Los Angeles – They call it the “birthplace of action sports.” And not just to be funny. They actually believe it.
To put it in perspective, they also call it the “City of Angels.” Yes, we’re talking about the city O.J. Simpson, Courtney Love and the Mansons – Charles and Marilyn – have called home. There really is one born every minute.
As nicknames go, I prefer “Tinseltown” as a more accurate portrayal of this Southern California city. It’s far more appropriate to the prevailing smoke-and-mirror mentality, the “image” that the entertainment capital of the world has built its reputation upon. Keep in mind it’s a television network that awarded the town its latest title.
ESPN moved the summer version of its made-for-TV action sports extravaganza, the X Games, to Los Angeles three years ago, recently deciding to keep the event in L.A. through 2009. “It’s the birthplace of action sports,” the company mouthpieces chant like carnies on the Midway. Step right up.
Seriously, though, the birthplace of action sports? The birthplace of action movies is more like it. When it comes to sports, L.A. isn’t even the birthplace of the Lakers. Or the Dodgers, for that matter. More than anything, it’s a good place to put on a show, not to mention the nation’s second-largest television market. Beyond that, I’m not buying what they’re selling.
When it comes to L.A., I like to think of it as “paved.” A veritable urban ocean, with mile upon mile of blacktop leading right up to the sea at a beach appropriately named Manhattan. Merely finding a place for the dog to do its business is an extreme sport in its own right.
The true action sport here is driving, although even that is a bit more like baseball: short spurts of action followed by indefinitely long pauses, people-watching and, if you’re smart, maybe a cold drink and a hot dog. Just when you’re about to nod off, the bases clear and there’s a mad dash for home. Or, if you are at the X Games, the Home Depot Center.
I suppose it ultimately comes down to the definition of “action sports.” Although I’m not entirely certain of its origin, the term itself smacks of X Games marketing. Remember, they were originally known as the Extreme Games when ESPN began the series 11 years ago. But to call riding a skateboard “extreme” these days is a lot like saying there’s no “action” in ice hockey. (OK, bad example, but you know what I mean.)
If it’s merely a matter of semantics, then sure, maybe Los Angeles is the birthplace of action sports, or should at least be held responsible for inventing the label. But if we’re just talking about skateboarding, let’s call it skateboarding and change the title to “asphalt sports.”
The way I see it, skateboarding is the only actual sport L.A. can take credit for, basically by adding wheels to a traditional water sport so the locals could surf all those streets between traffic jams. Contrary to popular opinion, real surfing was not invented in L.A., and neither were the other X Games sports of wakeboarding, BMX cycling and motocross. They just happen to be pretty popular with a metropolitan population pushing 10 million, and after dismissing sports such as sky surfing, street luge and bungee jumping from the original package, ESPN seems to have found a mix that works for the masses.
The logical question then is what action sports have become, and to a degree, where are they going. Coming from the era when such sports still were considered “extreme,” the evolution is somewhat striking. No longer do X Games athletes risk death as much as they promote an image, not to mention an entire industry that’s red hot right now. Image being what it is in Tinseltown, well, then I suppose we should let them continue to think they hold the patent on action.
Meanwhile, we still will be doing our old “extreme” thing in Colorado, whether it’s hiking up mountains or riding bikes down, running rapids on the river or 100 miles on foot.
Birthplace? Who cares? You don’t need an image when you’ve got authenticity. And no matter where the sports were born, they’re at home right here.
Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-820-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
