Andrea's Angle: A1 Press Day
January 06, 2024
Hi folks, welcome back to Andrea’s Angle, my little column that will be coming to you weekly, bringing you the perspective of a newbie to Supercross.
Just had my first press day yesterday and I already feel like an absolute outsider here! Not that that’s anyone’s specific doing - everyone seems friendly. I’ve learned that Supercross is a close-knit sport - a lot of the media personnel seem to have long-standing relationships with the riders / teams.
Press Conference Notes
- Love that they’re adding a broadcast in Spanish - that should increase the popularity of the sport given how much of a wider base they’re opening the coverage up to. Time will tell if it catches on.
- Hunter Lawrence brought up the fact that it’s not easy to have friendships in the sport because many riders are “emotionally invested” in the racing, and the fact that they’re all competitors “creates friction”. He said that it takes a “very level and smart person” to separate on-track and off-track. That left me wondering… who out of those 15 riders can’t separate the two? And do friendships have race implications between some riders? Would they hesitate to take someone out if they were friends with them?
- One of the funniest parts of the interview for me was the last question to the “three long-haired guys in the back... about the importance of personality” in the sport. I understand the premise - professional sports can reduce individuals to their job (especially in team sports). However, I found the wording to be odd - we’re all human beings and we all have individual personalities. The only true difference is how visibly and loudly you wear that uniqueness - more-so a “big personality” rather than “unique”. I just wonder how the folks who are really heads down and focused like Tomac and Webb felt about all of that. Having a big personality may get you fan attention, but it doesn’t win you championships.
- Jorge Prado got a lot of media time, seemed like a kind, down to earth person who’s excited to race Supercross for the first time!
- Christian Craig seemed to be feeling left out in the back, and I don’t blame him! Lots of guys up there and he was the last one to get a question. He says “the underdog story suits him at this point”, and I tend to agree, but everyone loves to root for an underdog! He's also wearing a unitard.
- With the exception of one or two folks, no one was really asking “tough” questions, especially about interpersonal relationships. I liked the question to Eli Tomac on how he sees Jett and Chase as competitors going into the season, and how they are different in his eyes. Unsurprisingly, he gave a mostly non-answer (both fast and good competitors, they just differ in experience levels). I’m very interested to see if questions will be asked about rider relations after the first race if anything goes down, and how the riders will respond to that.
Overheard
Something that brought me a little chuckle during the day was a conversation I overheard on the sidelines. Someone was talking about pro-moto politicians - “we need to focus on voting pro-moto candidates into local, state, and federal office”. I didn’t realize there were pro, or for that matter, anti-moto politicians! I kinda understand the basis of this person’s grievances - the desire to lower emissions may someday come for dirt bikes (because of, ahem, climate change, not to mention the affects on people’s health). And they are up in arms about this perceived threat. Emphasis on perceived. I just think we can take a deep breath and hold our horses - I strongly doubt most politicians have even heard of Motocross. But I guess the fear makes sense for people who actually believe a Washington State resident will receive jail time for mowing their lawn with a gas powered mower. But that’s just one girl’s opinion!
Overall, super excited for the race tonight and to kick off the 2024 season! Only thing I’m super bummed about are the changes to PulpMX fantasy this year - I can’t play since some of the race locations are georestricted. It kept me very invested in the season, and I hope they bring it back for free in the future!
See you folks on the other side of A1,
Andrea
