Poor little Clowers...

[DeanPrice475]

Here's the setup: I went to an FMX event saturday in Denver, CO at the Pepsi Center. The big names were Jones, Bartram, and Clowers, with some locals and up-and-comers making the "filler". This was the first FMX event I've seen, and probably one of the last.

Let me start by saying, it was pretty cool, but to much repetition for my liking, and it had a WWF flavor that I couldn't let go. Here's the issue that's been nagging me. 3 riders left, and up comes Mad Mike, he has the run of the night and everyone is going psycho. He keeps riding after the buzzer for a few "laps" and says all of his thank you's, etc. Tommy comes up, does a decent job, gets some cheers, but doesn't get the crowd like Jones did. When the judges decide that Clowers did a better job per the scoring system, the crowd starts booing intensely. I really felt for the guy. He came out, did his best, tried to put on a good show, and what he gets for it is an arena of people booing him. He went so far as to say more or less that the judges screwed up and Jones should've scored better than him. When Bartram won Clowers took off into the pits pretty quickly.

Here's why I think this is an issue...
Before the show the chick announcer told the crowd to boo if they disagreed with the judges and cheer if they thought the judges were right. But, the crowd is clearly going to cheer for the rider who in their opinion did the best job, not which rider did the best per the scoring criteria. So telling them to boo is basically telling them to "rip on a guy who did his best and got beat because of a scoring system that doesn't work". FMX needs to be scored in a way that gets the fans into it. Period. It shouldn't be about variation, difficulty of tricks, or use of track, it should be how much the crowd reacts. FMX is about making money, and in order to make money you have to keep the fans happy. What better way then scoring the events in a way that makes the fans the judges? Use a noise measuring device, or some other system like that.

P.S. This is the first topic I've authored on this forum, so this is me saying 'Hello!'.

 

[BSWIFT]

You said it, MONEY. The comparison to WWF is about right. I don't care for the booing crap. Oh well, I'll stick to GFX(Garage FX).;)

 

[mx547]

so you're saying the biggest clown should win not the most talented performer?

 

[WaltCMoto]

Ive read that several past judges dont like the booing format and wont return to do it again. Its supposed to be entertaining and upbeat. biggest clown- might mean best entertainer. They most all have fantastic skills that we will never know. But there is only so many differnt tricks, so I vote for the fan response- decible meter option

 

[Jaybird]

Folks, These young guys travel around with a couple of shows through the year, and I hate to burst your bubble...but the winner is ony a showpiece...like WWF. They know who will be the winner before they start the show. They share the glory because there are obviously a couple who dominate in the <cough> sport. These guys make the same cake for every show.
The only true "win" would be the best that day at the step-up bar jump.

 

[JuliusPleaser]

When I quit watching FX, Clowers, Hart, and Adoptante were the only guys out there with any class. I hate to hear that Clowers got booed. He's one of the smoothest and most creative FMXrs extant.

It's all about image now. I really hate that. I was in a MX chat room trying to get some info on the crashes last Saturday night, and it was amazing to see what the kids were talking about. They all think that Metz is going to rule the 125 class. :silly: It's all about DA HYPE!

The step-up comp is the only part I care about now. That's some serious puckerage.

 

[DeanPrice475]

Maybe the WWF "show" setup is the problem. It should be a sport, and it should be designed as a championship. It could be run on the same two night format as AX. The prize money should be awarded mainly at the end of the season, with checks along the way. If it's fixed at all than it really will never be a sport, and that's why using the fans to judge would work so well.

By the way, I think the crowd will cheer for the riders that amaze them the most. When Carey Hart attempted the first backflip in competition he ended up in something like third. The fans went nuts for him, and he lost. That is the kind of thing that will keep FMX from being the next XFL, ground breaking tricks that are amazing to even hardcore racers. The riders should be encouraged to try tricks that are really hard, not punished for it.

Although a lot of us don't particularly like FMX, it's hard to deny the benefits of it. In short, it brings motocross to people that might not see it otherwise.

 

[DeanPrice475]

Forgive me for I have (or almost have) sinned. Double posting isn't usually my style, but here goes anyway...

The X-games are really making extreme sports a soap opera, and they seem to use every cliche and stereotype possible. (I swear, if I here "stoked" one more time...) FMX is not immune to this, but there isn't much you can do about it.

 

[WWR]

...reminds me of the "gladiator" type scene in the movie, "Mad Max". I would not be the least bit surprised if someone gets seriously injured or killed within the next year.

 

[CR Swade]

Originally posted by DeanPrice475


Although a lot of us don't particularly like FMX, it's hard to deny the benefits of it. In short, it brings motocross to people that might not see it otherwise.

I must have missed th MX portion of those events. And that is the problem, most average joe's associate this tripe with MX. That stuff is not MX-never will be.

 

[DAVE C]

I think they should use a format where the riders judge who wins. Come on, these guys are friends for the most part and they know when they have been surpassed. This is the format that a lot of wakeboard events are trying to take on and it seems to be working. You get to see the best tricks and the person who really does the best tricks will win.

The whole WWF style marketing scheme really turns me off though. I do like the quiet riders like Pastrana and Clowers. They are always positive and look where it gets them. Pastrana is king of FMX and Clowers is king of step-up.

 

[WR 250]

I've gotta go along with Jaybird. I believe most of the events are staged. Only thing is my experience is with snowmobile freestyle (Go figure I'm in Alaska), but the venues are basically the same. I base my opinion on the experience my brother-in-law had during the 2000 Winter Gravity Games.

In this event they debuted snowmobile freestyle for the first time and the participants were made up of the the guys who filmed for the Slednecks video. It wasn't like the group of riders competed for a chance to be in the event, rather the video producers set it up in conjunction with NBC.
You would have thought the riders worked their way up though the ranks or something similar to organized racing. It wasn't the case. It was simply about promoting the names of the participants to gain exposure for the Slednecks video and Fox Racing.

WWF is a good analogy of FMX.

 

[Jaybird]

One more thing about the Tomcat....Last show me and the boys watched, all of the tricksters were running around with their pants falling off of them in true ghetto fasion. Most of them looked like they were trying out for some sort of cult movie or something. Very rudely dressed and presented themselves the same. Excspt for Mr. Clowers and Mr Bertram. These boys are classy. Clowers started signing autographs for the kids and would not stop until the last one got his. (the rest act too good for autographs)
The young man from OK, signed a bunch of autographs and then it was back to working on his bike. The only time the rest of those clowns touched their bikes is when they were jumping or roosting around the place without a helmet. These guys are a disgrace to biking.
If they weed out these mulisha wannabes, the show would be much better.
Just my .02

 

[KTMdude911]

Thats why I like the big air competition because the most insane wiins