Andy MacDonald Talks ESPN Out of Dropping Skate Vert From X Games
Was ESPN close to dropping the halfpipe skate competition from this year’s X Games? Apparently they were. And apparently we have Andy MacDonald to thank (or blame) for keeping the vert contest alive. From the back pages (read: ghetto) of ESPN the Magazine:
On April 3, ESPN announced it would drop skate and BMX vert from summer X. A week later, both were back in. Why the 180? The organizers listened when athletes protested. “The decision didn’t sit right with us,” says skateboarder Andy MacDonald. “The vert ramp is where Tony Hawk landed the 900, where Mat Hoffman landed the no-handed 900. They were going to cancel the best thing about the X Games, so we told them it wasn’t OK.”
I’ll be honest, I’ve completely come around on vert skating and I love watching it now. I guess you can blame that on skate coverage being oversaturated with the tech-street stuff. But that said, I could give a rat’s bone about whether this contest takes place at the X Games. The only way I’d watch is if you could promise me that Danny Way, Colin McKay, Rune Glifberg and Darren Navarette were going toe-to-toe. Then I’d tune in. (For anyone that feels differently, you can find the complete 2008 X Games schedule here.)
(Photo tailtap: el flipo)