deal was benefiting our sport. My
resulting decision was "yes" for popu-
larity and "no" for functional pro-
gression. In this yes/no situation, I
disregarded all my pseudo-morals
and attacked the event. Credentials
(photo pass) were needed in order to
utilize media areas. Sorry, ESPN, but
the media access sucked; my choice
was to deal with the limited view.
Beggars can't be choosers. After
being kicked off the street course and
escorted to my "area." Aaron Astorga
got in a few good heckles.
The crowds were good--an 80s
revival, but young and unknowl-
edgable. Tony Hawk was God. Young
kids yelled, "I love you, Tony!" as he
CLOCKWISE FROM SPREAD:
Wouldn't it be fun to just barge a course like this?
This little guy with the helmet, no one knows what
he looks like, but he sure wins contests. Rodil Jr
attacks the bar with South American ferocity.
On the other hand, everyone knows what Tony
Hawk looks like, and he is an obli-
gatory target in the dogged pursuit
of autograph collecting.
Man, Tom the Rock ollies to pivot
so hard, if he don't make it, he's
gonna be in the hospital.
54 Інклянек
Coold
nes UGHT
C0020
LIGHT
twisted on the seven-foot quarter-pipe.
On vert, Hawk even landed a switch
540°. He got 2nd as Andy MacDonald
took 1st with his usual run-of-the-mill
tactics. Chet Thomas, disgusted with
Andy's street shove-its, put in a word or two.
Thanks, Chet. On vert, Danny Way went way high,
Frazier was on fire, Burnquist slid switch backside
tailslides, and Adil rode with style. The best part of
the vert contest was the ramp--a nice piece of
work, not ridden enough. On the street, the runs
went fast and furious. The high bar was Smithed by
Templeton and Hirata, tailslid by
Hawk and Howard, and grinded by
Senn. Chris was possibly riding the
strongest and had the crowd and
security at his heels (product toss is
a no-no at these media-hyped
events). Chris, don't have fun next
time, you're a professional athlete
in the eyes of non-skaters.
In these events, staying on
makes the win. So, the runs were
precise and conservative. My props
go out to: Bob in Providence, Mark
Selinger and his crew, street luge,
33