X-Games in Australia, but if there is, I wonder if their turn out is a lot bigger than here. In my opinion, Travis Pastrana was Freestyle Motocross and when he left, the sport was never the same. He had the talent, personality and marketing skills to put asses in seats.

I didnt even realize I was that into freestyle until I watched "Unchained" on Netflix. The roots of FMX and old X Games were so cool and fun back then. I miss it.

I live in minneapolis and am very thankful that they’ve had the x games here the last 3 years. I’ve attended all 3 years, but I don’t think the attendance in any generation or time period would compete with Southern California turnout at the same event. We just don’t have the same size scene for action sports.

I was just talking to my 11 year old son , on the phone , he doesn't live with me, but I started talking about the X Games and I came to find out that he had no idea what the X games is .

X-Lames

Not many people in the stands, I say the X games are pretty much dead.

I was talking about this with a friend the other day. I remember Charlotte was being talked about for the X Games for a minute, but I just don’t think it would have the turnout that being in LA would bring. I think they should make it a once-a-year event in LA again.

It definitely seems that way but why?
I will say I didn't hear anything about it until about a week before , so maybe the advertising has gone down, but I personally dont watch TV anymore so maybe it was heavily advertised there ? I wouldn't know ,
We live in a changing world for sure , when I was a Kid everyone watched TV every day , now not so much for most it seems.

I would guess because it is not that extreme anymore. The first games were hokey with some of the events like the sky surfing and the bungee jumping tricks but the BMX and skateboarding were great and the street luge to some extent. They have had some good stuff and bad but extreme sports are everywhere now so not as fun to watch.

That Sunday afternoon Harley Davidson hooligan racing was the most boring thing ive witnessed, 100% sponsor buy there clearly.

The X Games were so awesome even 10 years ago it was pretty good, but with the tiny freestyle courses in a city that doesnt really support the event its pretty sad to watch.

Ever since Sal Masakela left for Red Bull TV and their Signature Series, the show has gone downhill. The 2 host guys are the most annoying hipster skateboard/boarder dweebs ive ever seen.