lights, camera, marketing hype!
So the 11th annual X-Games have come and gone, making this post less than timely; but ESPN being what it is they're going to be showing the segments in reruns for the next three months, so my coments here will not be out of place. If you haven't read it, it's new to you! And what I want to comment on is, the practice common among ESPN X-Games announcers of terming the eXtreme competition 'action sports.'
Now, 'extreme sports' I can understand, or 'alternative sports'; I consider those two names, both of which have been used in the past, to acurately describe the events in question. I guess the marketing folks behind the X-Games wanted to make things a bit more mainstream, though, and felt that monikers that conjured up Vin Diesel and grunge were not ideally suited to getting through to the average American--or something. But it leads to the obvious problem, which I'm sure you see just as I did. 'Action sports'?! As opposed to the sports that don't involve sweaty men and women running around throwing and hitting and kicking things?
When I brought this up to Leah, though, she immediately saw what I didn't. What I failed to consider was, the X-Games are on ESPN; and compared to their usual round of poker, billiards and darts, skateboarding is very active indeed. So I guess I have to let em get away with it. In any case, it won't stop me watching the fun: it's good stuff! Not nearly as exciting as baseball, though.