Hopefully you've all read Eric Iberg's thoughts on the Olympics by now. It raised some good points, and some very valid concerns. And maybe it's because I'm an undying optimist, but I just can't agree with the negative outlook that he's put forward.
I'll be the first one to say "Fuck FIS!" And seeing as how our sport was created as a means of moving away the organization and structure of freestyle skiing, it is incredibly Ironic that we've now come crawling back on our hands and knees. And yeah, it will suck for some of the athletes who don't win a gold and blow a bunch of money just for the love of the sport and the chance to represent our country, especially since they can't rep their sponsors while they're over there. It's even worse for the AM's who have to go back to a desk job afterwards just to make ends meet. But at the end of the day it's the same for every other sport in the Olympics that uses predominantly amateur talent.
Iberg raises a very good point that none of the major, or for that matter up and coming, ski companies will have a chance to get exposure because of rule 40, or whatever the hell they call it. But if you had asked me, when I first started watching the X-games, what companies Tanner and Dumont were repping when they had their epic halfpipe rivalries; I would have looked at you with a blank stare and said the first major brand that came to mind... "I dunno Burton?"
I didn't know the first thing about skiing in 2008, but watching Pete Olenick huck those doubles in the pipe definitely generated some interest. The point is that exposure garners interest. what was the first thing I did after the X-games that year? I went and Googled what shiny topsheets the pros were riding. they made it look so easy that I thought i could do whatever they were doing. It was only after I begged my parents for some new skis, quit hockey, and busted my ass on the first rail I hit that I realized how much work it actually took to be that good. By then I was hooked like a goddamn junkie.
I believe that in the end, the money still goes back into our sport. As long as we have a bunch of goofy wannabes that think they can be the next Bobby or Goepper after the Olympics, it's a win for the sport. And they'll be just as hooked as I've been for the better part of the last decade, dumping hundreds, or better yet thousands, of dollars into the industry every year. Whether it's on the latest ski flick from a small production crew you've never heard of before and aren't cool enough to know about, or whatever half grade shit Salomon puts on the shelves and calls ski equipment, it's still a win.
BOTTOM LINE: The Olympics are happening whether you like it or not. So rather than hate, let's sit back and keep an open mind. Who knows, maybe one of our athletes will become the next Shaun White, and maybe Armada might become the next Burton... Hopefully without all the shitty baggage that comes with being/sponsoring a huge douchebag.
