X-Games = Xtra Insane
Written by MC Homer, Friday July 31 2009
As I awoke from my nap, after I rubbed my eyes, even before I put on my glasses, which only help me to be slightly less blind, I noticed that the X-Games were on ESPN. I’ve never been the biggest supporter of the X-Games, but at the same time, I can not help but admire the absolute disregard for life that these incredible human beings have as they fly through the air with only Red Bull to give them wiiings.
As I was in process of waking up, much like you, it takes me a little while, the skateboard big air competition was on. Talk about waking up in a hurry. My eyes opened to some crazy guy going down the ramp. My reaction was WTF is this dude doing? I knew what he was doing, so maybe the ‘W’ in WTF stood for ‘why.’
Even with Tony Hawk, this competition could not be more impressive. If you have not seen this event, I suggest you watch, just once though, because the more times you watch, the higher your chances are of seeing one of these knuckleheads die.
They begin by riding that little board on four wheels down an 80-foot (approximately) ramp. This year, there were three choices of ramps at the bottom to make the 50 to 70-foot jump to the quarter pipe that stands nearly 30-feet tall. Once they get to the quarter pipe, they are vaulted about 20-feet into the air to perform their best trick. Oh, and they have to land that trick too. This event is a combination of ski jumping and half pipe on steroids. Who said steroids were all bad?
Riders have five chances to complete that one trick that will assure them X-Games gold. Five chances to cheat death is essentially what they are doing. Like they say, all it takes is one.
Like Norm MacDonald said in a stand up routine I saw years ago about cliff divers, there is no first, or second, or third place. There is Grand Champion or stuff on a rock. In the X-Games, there happens to be gold, silver, and bronze medals, but just to walk away and be able to tell the tales of competing in this event is a success in itself.
In 2007, Jake Brown, a participant in this competition, wasn’t so lucky. No, he didn’t die, but it was obvious that it just wasn’t his time to go. He took a 40-foot freefall, maybe the Red Bull didn’t work. After ten minutes, he was able to walk off the ramp under his own power, but he was not without injury. He bruised a lung, his liver, broke a wrist and a vertebra, not to mention having his shoes pop off like they were being shot out of a cannon.
Jake Brown isn’t the first, nor will he be the last, to cheat death in this competition (or any of the other events requiring no more than half a brain to compete). Two years removed from his nearly-tragic accident, the same Mr. Jake Brown mentioned above, redeemed himself by winning gold in this year’s big air competition.
Although I believe the skateboard big air contest to be the most dangerous, it is far from the only high risk competition at the X-Games. The disclaimer, “do not try this at home,” rings true for every single discipline. From skateboards, to BMX, to motocross, these guys put it all on the line, literally and figuratively.
Freestyle Motocross riders routinely jump 80+ foot gaps, getting up to 50 feet (or more) in the air. Sure they have the whole getup in terms of pads, but a fall from that hieght, no matter what pads you have can only be bad. Not to mention having to escape the path the bike takes to the ground if you make even the slightest mistake. First it was the backflip, now it’s the double back flip; on a couple hundred pound motorcycle no less!
BMX riders are the same way. While they may need a little assistance to get the height that their X-Games counterparts do, they still strive for that pinnacle. Whether it be vert or best trick, riders like Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist are always pushing the limits of human capability. Flips are commonplace, spins are the norm; one can almost get dizzy watching these guys manhandle their bikes.
I’d rather not get into the rest of the X-Games, in fact, I didn’t even intend to talk about anything other than skateboard big air, but I had to. What these guys are willing to put on the line amazes me. Some might say it is ignorance, maybe slight stupidity, or even lack of respect for life, but one things is for sure, these dudes push it to the limit, even though the reward, to many, is nowhere near the risk.
With the X-Game’s motto to go bigger, get higher, and go farther than your opponent, it is only a matter of time before one of these athletes meets their maker. The impressive thing is (to me at least), these extreme athletes know how dangerous it is, they just don’t care.
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I dont think that "they dont care" but yes they know the risk; most have seen some of the greats pass away before their own eyes, but their love for what they do out ways any sort of risk that they take. Most of those men and women are married and have kids, and use the sport they love to support their families and are living rather well because of it.