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X Games

"He's been away for a year, he's hit his head a bunch of times this season...You think Pastrana can win this?"
That was the topic of most conversations in the stands, in the concession lines, and yes, even the bathrooms, at the 2001 Summer X Games. Although this topic had, for the most part, been beat into the ground in the weeks before the Games it was still on everyone's mind Friday morning. Tommy "The Tomcat" Clowers had stated that the chances that Travis would be able to three-peat his X Games gold medals would be slim after such a long absence. However, Travis showed them all in the Moto-X competition that he may have been gone, but he wasn't about to be forgotten.
Fans packed into the stands outside the First Union Complex on Friday morning. Travis was riding so well that day that the crowd was going crazy, even during practice. Things remained relatively quiet throughout the morning as each rider came out to ride the course and get warmed up. Things didn't get loud even when the Metal Mulisha Commander himself, Brian Deegan, came roaring out of the gate in complete camouflage, from his helmet all the way down to his bike. But it wasn't too long until that infamous yellow Suzuki, the usual 199 replaced with a plate with the name and logo of new sponsor Puma, came rolling out of the gate with Kenny Bartram and his KTM not too far behind. The two engaged in a follow-the-leaderesqe doubles practice which included superman seat-grabs, huge bar hops, and anything else that could get them as close to each other as possible without crashing. Anything that happened after that was found uneventful as many of the fans abandoned the stands and opted to watch the BMX Dirt practice inside the air conditioned arena.
The weatherman had predicted a cloudy day with thunderstorm warnings. Mother Nature must be a Moto fan, as it had barely drizzled and the sun was blazing by 2:30. Moto fans were forced to wait and listen to the BMX Park prelim as it ran late, pushing the Moto-X back. It was hot and the stands were packed with fans wanting to know when they were going to see their heroes ride for a chance to make it to the finals and chance at getting the gold. BMX color commentator Aaron Cooke tried to keep both BMX and Moto fans happy getting everyone involved in a cheering and chanting contest.
Finally, after the BMX was done and the Moto-X prelims were through it was time for the big show to start. After the first runs it seemed that no one had yet to pull off a clean run, all the riders were really pulling out all the stops for the X Games. In Travis' winning run he pulled one of the most talked about tricks that day. With his huge Kiss of Death Indian Air Travis' gold metal was in the bag and untarnished record was kept. Clifford Adaptante with an equally amazing run caught silver and Jake Windham rounded out the podium with the bronze.
Tuesday night brought a whole new element to the Summer X Games. The Big Air competition was held inside the First Union Center. The BMX dirt course was transformed into one jump for the Step Up held a few nights before, also inside the arena. That jump was still very much alive on Tuesday along with two added ramps. One standard jump at 80 feet and another "super kicker" ramp. During practice it was a safe bet that Carey Hart would be going for the back flip as all the stickers on his bike were upside down and he and friend TJ Lavin were busy shaping and trimming the step up jump which was perfect for a backflip. Carey pulled no tricks at all during practice, he only rode over the jump to see how high he could get.
The crowd got pumped up during practice watching every rider try to prefect his trick and test out the ramps. A little over an hour later it was time to begin the Summer X Games' first ever Big Air contest. All the riders circled the course as the house lights were turned off and giant metal X's adorned with flashing lights were lowered from the ceiling. After the spot light roll call Carey was the first one set to go. Revving his bike there was not one person in the crowd sitting in their seats as Carey hit the lip and flipped
call Carey was the first one set to go. Revving his bike there was not one person in the crowd sitting in their seats as Carey hit the lip and flipped his bike over his head. It seemed to go in slow motion as he separated from his Honda and hit the ground feet first. The first person to reach Carey, who was not moving after his crash landing, was his father as camera men, paramedics and other riders rushed to the fallen rider's side. It was a good ten minutes before Hart was taken off the course in a stretcher and given a standing ovation for his performance.
Some of the best tricks pulled off that night were from Clifford Adaptante for his huge bar hop sterilizer, Brian Deegan for his double superman seat grab Mulisha March, and to the winner of the contest, "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram and his Shaolin to sterilizer.
After the awards were given about 100-200 fans stayed by the riders area trying to get some of the many stickers, T-shirts and other prizes so many companies were giving away. There was a melting pot of diehard fans yelling their favorite riders name, as all the riders were standing around talking to reporters and getting thier pictures taken. The rider who had the most fans there had to have been Brian Deegan. A big group of about 75 people were all standing and chanting his name as he posed for pictures on top of the podium. After interviews there were only a handful of riders left in the pits signing autographs and throwing T-shirts. The crowd had now dwindled to about 100 fans when, by popular demand, bronze metal winner, Deegan jumped up into the stands, and signed autographs to everyone as the crowd gathered around him, chanting his name.
Next year the 2001 Summer X Games are going to be held in Philadelphia once again and I cannot wait. Something big had happened in every sport that week. You may have heard it a hundred times on ESPN, but progression was really the key word at the X Games. That was what made it so much fun to watch and so much fun to be a part of. If you ever have the chance to see an X Games event I highly recommend you do.
~Faye