Posted on 08/04/2005 4:56:21 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
Under the sweltering noontime sun, the most crowded spot at the opening day of the X Games in downtown Los Angeles today was not the mega ramp, where skateboarders take on a 48-foot, nearly vertical drop followed by a 50-foot jump across to another ramp.
Nor was it the course where BMX bikers practiced for their competition later this evening.
Today, the most coveted spot was the misting tent, or in front of the fans set up to blow water at hot spectators, or at the Saturn promotional tent, where cheery announcers promised to give away cold towels (and a new car).
The Summer X Games returned to Los Angeles, kicking off the first day of the 11th annual action-sports extravaganza with street skateboarding in the afternoon, and BMX biking and Moto X in the evening.
Organizers are expecting more than 160,000 to attend the games this year, held for the third time in a row at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and Home Depot Center in Carson.
The four days of competition drew more than 170,000 spectators last year, eager to watch athletes challenge the mega ramp or perform back flips on their motorbikes.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
now while I admit some of the stuff these guys pull off is simply amazing, are these REALLY what ESPN viewers want to see?
The X games are more exciting than professional baseball, basketball, and hockey all rolled into one.
Summer doldrums/programming filler, nothing else...
ping the list!
yeah....
at least FSN has a baseball game on. Since I am in the other room, it's like listening to the game on the radio, which is something I LOVE to do in the summer...
besides the Reds are playing and who REALLY wants to see them get crushed anyway :)
XM-radio...every Tiger game on...
Those ramps look scary from the freeway....when I was a kid I was scared to take on Skatercross in Reseda.
well I have no natural balance anyway :)
heh that means I would have to get off of my butt and get XM :)
No ESPN viewers want to see poker, Cold Pizza, Cheap Seats and spelling bees. Or at least that is what the people who run ESPN say.
Reds are within in 1 run now.;)
Nice pic os skatercross, Karl. Snake run ping!
thats from the net...
I had a membership for a year, since I went to Jr HS down the street...I wasnt too good though...Wonder where my Sims board went? I see they sell for a lot on Ebay!
I am sure some of them want to see this stuff, my granson, 17 years old, is eating these pictures up on this thread. He is a big time skate boarder but not in the league with these guys:)Motocycles he can take or leave.
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins once stood for five hours at the top of the roll-in ramp before summoning the courage to take off.
Adams-Hawkins, 15, soars high over the MegaRamp at Point X, in a remote area of Aguanga, near Temecula, California.
Adams-Hawkins makes a tribute to her father while skating.
A fellow skateboarder watches as Lyn-z Adams-Hawkins flies over the MegaRamp.
Thanks for the pics. I will show these to my grandson. He watched the BMX stuff today but he really isn't in to that part of it, he loves the skateboard competitions.
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