Rev-Up: 10 Years
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The Fox-sponsored event was supposed to be won by their soon-to-be-gone franchise rider, Jeremy McGrath. Instead it was almost won by one of their biggest heartbreak’s in Robbie Reynard, who ride a #21 RM250 with Answer riding gear.
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I remember the track left a ton to be desired. It was really sandy with absolutely no jumps to test the riders. But nobody cared. We were all a dozen Jack-and-cokes into it up in the lounge and too preoccupied with being cool and trying to figure out which girl to dance with after the race. Damon Huffman ended up making a couple of people rich by winning the overall with something like a 35:1 odds.
Next day I ended up arriving late to my gate at the airport, dead broke, wearing a lipstick-stained, night-before shirt (silver crushed velvet) and wearing shades with a slight twitch in my shoulder.
Ah, how things have changed. The circle bar at the Hard Rock used to be the mother of all hangouts. If you were looking for somebody all you had to do was catch a cab to the Hard Rock and make a few sight laps around the bar shaped like a circle. If they were in the motorcycle industry, they were there drinking this new concoction called a Red Bull and Vodka.
I think the industry was simply smaller back then. Smaller in a lot of ways, I suppose. Davey Coombs was doing ESPN commentary. James Stewart and Mike Alessi were in the 80cc intermission race, and if you had on a Fox t-shirt you really stood out. It was an incredible time to be 21 years old and watching supercross is Las Vegas. Eric Peronnard and Mike DiStefano—the guys who promoted the first race—changed the way a U.S. Supercross race is presented by bringing over the razzle-dazzle of Paris-Bercy. Now Live Nation has taken it all to a completely new level. Anyone who sees the fireworks and laser lights at Anaheim can tell you that!
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Speaking of the pro class, don’t forget that this year’s race will consist of 250F and 450cc machines.
But in all actuality, the main attraction is Chad Reed and James Stewart preparing to throw down. Maybe the ole MGM Grand Garden Arena will rock out like it did that glorious night ten years ago?
Thanks for reading, see you next week.