From ESPN Action - ESPN will kick off its 17th annual action sports competition in Los Angeles from July 28-31 and will debut the new discipline of Enduro X, as well as the first-ever rally street circuit running through the downtown area. In its ninth year in LA, X Games 17 will feature more than 200 athletes at competition venues and event spaces including STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in an effort to further consolidate events to one area and better enable fans to catch all the X Games action from downtown Los Angeles.
Enduro X will feature both men's and women's disciplines, showcasing riders' talent on an all-terrain obstacle course. Riders will race through sand, mud, logs, rocks and other terrain features in a blend of motocross racing and traditional Enduro, battling not only each other but also the challenging course for their shot at X Games gold. The new addition will be one of eight Moto X competitions taking place inside STAPLES Center, while the downtown Los Angeles street circuit will offer a unique and exciting setting for the disciplines of Rally Car Racing on Saturday and RallyCross on Sunday. Full Story Here
Well, they did it. They got Endurocross into the X Games. I should probably be psyched that there will be one more moto discipline, but alas, I am not. I just think Endurocross is boring. I've tried to watch it, and never been through an entire show. And that's on Versus where they show basically 2-3 lap highlights. Still can't do it. Like, a large amount of the appeal of motocross to a mass audience is the size of the jumps and the speed. So why are we now introducing a discipline which gets rid of both? I'm sure that the X-Gamers will give it a little something of a twist, but it's not going to be enough. I definitely just don't understand the desperate need to introduce more and more disciplines and sports like this. Just grow the ones you have. Supermoto was a disaster and had no place in the event, but then you go and add Rally? Now Endurocross? This all just reminds me of times when TV networks pick up shows for maybe 3-4 episodes then realize how fucking stupid they are. They just bleed money and resources into them and then hit the cancel button so fast the director's family leaves him before he gets home from work that day.
OK, well I can't find anything to back up my memory (or lack thereof) about Moto in this years X-Games. I recall something about how much a cluster fuck it was last year trying to fit in the SX course in the time line in reguards to the track turnover time. Not only that but the Practice time, and when they raced the sun was in their eyes for half the course. Also it was a dust bowl cause they couldn't water the track they way it should have been for some reason, and all the dust ended up on the other ramps that should be clean so that was a pain to clean up... Apparently it was a bit of a disaster. The guys who built the track did a great job with what they had but it was an uphill battle.
ReplyDeleteI remember someone up in the ranks of ESPN X-Games stating something about possibly not having SX the next year.
So if some of that bullshit that just fell out of my keyboard is true, and SX isn't coming back They're probably looking at Endurocross as it's replacement. Which is sad indeed. I can watch Endurocross but it pails in comparison.
Yeah, Endurocross is hard as fuck but I'd watch a rerun of SX or MX over a live Endurocross anyday.
I hope I'm entirely wrong about this whole thing...