X Games

If you build it (put Action Sports in your paper), they (young guns) will come (will read the paper).

 

I think if you don't do anything with action sports normally, then you aren't gonna gain anything by putting the X games in all of a sudden. But if you do devote some space regularly to things like BMX, skateboarding, whatever, you gotta devote some space to this.

I also think certain milestones shoud be recognized. Had Shaun White landed a 1080 the other day, then I say at least get a brief in at least. He'd be the first guy to do it. It's worth noting.

One thing about running these sports in the paper is that they don't translate well into print, at least not newspapers. Check out the magazine layouts. You'll have a series of photos showing a trick some guy pulled off, not a single shot. You can get some awesome pictures, but no single image is going to be able to illustrate a lot of this moves. As a sport, it's hard to come across well in print without a good deal of space for art, and it's really hard for a writer to convey what happens and just how impressive some of the stuff is. In fact, it's hard for some people to understand how impressive some of this stuff is at all. To them, it's just guys riding around on skateboards and bikes and doing flips.

So, unless you've got good features and awesome art, it's hard to justify much space. And I love this stuff.

 

We've had them here before and ran a story on the final day.

 

When we say "BMX," are we talking about actual BMX (like motocross, sans engines)? Or are we talking about posers doing tricks?

 

WHOA.
I can't believe you just said. haha.
Man, I'm 19 and I still ride a BMX "bike."
We're not posers. We prefer the definition, "Men on little kid bikes."

 

There's racing, and then there's posers doing tricks.

 

As long as agate results get in, my boss is happy.

 

Not that I could tell. No agate, either.

Maybe AP members at a higher level of service got more, I dunno.