The 2012 Summer Olympics concluded today. Over the past 15 days, I have pretty much been glued to my TV watching the best of the best compete for the most coveted athletic prize, an Olympic Gold. I saw some incredible wins. And, I also saw some unbelievable sacrifices, injuries, and upsets.
I found myself wondering about the possibility of snowskating ever becoming a part of the greatest sporting spectacle on earth. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been increasingly open to allowing extreme sports into the Olympics following Snowboarding‘s huge success and as demonstrated by BMX’s recent induction into the Games. So, I suppose,
there is a possibility of Snowskating emerging onto the Olympic scene in the future.
But, something about the idea doesn’t sit quite right with me. Olympians sacrifice so much in order to win. They put their lives on hold, suffer frequent and serious injuries, and define themselves by their status within their sport. Because so much of their identity rides on them winning, they become completely undone when they lose. The pressure ev
en becomes too much for some of the greatest winners; think of Michael Phelps stepping away from his sport in his prime. Maybe the love of the sport for these people has been eclipsed by their love of winning.
For me, snowskating is my escape. It is where I go to relax and have fun. I escape from the reality of my sacrifices in snowskating. It enhances my life instead of defining it. Snowskating isn’t so much “sport” as recreation, lifestyle, and culture. I see the identity of surfing and perhaps skateboarding struggling in the sa
me way. Snowskating, like other “boardsports,” transcends sportdom into something entirely un-demanding, intensely rewarding, and ultimately beautiful.
So, if it takes skipping Rio in 2016 in order to keep snowskating lighthearted and pure, so be it.
Can you imagine Riding a skateboard with bindings on your feet? Thats prehistoric. In 2 secs flat , i thought of 3 ways to go strapless on a fullsize snowboard. Surprised they havent done it yet…… Oh yea thats right, man will never go to the moon.
It was 1965 & there she was in all her Glory ! A roller derby # 1. Large enough for two 4 yr olds to sit on & ride down the sidewalk. This was of course before skateboarding reached its criminal status. More on that later. Where was i ? Oh yah, then came the Black Night, that was a beauty, its modern clay wheels as hard as a rock would grab stones just right as to send you aloft. Soon after that the Notorious Black widow arrived, you had to be a badass or, you just didnt have 1…..BAM ! Flash Forward to 1975 & Now im loving a G&S fibreflex, Red top with sand tape, Bottom Canary yellow, Bennett pro trucks & road rider Fours & Wow, I loved that board. It wasnt cheap either, i paid over $100 bucks to my boss, & he paid full retail of approx $300 bucks.
He was cool, it was mint & he knew i was hot for it. lol, I still am. Im losing my whole train of thought, this was about war”.. The war between the sherriffs dept & those pesky skateboarders with their varathane wheels that destroy the evironment { Meanwhile their stealing your Credit card info, while supposedly writing a ticket……}
Boom ! WTF ! I just cant stay on 1 train of thought anymore, it doesnt help when your head hits the concrete commiting skate crimes, like jumping picnic tables…….. Okay i got , this is about War.
So , the sherriffs dept hates the skaters because they skate & they cant catch them because? their bellys have grown exponentially since grade school ?
& the Skiers were none too happy bout those Pesky snowboarders that come racing down the hill, spinning ^ flying, Because it was all just too hectic for them.
Skiing is an art & you raucous snowboarders shouldnt be allowed on the hill ! if you didnt know, they hated snowboarders. Then Finally that settled to an acceptable even friendly level.
But Now ! After all these years, the damm snowskaters want to ride the hill ! Those things should be illegal !