THE TRUTH ABOUT THE X-GAMES! (A Roll Minnesota Video Essay)
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- WE CRASHED THE X-GAMES: • WE CRASHED THE X-GAMES...
THE RETURN OF ROLLERBLADING: • THE RETURN OF ROLLERBL...
For many inline skaters, the X-Games serves as a target of resentment and scorn, due to the perceived mistreatment and industry bias the X-Games has demonstrated towards rollerblading over the last two decades. But is the X-Games truly responsible for blacklisting our industry and condemning it to a visibility death-sentence or is it just another scapegoat, redirecting attention from the internal issues that once existed within our sport. I’m Butch Lehman of Roll Minnesota, and I invite you to join me as we seek to uncover the truth about the X-Games.
In this video essay, we will explore the earlier beginnings of the X-Games, its ascent into pop-cultural relevancy, and its over-saturation, leading to the removal of inline skating and many other action sports competitions. After the 1999 X-Games, and the infamous Tony Hawk 900, ESPN pursued a number of new business opportunities including the Winter X-Games televised qualifiers, the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour, The X-Games Music Awards, X Games Global, and a number of other events that saturated the extreme sports market, resulting in diminishing attendance and TV ratings. Sports like skysurfing, street luge, bungy jumping, mountain biking, and surfing all faced a similar fate as the X-Games over-extended itself and consolidated its base to skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle moto-x.
This year, X-Games was cancelled, and with their contract expiring here in Minneapolis, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on the event both financially and organizationally. With X-Games already struggling to retain its current audience and appeal to new demographics, I am hopeful that X-Games with reevaluate its approach and broden it’s reach, adding new sports like scootering, and reintroducing legacy sports like inline skating. I’ve even heard some talk about X-Games exploring esports and video games, but who knows what they do.
I’m excited for the future and what it has in store for rollerblading, and if you want to be part of the comeback here’s how you can help.
Butch Lehman (Roll Minnesota)
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WE CRASHED THE X-GAMES! ruclips.net/video/yb8QhkNwFzg/видео.html
Really appreciate this one. Thank you for covering this topic so well 💯
Thanks! I tried to be objective and present the facts. I know there is a lot of existing resentment towards the X Games, but I'm not sure they had much of a choice since they were losing viewership and sponsorship dollars.
Nicely done on the video. My first year on the ASA Pro Tour was 2003. I was happy to make the Gravity Games and LG Championships that year. Didn't qualify for X but my buddy Elmer was chosen to represent Canada in the Global X-Games. It was definitely getting saturated. I'm 52 years old now and still skate vert 2 -3 times a week and enjoy every minute of it. I'd like to see it come back to X now that our sport has had time to mature.
That’s really cool background info. Here’s hoping for a return to the mainstream. 👍
@@RollMinnesota Cheers, my friend.
Treasure clip that layed everything out perfectly. Thanks for making this! 🤜🤛
The X-games and the ASA were part of part of my blading life.... It was so cool to watch my favorite bladers on TV performing their best tricks
NISS too
Definitely! I had a VHS tape I would pop-in and record skating events whenever they were on TV
As far as the X-games goes I do believe there was a bit of going with this attitude of hating on rollerblading at the time and it made it easier for them to let us go. It wasn't the only reason but I do think it was part of it.
Well done and researched! Interesting to see the story within the bigger picture of the X-Games history.
Interesting video for sure. No matter how people feel about the X-Games we can't deny they were iconic!
I wish they'd have just kept it relatively simple. You said it, it became over saturated and they were trying to do too much at points. 🤷♂️
Edit: I can't believe it, but I didn't even realise the X-Games was still about...🤦♂️
It would be awesome to see an event that had the type of diversity present in the original X Games . . . I know a lot of those sports are much worse off than rollerblading right now.
x Games introduced me into rollerblading in 1999 or 2000 I forgot, but I watched the vert contest yasutoko bros and a few guys from France and Brazil, Sad to see it leave and never return to any platform like Dew tour etc. but I think with Rollerblading becoming "trendy" again the two posts they made with fab and the yasutoko bros, was more to test and see how alive the industry was and to see if there is any new interest brewing. Im thinking that especially with all this new wave thinking of being more openly accepting of others and being more politically correct, aggressive blading will be slowly re introduced into the world. When I cannot say, but definitely within my lifetime I'm sure ill see it mainstream again its really hard to deny the athleticism and smooth fines of today's blading.
Well reasoned and well articulated! 👍
@@RollMinnesota thanks man! keep up the amazing content I look forward to it every day lol you're putting in mad work!
I will forever be grateful to have seen the last inline event in Los Angeles
I bet that was a really cool experience to have in person. Did you get to meet any skaters?
I would like to see inline skating in the X Games because, like you said, it would help bring money to the sport and our top athletes. And with the sport getting a massive sugar rush lately that I hope turns into a true revival, ESPN and the X Games may be able to profit well from it. Though there is the risk that if the X Games do bring back blading, but it is not enough to save the event, blading could be wrongly blamed for killing it.
All that said, whether or not the X Games being blading back into the fold, blading will survive. A big difference between the late 90s, early 2000s and today is this platform here: RUclips. When inline skating was removed from the X Games, there was no other platform for our athletes to perform at, outside very niche events. But now with platforms like Instagram and RUclipsn and with personalities like Tiago, Bill Stoppard, SkateFresh, Ricardo Lino, Blading on the Brain, Thirty And Rolling, and so many more, our sport has found a grassroots way to connect with the next generation and a wider audience. And it also found a way to reconnect with our generation. For that, I am confident in the future of our support, no matter what comes.
3 names that kept the X-games alive
1) Tony Hawk
2) Travis Pastrana
3) Dave Mira -R.I.P
As a child out from the US then, the X Games were a motivation to me to inline skating and even clothes. It was too sad when rollerblading didn't appear anymore! It's a way to call thr next new generations to keep the sport alive!!
I don't think we need the X Games to keep blading alive and strong, but I do think mainstream attention can do a lot for our sport and allow our professionals to make a decent wage (one they deserve).
Great video, totally agree with you although I have to acknowledge I was butt hurt when they drop blading, but you have a really good point, and I would love to see blading back on the x games
Not just aggressive inline, but I think freestyle/slalom skating would be sweet.
Man, you are a great dude. I'm totally enjoying your station. I appreciate your attitude of it doesn't matter what you're rolling on.
I remember those street luge crashes were amazing lol
Street luge was underrated. Super fun to watch.
I definitely remember going to San Francisco XGames and watching Tony hawk
awesome view on the things and nice opinions, I like your view :)
I’d like to see @xgames return
Hopefully someday we could return to X-Games. The support of this competition can help a lot to the sport and the industry. Amazing video! Thank you! I am from spain, excuse me for my english...
I could definitely see a merger of X Games and eSports, especially when you consider their shared sponsors over the years and the "new and edgy" demographic those activities target.
It could serve as a surge of support/viewership for X Games and help shine some positive PR light on eSports after their recent #MeToo allegations.
Great video Butch
But wasn’t it the X Games taking out one particular skate event-and effectively Fabiola DaSilva being banned, something mentioned on ESPN broadcasts at the time-that accelerated the drop?
Skateboarding died a few times before it got really big?
Thanks for this super interesting episode
Well Done!!
3:17 why the weird blip censorship over 'new'? Was it just wrong?
My audio recorder skips a few frames every once in awhile. I have no idea why. 🤷♂️
Nope. Pure BS. The X-Games abandoned a sport that was successful while skateboarding and BMX where struggling, used it as a platform to showcase those sports, and then dropped blading like a hot potato. I understand cutting the fat, but that isn't what happened. They didn't advertise inline, and were embarrassed to have it. Try to explain why they never put blading in commercials, or why the event organizers APLOGIZED that rollerbladers would be following in the park comps to get cam footage. That isn't the same as cutting out street luge, who has little community outside it's core participants.
Sorry, but you have your history wrong. I assume you are taking your facts directly from Arlo Eisenberg in Barely Dead, but that's not exactly accurate. If you look at the demographics and sales, blading was rapidly declining before X-Games dropped it and was bringing in a small fraction of the revenue of Skateboarding, BMX, and FMX. Even then they kept inline vert since it was more popular, but was still bleeding viewership. I realize I won't change your mind, but these are facts . . . I hate it too, but you're allowing your emotions override your reason.
So we done Blaming Arlo 😂
and we got IMYTA
I miss IMYTA . . . that might be the best (and most innovative) competition series ever, in my opinion!
Noice.
Do we really need the X games Rollerblading is Stronger than ever nowadays 😁
I don't think we need the X Games; however, I would personally welcome a return if the opportunity ever presented itself. I would like to see our industry's top pros make a meaningful wage and unfortunately it will take more mainstream attention for that to happen. ❤
@@RollMinnesota 2 generations of the sports BEST EVER bladers have made minimum wage money to skate professionally. We have to fix it. I dont like what x games did to us but I'd welcome it back for the boys to make a living and boost our sport again.
@@Vercingetorix.Fantasia I don't blame the X Games, there were about 20 other sports that were added and removed over the years too. I've seen the revenue and expense sheets, blading was not making much of a profit in the US market and the X Games was losing viewership (it still is). I hate the decision, but I understand why they made the decision.
Im not so sure about stronger. I stopped blading back in 98 when I join the service's. Part of me grew out of it as most of the people doing it were my age 16 or younger so there was no one to really look up to with maturity and example like Tony hawk did for skating. The other part of me did not have the facilities in the UK at the time where I lived to keep skating anyway and injury would have caused a big problem to me at the time. Now tech is better skates are better. There is now an older generation still skating and I say they should be pushed to be more mainstream. No sport will ever really progress while underground. Hopefully this new found love for it even though caused by lockdown will revive it enough to get corporate sponsors back who knows.