Monster Energy Super Cross
(A non-sports page review)
By Gary Murray
As a kid, I rode dirt-bikes. With my two brothers, we would go to the Highlands reservoir and leave giant ruts in the soft mud. But, as I got older and slower, the appeal of riding bikes just lost their zeal.
I had never been to a sanctioned professional race and had no idea what to expect. Cowboy Stadium was packed to the rafters of race fans, both young men and families. The dome was opened and the night air filled the cavernous space. The Monster Energy Super Cross is the premiere event of the season and this race was one of the last. The AMA sanction race is a qualifying point round for the major national showdown in Las Vegas in a few weeks.
Before the races, a group of young men were inducted into the armed forces of the United States and received a much earned standing ovation. After the National Anthem, the stadium became drenched in firework and explosion, with multicolored flames filling the indoor coliseum. This is a very patriotic display.
There were two qualifying heats and one last chance qualifier in both the Super Cross Heats and the Light Heats. For a novice like me, it was hard to keep track of all the action on the tracks. After a while, the racers spin across the jumps and turns more like irritated ants going around a Sunday picnic.
Once the huge amount of machines and men take off at the first turn, it becomes a challenge to catch all the action. Once the riders make that first turn, the pack starts to spread out and the action spreads almost round the entire serpentine track. It seemed that some of the audience was there for the race and others were just watching for the crashes. These young men seem to defy gravity as they take jumps that launch them stories into the air. One slight miscalculation on a turn can turn the leader of the pack to an also-ran. As these warriors of dirt and air force machines to do what seems like an impossible feat, the audience was enraptured by the quick turn of events.
There were eight total races that built to the big long race for the final. For those who follow the sporting aspects of Monster Energy Super Cross, the winner of the big event was rookie Trey Canard of Oklahoma, moving closer to gaining a point lead before the finals. It was a race where the lead changed, a split second from worst to first.
I readily admit that I know little about the entire motor cross sport so some of the intricacies of the even are lost on me. I feel that I’m probably not the only one in the crowd with little experience of the event. But for even those who don’t know a spark plug from a light socket, The Monster Energy Super Cross is one heck of an exciting evening of racing for anyone who enjoys the thrill of sport, no matter what venue.
