Superbike Racing in the U.S.
I have to say, Superbike racing is the coolest sport on the planet. You may have thought it was something else… but if you did, you were wrong. It’s better than all of them. Period. It’s way more exciting, thrilling and some of those factory rides are more beautiful than most race cars… although maybe F1 has them a little beat in that department. It’s also much more elegant and beautiful and stylistic because in no other form of racing will you watch something go from completely leaned over and practically parallel with the ground on one side… and within a second or two, be on the opposite side. The elegance and grace of maneuvering a superbike on the track at those speeds still makes my jaw drop every time I see it.
The fact that it’s considered by most people in this country as an “extreme sport” almost pisses me off because to the rest of the world, it’s one of the most popular spectator sports on the planet.
So why is it treated like a red headed stepchild? I have my theories… most of you have heard them… but the short story is that motorcycle racing is to blame. I have a somewhat unique perspective on this because I’m really not on the “inside” of racing. I don’t know enough about it to be biased by it… what I can tell you is that from the outside there is a major feeling of exclusivity and what I mean by that, is motorcycle racing doesn’t feel open and inviting. In this country, I would be big money that most of the current fans are friends and family and friends and family of friends and family. I seriously doubt you are going to find any serious superbike racing fans that aren’t connected by some close degree of separation to someone in the superbike racing industry.
The bottom line is if you got the fans, the industry gets the money and you get more racing… there’s more excitement and the whole thing becomes much more entertaining. Of course there are trade-offs… maybe it becomes a little more kitsch like NASCAR… but that’s the price you pay for success and fame. Of course it also takes an approach with a vision that is based on class and honor.
Maybe motorcycle racing doesn’t want that kind of attention. I ask myself that question all the time. At one point I seriously considered trying to pitch some aggressive marketing ideas I had to the AFM… but I started to get the feeling… and it was more indirectly than anything anyone said… that US superbike racing likes being exclusive… likes being on the outside… I mean, lets face it… the motorcycle culture in this country has a very dominant anti-social aspect to it… maybe this is the symptom of that.
I’m not going to turn this into an “I have a dream…” speech, but I personally think it would be amazing to see the stands filled with motorcycle racing fans wearing their favorite rider’s t-shirt, hat, penant, whatever cheering them on. The racers deserve it as much, if not more than anyone racing around in a cage on 4 wheels.
Just some more perspective and opinion. One thing American Superbike needs in my opinion is for the sport to be more personalized.
I remember watching Kenny Roberts and those guys on “Wide World of Sports”, on ABC. Maybe that’s why it was more popular then, because main stream networks like ABC showed them on regular television.
Also, I remember on those braodcasts they always gave you a backgraound story of the main racers which was nice and kinda gave you reasons to chear for them or against them.
Recently the AMA had their Superbike races at Infinion, or as we locals like to call it, “Sears Point”. It was great to see local newspapers like the Press Democrat in Sonoma County running multiple stories about the races and about the racers. It made it more personal knowing something about the racers, their careers, their personal achievments and even their families. It made it much more interesting to me and gave me more reasons to cheer for one guy or another. I do wish more news was devoted to the races before the race weekend versus after the race weekend though.
The Monday after the AMA races came and went from Sears Point there was a big , “Featured Article”, on Mat Mladin. It was headlined on the front page and was the main item on the Sports Page. There was also another smaller article on the whole race weekend, maybe two, I can’t remember right now. It would have been nice and beneficial to the race attendance I think if the same articles or similar ones would have come out before and after the races.
The article described Mladins career from the early 90’s up until now. It gave insight into Mladin and his career and life and even touched on his family. It talked of his last three seasons battling Spies and the nay sayers that spoke of his apparent demise with age since he didn’t win on Saturday only to school the field on Sunday. The writer also spoke of his 8 wins out of 9 record this year and how absurd it was of people to write Mladin off becasuse of one sub par race. This writer was well informed and I enjoyed his article very much.
I also enjoyed the other article or two about the race weekend and the spotlight on Ben Bostrom. I thought the Press Democrat staff did an excellent job covering the races and seemed very well informed.
I don’t think they, the press, sell the racers short at all. I believe they look at their skills in awe and admire their courage and skill very much. I think they definately see them as very brave athletes in a sport that simply takes a back seat in this country to Football, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Golf, Tennis, Nascar, UFC, Wrestling, Monster Trucks and motorcross ironically. (And etc…)
Motorcycle Roadracing is gonna have to work hard to get into the mainstream and it’s gonna take huge effort, money and commitment. Just ask Dana White who runs the UFC. It’s taken a huge financial effort and commitment to get that sport into the mainstream but they did it and it’s getting bigger and bigger. They rolled the dice and it’s paid off.
The AMA needs the same effort.