brendan Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 I tend to agree considerably with what some are saying that trials does not fit the general American mindset and culture, motorsports wise. I don't see how trials will ever become much more popular than it is now. I believe one of the main reasons for lackluster appeal to the general public, is the bikes themselves. When a person sees one, that is the first thing to start the criticism and lampooning. Three of us here in town just bought trials bikes recently, but not really for any of the reasons anyone is citing for lack of popularity. Initially, I joked with them that we probably boosted the US trials population by 10%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsaqam Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 I still think all the stars are beginning to align to allow trials to grow spectacularly in the US. I think MX is near its zenith due to the circumstances I've posted previously, ie land, noise, expense, and insurance. Trials trumps MX on all of these counts. Americans also don't need to be thrilled every minute for a sport to be a success. Witness poker, golf, NASCAR, and the TdF. That said, I think trials at the WTC level IS thrilling. I've never seen a local trials event so my point of reference is the WTC. This last fact may have given me an inflated estimation of the fan appeal of this sport. If, in fact, trials at anything below the WTC level has limited fan appeal then there may not be the potential for growth that I envision. This then supports my belief that our National Pros need to raise their game to the WTC level. I also completely understand the sentiment many may have that they enjoy the tight, familial atmosphere that trials has in the US and they don't want that to change. Rapid growth would bring change, both desirable and undesirable, to the sport. The trials community needs to examine whether the risks of growth outweigh the rewards. If the community decides on a growth strategy and implements a plan to bring that about then the inevitable result will be that some people are unhappy and some are happy but it may be that some of the hard working people who've invested so much time, money, and energy for so long may get rewarded beyond the personal satisfaction level they've done it for up to now. Either way, my family and I will surely enjoy this cool sport for a long time to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsaqam Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Brendan, people liked my daughters GG TXT50 so much they stole it from me! When I was hauling my very nice KTM 250Exc around I had a few folks who asked about it or gave the thumbs up but when I haul my GG TXT321 I get twice as many questions and thumbs up. Once again this may be due to Duluth having hosted 3 WTC events recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 (edited) I wish that where the case nsagam but,national attendance is down, our local trials attendance is down.Our club decided to fix it by raising entry fees ,that should work great I took a newbie out this weekend and he broke the fender on my old bike in the first 10 min.& had a few other good crashes.He owns a gym and he got me back for it last night in my work out...I can't hardly walk today I do agree though when I go to a local bike shop with my bike in the back I always draw a crowd Edited April 14, 2006 by sirhc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsaqam Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Chris, I will be attending some local trials this year and I hope they're not as boring as all you guys say! I've only seen the WTC and it was thrilling, all four rounds! We had crappy weather at least 3 of the days and the parking lot was full. On the nice day I saw folks that I knew had never seen any motorcycle race in their live spectating and screaming. Is trials really that boring to watch at any level below the WTC? That sucks! All the more reason to get the US to the WTC level I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 They are not boring!Not if you are riding!They are also not boring if you watch what everybody is doing with there body to do diffrent stuff.There just not big & spetacular like a world round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsaqam Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 I guess that's my point, to get the growth I'd like to see you need to be seeing riders at the WTC level. The WTC events have enough raw excitement to pull outsiders whereas anything less primarily interests those already interested in trials. I am surely not putting down anyone who rides any event by saying what they do is easy. I'm certain any 7 year old with a year of experience would smoke my old a**! That is until they hauled me to the hospital! I'm still gonna try it though by god! I have to get off my "I wish it would grow thing" and get into a "I wish I could ride thing"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Ya, you got to ride thats where the real joy comes from"until you see your kids joy from it"You will also get alot of frustration of why did I do that or why can't I do that. I think a new person would think it was just as cool watching Geoff Aaron as a World contender though,if they never saw them togther and if our guys went to europe we wouldn't see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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