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A SEASON IN SUSPENSION mm If you believe the television commercials, you will think it's a spectacle lor disaster- video junkies. When you hear the announcer, you will think you bought a WCW Thursday Night Nitro ticket by mistake. But the hype ends there. Once the gate drops. Supercross evi dences Itsell as a serious sport peopled by serious athletes. Indeed, because of Its youthful gravity-taunting leaps and its dis play of strength disciplined by grace. It has been called "ballet on wheels" (though I like to think of It more as flamenco on wheels due to Its more earthy storyline). Supercross defies tight analogies; it is reckless abandon, squaring-off round comers, fluidity in the air, It Is a phenomenon where braking saves more time than accelerating, where suspen sion exists to keep things on the ground, and where dropping into a rut can often be the fastest way around. Supercross is a. childlike as wanting to fly, as adolescent as I'ving. and as adult as picking your landing spo* with a strong view towards the future. It furrows the earth and sounds like a swarm of locusts. It begins with the blur and flurry of a mass drag race, yet ends with the lone winner In graceful arc across the finish-line jump And, in what is surely evidence of human adaptability on a molecular level, two-stroke engine exhaust begins to smell as sweet as baking bread HISTORY In the early 1960s. European motocross stars came over to America to Introduce their sport to dusty, eager kids weaned on FlatTrack racing and playriding Saintly as promotional ambassadors, the Europeans were savage on the track, regularly trouncing our nation's best foundlings. But the young Americans latched onto motocross; they were enthralled with the Europeans and their tough and stylish riding style. The riders and motorcycles (CZ, Malco, KTM. Montesa. Bultaco. etc.) were pure exotica, but the com mon currency was dirt, and motocross cap tured a solid foothold. The Americans soon proved to be fast learners with some ideas of their own. A promoter named Mike Goodwin (l wouldn't make that up) hit upon how to gain even more of an audience — bring motocross to the people. So. In 1972, the Los Angeles Coliseum hosted the grandfather of Supercross, the “Superbowl of Motocross " In the years to come, the event’s name col lapsed to read simply. “Supercross. ’ but the single race exploded to become a 15-racc series held in stadiums In all four of America's corners. On Feb 22, the Georgia Dome hosted Round 6 of the 1997 Supercross Series. THETRACK Obviously there are no pre-existing jumps, trees or sandbeds on a flat concrete stadium floor, so the track designers haul in tons-upon-tons of dirt and pile It up in pat terns designed specifically to impede a rider from going as fast as he wants. The set of obstacles resembling a distorted washboard is called “Whoop-Dee-Doo s " A funny name, but the "whoops" are the site of the most anxious and improvisitory riding on the track. "Tabletops" are plateau-like jumps that, after the initial face of the jump, stretch for a length before resolving into the down slope “Doubles" and "Triples" are those suc cession of jumps that faster riders can clear with one leap The start is an obstacle as well. It consists of lining up 20 riders side by side, and after a high-speed straightaway, tunneling the whole field into a slow turn capable of handling — with handlebar-tangling — only three riders abreast. It Is the most nerve-wracking moment of the evening If you fall here, you lose. Once you pick yourself and your bike up. remount and ride off. you may as well chase the sunset, because the leaders are long gone. Regardless of the impression given by the television commercials, this sport is not roller-derby. A fall costs positions, points and. ultimately, money The sport's drama is in riding as fast as you can without losing control, in an environment designed to make you lose control. (Sounds like my day Job ) There is one more obstacle that no track design purposely includes, but by mid-race affects the entire course ruts. Knobbed tires, spinning furiously on loose soil, create ruts. If you’ve ever had the front tire of your bicycle fall into a rut. or off the lip of the sidewalk, you understand how adversely ruts affect your balance. You probably have the knee scars to remind you. THE RIDERS If in evaluating the present we sometimes misidentify windmills as giants, in motocross there is little, if any. doubt that we are in the CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE you place a classified in our regular weekly printed edition,your ad is now included in Flagpole world Wide web site for FREE! http://www.flagpole.com sfm, im Athens' most unique sports equipment store £ ^ Golf clubs, bags, accessories ♦ * £ -c ' Exercise, weight equipment Softball, baseball equipment ' Roilerblades & Street hockey We Rent Roilerblades! We Buy & Sell Used & New Sports Eq ,iquipment Atlanta Hwy. (^ust Past the Mall) 360*3477 • Mon-Sat 10-6 Sun 1*5