With XGames 16 over I began to wonder about the impact they have on the sport of motocross. Sure the Speed and Style was interesting to watch but the course conditions in supercross made it look amateurish. So here is my take on Xgames 16 and its impact on the sport of motocross. Good and Bad.
First the good:
#1 Millions of people watch therefore exposing our sport to new potential riders.
#2 Outside the industry sponsors get involved and bring in new sponsor dollars to the sport. Think Monster, Red Bull, ARMA, etc.
#3 Travis Pastrana- one of the most exciting men to watch on a dirt bike. His popularity is because of his feats in freestyle and Xgames but he has found a way to keep his motocross fan base intact.
#4 The ladies looked good at XGames despite the poor track conditions. Maybe more fans will stay around and cheer on the girls at the next national.
#5 More visibility for guys like Daniel Blair and Jimmy Decotis, maybe their moment in the spotlight will lead to better sponsor contracts.
Now the Bad:
#1 People think motocross is all about backflips and crazy crashes.
#2 More practice track warriors trying freestyle tricks.
#3 The sponsor dollars don’t really trickle down to motocross. More than likely the new companies will get involved with supercross and hopefully cross into the outdoors but most of the budget goes to supercross creating more supercross only contracts.
#4 Everyone is part of the Metal Mulisha.
#5 Crazy attempts at glory…think Scott Murray or Paris Rosen. Will it take serious injury or death to put some type of restriction on the riders chosen.
What do you think?
