BMX in the Olympics makes a difference for two groups: The racers themselves, who get to travel more and maybe make some more money, and the sponsors, who get more global exposure. Other than that? Eh. BMX racing was what, two events in a two-week long extravaganza? Given how long each race took, and how many total events there were, BMX probably represented 1/20,000th of the total Olympic experience. Of the hundreds of millions of people who tuned in, I doubt 1/1,000th of them saw the BMX racing. Less than that paid attention to it.

Just because a sport’s in the Olympics doesn’t automatically legitimize it. Trampoline is an Olympic event, and it’s still silly. Sports like badminton and table tennis remain barbeque and dorm sports in the US despite their prominence in China. And then there’s curling, which is about as relevant to the US audience as log rolling and netball. Hell, a majority of the US television-watching audience still doesn’t care about the Tour de France—one of the most grueling and gripping athletic events in the history of the universe—and this after it was dominated for nearly a decade by a single American rider.

To most people who watched the Olympics, even some of those who enjoyed the BMX racing, we’re forever going to be looked upon as adults riding little kid’s bikes. So be it.

(There was one change though—just the other day there was a story in the New York Times about a racer being banned for two years after a positive steroids test. Welcome to the big time!)

the point of separation within bike riding was an interesting one that was brought up. that racing and dew tour are really 2 different worlds that share the same tool, and the effects of one on the other is something only time will tell i suppose. but to me it was a toss up between#6 and #15
seeing as how miserable the actual coverage was. though there were a few good things online.
i think this was the paragraph that tipped the scales:

“To me, the best thing about BMX being in the Olympics is the fact that it gives the sport a form of legitimacy in the public eye. Yes, BMX makes it on TV through the Dew Tour and the X-Games, but those events have always had a sort of juvenile, circus-like atmosphere to them. How fucking embarrassing was the Darkmane campaign? The people who RUN THE CONTEST are producing those ads. They don’t respect BMX; they just want advertising dollars from Taco Bell and Nike. The Olympics are shown worldwide; the athletes are regarded as the leaders in their fields, and the sports themselves are actually respected. Maybe if freestyle was included, shit like that would go away.”

i fully agree, let’s hope this is the beginning of good things!

winner #15

thanks again for everyone who contributed. i’ll be back next week with another ill timed freebie.!!!

in my infinite inability to get a proper schedule together, the winner will be awarded tomorrow! usually there is some computer access at the dew tour, of course when i need it there is none. i was at dew tour last week and have been getting caught up here in the shop. some good comments on this one, it’s going to be tough. thanks for all who contributed.

as far as availability, soon they will be out with a few other little doo-dads. the devil is in the details, though the next batch of pedals will have more pins and soon titanium spindles will be available to soop them up!

–phil

Pros and cons of BMX in the Olympics now:
While street and park riding exposure has increased tenfold over the past decade, racing has been in steady decline. It may not be as far out of the media loop as flatland or vert, but it’s exposure within the BMX community is limited, and attendance at local tracks is waning. Most industry types are hoping that racings inclusion to the Olympics will bring resurgence in popularity. Personally, I don’t know if that will happen, but it certainly wouldn’t be detrimental to BMX as a whole. Sure, there are jocks at the track, but there are jock types in every aspect of BMX. Racing itself is pretty damn fun, and generations of riders have learned proper bike control by banging elbows through the berms. Maybe if a few kids decided to put on leathers before taking their brakes off, trail riding wouldn’t be as dead as it is now.

For the popularity of racing to rise, the industry can’t rely on television ratings alone. More shops need to take BMX seriously, and not keep their inventory limited to a dusty shelf in the corner. This has been a problem forever, though, so who knows if it’ll actually change. Almost as important is the notion that the tracks themselves need to improve. Yes, tracks need to be somewhat limited in size so that the beginners can make their laps, but pro sections (and pro-only tracks) need to be beefed up. At the turn of the decade, there was a push to popularize “downhill BMX”, which was entertaining to watch and challenging to ride. This was short lived; maybe Olympic exposure will bring its return.

Public exposure:
The public reaction I’ve seen so far in regards to racing has been limited. I work in an office with a bunch of older women, and a few have mentioned that they’ve seen clips here and there of racing on TV. Most have seemed pretty excited about it, and that it also seems kind of dangerous. Hopefully, it gets proper exposure within the next day or two and more people talk about it.

To me, the best thing about BMX being in the Olympics is the fact that it gives the sport a form of legitimacy in the public eye. Yes, BMX makes it on TV through the Dew Tour and the X-Games, but those events have always had a sort of juvenile, circus-like atmosphere to them. How fucking embarrassing was the Darkmane campaign? The people who RUN THE CONTEST are producing those ads. They don’t respect BMX; they just want advertising dollars from Taco Bell and Nike. The Olympics are shown worldwide; the athletes are regarded as the leaders in their fields, and the sports themselves are actually respected. Maybe if freestyle was included, shit like that would go away.

From an industry standpoint, BMX has always been compared to skateboarding. Now that the door has been cracked open for more possible BMX-related events, we should start comparing it to snowboarding. Sure, there was some fallout within their industry, but has the inclusion of freestyle type events damaged the public’s view of snowboarding? I doubt it. Yeah, there would have to be some type of judging scale devised, but is that really going to affect how the average kid rides? Would listening to a middle-aged coworker talking about who won Vert gold make a barbecue at the trails any less fun?