Modern action sports, as a whole, are a money-centric operation.
This is a natural by-product of their social evolution. Action sports and punk subculture are tied together in a knot born of marginalization. Mainstream culture relegated the duo from their inception, even going so far as to outlaw action sports (re: skateboarding) in many public places. This is still the case in some municipalities.
With the sport’s contemporary following, it is easy to forget that Tony Hawk, the bona-fide godfather of action sports, was not a popular figure until the latter part of his career.
Whenever a phenomenon experiences as dramatic a rise as from illegal activity to widespread popularity, it is usually the case that those involved will revel in its success.
For example, action sports athletes recently began making exorbitant amounts of sponsorship money by simply pointing to a sticker on their equipment after winning an event. Only a select few other sports I can think of even permit advertising on uniforms.
As with all businesses, sports must decide when too much is too much. Unfortunately, it is the fans who must suffer through the current adolescent stages of action sports.
ESPN’s first “Extreme Games,” later shortened simply to “X Games,” were held in 1995 after the sport had grown too large to ignore. Overall, the event was quite a success, though the games’ main problem was their failure to popularize across demographic lines, particularly generational ones.
ESPN2, for the most part, tapped into a previously unmet market of Generation X-ers with the Extreme Games, while their parents stood by in a state of confusion.
There was a particularly sarcastic USA today column stating: “Apparently — and it’s possible I’m misinterpreting a cultural trend here—If you strap your best friend to the hood of a ’72 Ford Falcon, drive it over a cliff, juggle three babies and a chain saw on the way down and land safely while performing a handstand, they’ll tape it, show it and call it a new sport.”
Misinterpreting a cultural trend is an understatement—the games immediately were rescheduled the following year and, with some ingenious marketing, grew into the cultural phenomenon we know them as today.
Since their inception, the X Games have been the hallmark event for action sports. When you win a gold medal at the X Games, you are considered the best in the world at your respective event.
The “Dew Tour,” sponsored by Mountain Dew, evolved around the X Games, and was popularized in 2008 when NBC sold its rights over the tour to MTV Networks. This became the circuit athletes used to ready themselves for the X Games. The “regular season,” if you will.
According to the Sports Business Bureau, the Dew Tour made $40-60 million and had record setting attendance in 2012. Alli Sports, the company that manages the Dew Tour, also announced a four-year extension through 2016. That’s a huge chunk of the market share that the X Games wasn’t making.
ESPN, with the knowledge that the X Games are the premier name in action sports, announced this year that the games are expanding to a global tour format. Soon afterwords, Alli Sports dropped three of the Dew Tour’s six dates, effectively signaling the end of the Dew Tour as we know it.
X Games Los Angeles, formerly the world’s feature action sports event every year, is now just one stop on a larger tour. Being an X Games champion means that one must accrue points over the course of months instead of winning a sole event. Of course, they’re still marketing X Games Los Angeles as the X Games, but those who follow the sport don’t see it that way anymore.
Essentially, it’s as if the NFL decided to forgo the playoffs and determine the Super Bowl champion simply by looking at who has the best record.
Action sports are still what I would call a fringe sport. They have a moderately large and dedicated following, but the general population still doesn’t keep tabs on developments in the sport.
The X Games, televised on ESPN in primetime twice a year (for the winter and summer games) were a great way for people to stumble upon action sports. The fact that this was a one-stop, winner-take-all event made it compelling.
With college football switching to a playoff next year, it is apparent that the United States values this sort of format. In the long run a worldwide X Games tour is going to expand the number of fans exposed to action sports but ultimately hurt the atmosphere of competition.
