So I'm flipping through channels and run across this show on VH1, I think. Oh man, it was great! Ted Nugent invites these kids out to his house and several thousand acres in Michigan. Makes them sleep in his barn (open on one end) and do all these stupid things! At one point, he's got them in a field with some haybales, tells them to run (but they've gotta stay in the field) and starts to chase them around on horseback, shooting them with a paintball gun! It was hilarious!
The main reason I bring this up though, if you watched the show, they had a girl on there (mid-20'ish) that was a self-proclaimed Animal Rights Activist. She was an Activist in EVERY sense of the word too! At one point she's screaming (and crying) at another contestant for VERBALLY harrassing some chickens in a cage! If these are the types of people we are up against (as offroaders), we've got our work cut out for us!
What's the deal? Do people think it's 'chic' to join these groups and then get caught up in the whole "mob mentality" thing? Maybe instead of expending our energy on preserving our riding areas (which is a good thing, naturally) by being vocal at the local level, we should be a more PUBLIC organization? Like, when I'm just watching regular tv, I don't really ever see MX/SX commercials or commercials advertising public use of land. When I go to a college campus (where the whole activist thing is the most popular -- for recruiting especially), I don't see groups trying to represent the Offroad image or the whole idea of keeping our lands open for public use (some MTBers.....which maybe we could align our group with them?). I also think that the "bad boy" freestyle image (tatto's, piercing, drugs, flipping off the camera) may be a little counterproductive (not so much in that it attracts the younger crowd, but maybe makes it a little more difficult to impress the 'older' crowd)....I'm gonna get FLAMED for that comment! :) Maybe the larger races are different, but I never see adds in newspapers promoting a local race or hear on the radio of an upcoming event. I just wonder if the AMA is being as efficient as it could/should be. They are the group chosen by us to represent us. Maybe they are busy working behind the scenes promoting our sport....which is good, but maybe they could be a little more VISUAL so as to help recruit more support from those that are just looking for a group to join (which is the case with many of the Greenpeace/Animal Rights Activists/Save the World groups). The thing these groups do right is they promote an image that they are trying to protect our planet. Which isn't a bad thing....it's natural to want to protect what we have. BUT, their objective is to limit access, not preserve it for use by the public. And that's where we come in and are hurt by their agenda.
The thing we have going for us is Motorcycles are Cool! It looks like a lot of fun (And it IS!), it can be relatively safe (as proven by many of the statistics -- compared to many more popular sports), and it's great for the WHOLE FAMILY! We need to project this image to the general public! We need commercials showing the family enjoying riding or watching the races together, we need to clean and polish our bikes and put them on bike stands at the local University Club days (they have these day long events for the freshmen to show all of the local clubs they can be involved in if they go to their school), we need to have our local tracks advertise in the local papers of upcoming events and publish little articles on the latest races and results (you know make our hobby more mainstream). A common misconception and image that we're slowly shaking off is that only rednecks with mullets ride dirtbikes... and they do it while wearing flipflops, cutoff blue jean shorts, no shirts and drinking beer! It's a status thing. Maybe if we can shake that image completely and project one of ordinary you's and I's (which is happening now with Jeremy McGrath, Travis Pastrana, Ricky Carmichael, and Bubba Stewart) then more people will get involved with our sport OR at least, be less likely to jump on the Greenpeace band wagon when it rolls through town.
Maybe I'm just feeling a little sentimental or whatever (you guys that went to Dirtweek should be amped! :moon: ) but I just don't see things happening too quickly. I see us lose 3 riding areas for every 1 we save. It seems easier to defend the one's we have than it is to reopen the one's we've lost.
I'm stepping off my soapbox, for now anyway. Any comments?
The main reason I bring this up though, if you watched the show, they had a girl on there (mid-20'ish) that was a self-proclaimed Animal Rights Activist. She was an Activist in EVERY sense of the word too! At one point she's screaming (and crying) at another contestant for VERBALLY harrassing some chickens in a cage! If these are the types of people we are up against (as offroaders), we've got our work cut out for us!
What's the deal? Do people think it's 'chic' to join these groups and then get caught up in the whole "mob mentality" thing? Maybe instead of expending our energy on preserving our riding areas (which is a good thing, naturally) by being vocal at the local level, we should be a more PUBLIC organization? Like, when I'm just watching regular tv, I don't really ever see MX/SX commercials or commercials advertising public use of land. When I go to a college campus (where the whole activist thing is the most popular -- for recruiting especially), I don't see groups trying to represent the Offroad image or the whole idea of keeping our lands open for public use (some MTBers.....which maybe we could align our group with them?). I also think that the "bad boy" freestyle image (tatto's, piercing, drugs, flipping off the camera) may be a little counterproductive (not so much in that it attracts the younger crowd, but maybe makes it a little more difficult to impress the 'older' crowd)....I'm gonna get FLAMED for that comment! :) Maybe the larger races are different, but I never see adds in newspapers promoting a local race or hear on the radio of an upcoming event. I just wonder if the AMA is being as efficient as it could/should be. They are the group chosen by us to represent us. Maybe they are busy working behind the scenes promoting our sport....which is good, but maybe they could be a little more VISUAL so as to help recruit more support from those that are just looking for a group to join (which is the case with many of the Greenpeace/Animal Rights Activists/Save the World groups). The thing these groups do right is they promote an image that they are trying to protect our planet. Which isn't a bad thing....it's natural to want to protect what we have. BUT, their objective is to limit access, not preserve it for use by the public. And that's where we come in and are hurt by their agenda.
The thing we have going for us is Motorcycles are Cool! It looks like a lot of fun (And it IS!), it can be relatively safe (as proven by many of the statistics -- compared to many more popular sports), and it's great for the WHOLE FAMILY! We need to project this image to the general public! We need commercials showing the family enjoying riding or watching the races together, we need to clean and polish our bikes and put them on bike stands at the local University Club days (they have these day long events for the freshmen to show all of the local clubs they can be involved in if they go to their school), we need to have our local tracks advertise in the local papers of upcoming events and publish little articles on the latest races and results (you know make our hobby more mainstream). A common misconception and image that we're slowly shaking off is that only rednecks with mullets ride dirtbikes... and they do it while wearing flipflops, cutoff blue jean shorts, no shirts and drinking beer! It's a status thing. Maybe if we can shake that image completely and project one of ordinary you's and I's (which is happening now with Jeremy McGrath, Travis Pastrana, Ricky Carmichael, and Bubba Stewart) then more people will get involved with our sport OR at least, be less likely to jump on the Greenpeace band wagon when it rolls through town.
Maybe I'm just feeling a little sentimental or whatever (you guys that went to Dirtweek should be amped! :moon: ) but I just don't see things happening too quickly. I see us lose 3 riding areas for every 1 we save. It seems easier to defend the one's we have than it is to reopen the one's we've lost.
I'm stepping off my soapbox, for now anyway. Any comments?
