X-Games Discussion

With the 15th annual X-Games occurring this past weekend, the inevitable talk of getting scooters into them popped up once more throughout the community. Seeing comments like, "Let's send the X-Games executives emails to get us in!!!" and "Scooters in the X-Games would be sooooo COOOL!" from not only normal scooter kids but even industry types is common. While some kids would love to see freestyle scooter riding become an event at X, others could care less, and yet others would actually like to keep scooters out. My opinion dabbles in all 3 categories.

My main opinion is that I could care less. I love the sport the way it is now; as an underground thing. I love the fact that riding scooters is different. Most people are impressed by even the easiest things, I like that. If the sport gets big enough to be in the X-Games, then that would mean there would be thousands and thousands of more riders than there are today. And that would mean more awareness of the sport, which would take away the originality of riding a scooter, one of the things that appeals to me the most about the sport...but that wouldn't really matter to me. I love the sport enough to keep riding whether the scene is non-existant or ballooned to the level skateboarding is today. However, in order to reach the X-Games, the sport WOULD have to get close to that, which brings me to my next point.

The MegaRamp.

There are kids out there who think all it takes are some emails with some pictures and videos attached to convince those in power to make scooter riding an official event at X. These kids are sadly mistaken. It takes not only myriads of riders and companies, but also things like corporate backing. Once big name companies, companies like DC, Mtn Dew, and Levi's, for example, become involved in the sport, executives would see that there IS money to be made in scooters. Money is THE deciding factor in deciding what sports to put in, and what sports to keep out of X. They don't care whether someone can do a triple backflip to fakie, or air 20 feet out of a quarter on a scooter, because as long as that triple backflip isn't generating any money, they aren't even going to consider putting it in X. Something you have to realize is that the X-Games is no longer about pushing the trick level, and supporting action sports...its about getting more viewers, higher ratings, and more money. Why do you think sports like BMX dirt, flatland, and inline skating are no longer events at X? It's because it wasn't worth the money to put in. If you haven't noticed, every year it seems like the ramps get bigger, the tricks crazier, and the crashes gnarlier. People LOVE seeing athletes like Jake Brown fly across the Megaramp because they know that at any time, he could easily make a simple mistake and get seriously hurt, like what happened in 07. And as nobody has ever actually ridden the Mega (although I know Ricky Wernicke rode the quarter), and there is only a handful of riders who can ride real box jumps, and flow around a park like the Superpark they've been setting up the past couple years at X, I doubt any X exec's will be taking notice. I think within time, as the sport grows, and more people become aware that scooters can be used for more than just a kids' toy, freestyle scooter riding CAN be in the X-Games. But I don't think that that will happen for 5-10 years, maybe even more.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about this. After all, there WAS a scooter minipipe event at the 2007 Planet X Games in Melbourne, Australia. The first scooter competition tour, the Fuzion Raise The Gnar Tour, has already made one stop, and is going to make its second soon. The implementation of the American Freestyle Scooter Association (AFSA) is something that will standardize competitions and legitimize the whole sport itself. Nextsport, the company behind the RTG tour, has even said that, "The Dew Tour is NOT opposed to allowing co-sponsoring/events from a scooter company." So perhaps we might be closer than I think.

Scooters at the Planet X Games

The best thing we can do if we want scooters in the X-Games is to continue to support the parts industry, attend comps and jams, and simply just keep riding hard. If the sport continues to grow as fast as it has these past few years, I'm sure its only a matter of time before we reach the big venues like the X-Games and Dew Tour. But until the sport has grown to be as big as current X-Games events, and until there's some major money flowing around the industry, we will only have Dreams of X.