The Anaheim opener of Monster Energy AMA Supercross was even louder than usual. Why are the fans connecting so well to this year’s field?
WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
Sometimes the positive comes from the negative. Anaheim’s packed house for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross opener wanted to get loud. Before opening ceremonies, the scoreboard flashed Ken Block’s photo on the screen. The building cheered hard for the rally car and action-sports hero, who had passed suddenly five days earlier. Respects were paid to JGRMX team owner Coy Gibbs, who passed in the off-season. Then the national anthem began, and the place was electric—until it wasn’t. The power cut out, the stadium went dark, and the noise went away. The crowd knew what to do. They started singing the anthem! Announcer Steven “Lurch” Scott picked up the slack, singing as well, until Eden Kontesz, that night’s anthem singer, got a new microphone. The fans sang, Lurch sang, and then Kontesz—who also sang the anthem at Anaheim 2 2020, at the age of eight (!)—closed with one of the best renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” ever heard at a supercross. That brief loss of power at Angel Stadium only energized the crowd, and they wouldn’t lose that juice again.
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