Red Bull Rampage On NBC Saturday

 I hope people see this and realize wow these guy and gals are doing this!................................... and ping pong is an Olympics sport-___- boy did we mess up on deciding Olympic events! hahaha

 don't forget the all important (curling)... Mountain bikers have shown their stuff to the world, and honestly, it deserves to be in the olympics.

 Amen brother the world needs to know who are! an what we do!

 ping pong is hard, gotta have skills!!

 Are you kidding haha?Have you seen Olympic ping pong? It's f*cking nuts!!

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SncapPrTusA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 Compare ping-pong to Mountain biking??? which one are you most likely to die from???

 i don't think the ping pong vs mtb argument is valid :p

 @ jakesession7, Ping-Pong, have you not seen Balls Of Fury?

 @rejean I'm going to give you that one! that was pretty good haha

 Mountain biking is already an Olympic sport... well, cross country anyway.

 Olympics are LAME! Freeride and DH is way too awesome to be subjected to the lameness of the IOC.

 Better not forget sumo. What's better than fat Asian dudes in g-strings trying to kill each other?

 Some one could spike the ball and the other guy chokes on it!

 This sport doesn't need the olympics to get more recognition. When has recognition from the mass public even mattered anyway with mountain biking? It seems to be progressing just fine right now with the riders that are truely passionate about what they do.

 ^^^^wise words

 cheers mph51

 I just wish they would show different sides of Mountain biking instead of always just picking the gnarliest, most insane form of biking to show to the world.
It's kind of sad that's what it takes for biking to become popular in the 'mainstream'.
..Hucking massive drops and hitting huge gaps. Whips bro. A bunch of Monster/Redbull sponsorship shots here and there. Energy drinks..
Obviously it's more than that to us, but to people who know nothing or very little about the sport, they may get the wrong idea.
I may be alone with this, but I feel like it's misrepresenting MTBing a little.

 it may misrepresent mtb but it represents freeride really good

 Now i wouldnt call that privelaged jocks... they had to work to get where they are today... called athletes

 I agree with mtbrider02. If you think about it when people watch this they may go online and watch other freeride/downhill vids and get hooked on the sport. So dont say all these guys are jocks and misrepresenting the sport.

 What happened to Anthony Messerie during this event?

 @querhoch It stills takes years of practice and training to get to this level of riding. You are not just going to do a bit of trail riding then go flying across 80ft gap jumps. There is quite a lot of technique involved in this that should get a lot more recognition.

 I was bummed Zink wasn't able to compete this year.. But, so relieved he was okay after that gnarly canyon jump crash, that was brutal!!

 You tell em Protour...

 I don't think it really changes my opinion on biking one bit

 NBC is airing the two biggest freeride contests this season (Joyride & Rampage) as part of the signature series. I don't know if I'd call this "mainstream" exactly. I mean just being shown on NBC as part of this signature series doesn't exactly scream mainstream. Think of the other events that are part of it. Redbull X-Fighters, the US Wakeboard Open, Crashed Ice, and endurance race, off road racing events etc.

These type of events aren't exactly mainstream, just because NBC showed them once on a Saturday afternoon.

 ^^^ Agreed, its just more coverage than biking has previously received, and that is new.

 @xwason: the way I see it, the more riders, the better! more exposure means more people buying bikes, more people in bike shops, more people realizing they need more trails, more people digging and donating to their local clubs, more people needing more gear, more bike parks in cities, more ski areas becoming bike parks... see what i mean?

 ^ that was the most moronic comment I have ever seen on this site... hahaha wow.

 I definitely understand what araines is saying. This event portrays what maybe 1% of us on here could do. Whether that's your style or not is going to make you love seeing this on tv or possibly not. However I think its much worse to put roadies on bikes and call it Olympic xc on a dirt road coarse and tell the public that's what we're all about, i'd definitely rather the public have this in mind when they think about mountain biking....this is the epitome of BIG MOUNTAIN!

 If someone asks you what's the biggest jump you've hit and you don't have an answer that is impressive, what are you waiting for? If your answer is less than 30 feet from lip to landing, then you haven't truly lived.

Redbull Rampage is the perfect event to air on TV. Showing an enduro event would surely turn the mainstream off to mountain biking. Only big events like Joyride or Rampage will captivate a mainstream audience.

 I dont care about enduro. Downhill and freeride is where its at! Haha

 I could do without Sal whatever and his signature "cool guy Xtreme-sports poser" talk... Aside from Rob, I haven never seen the purpose of announcers, it's just a trainwreck 99.99% of the time.

 he's not a poser. he's just an enthusiast of action sports and a damn good sports commentator. if he really was all that terrible he probably wouldnt be doing this shit for over 12 years now.

 HAHAHAHAHA Seriously???? ...the reason he's been doing this so long is IMAGE and marketing and that's IT... Its not because he's some brilliant comentator (that's a fucing oxymoron if I ever heard one) it's beacuse he looks the part... I'd prefer have say Wade Simmons or even Bender commentating and other pro's relevant to X/Y sport instead of one universal dumbf*ck like Sal who's just a figure head for the TV industry. It's an image, plan and simple, he's trying to sell people on a "style". Pull your f*cking head out kid...

 ^ Why do you guys care so much? In skiing we have Uncle E, at LEAST Sal is better than that piece of turd. And the reason he's been doing it for so long is because he's well spoken, has been around forever and from every single person that has met him says he's the nicest/chillest dude. Plus Sal was assigned to do the whole signature series and has massive respect for our sport so deal with it. Who cares... the Rampage was on national TV. I thought that would never happen... so be happy you lil bastards! It could be a lot worse, haha.

 How can people even argue that mountain biking is being "misrepresented". It's always the biggest and the best that gets coverage in every aspect of the media it has nothing to do with representing the sport how an enthusiast sees it. Is pro soccer misrepresented because it doesn't represent the majority who play for fun? In fact, rampage shows trail building and creativity (a major part of many riders lives regardless of discipline) as well as progression (Who doesn't remember taking off the training wheels for the first time?). You think majority of kids ask their parents for snowboards because they saw DH slalom? No, it's because they watch Shaun White do front double cork 10s 20 feet in the air at the winter xgames. Ultimately, it's stated several times that this is "Freeride mountain biking" not Enduro, not XC. Maybe eventually other disciplines can hit mainstream tv but if you want more people to care about our sport showing them Enduro or some weekend warriors on a trail ride won't do it. How often do you see cross country skiing on tv? Now compare that to how often you see DH and park/Freeride. Why? It's more exciting to someone who doesn't do it. Ultimately, just because your introduced to mountain biking through redbull rampage it doesn't mean your gonna only know about Freeride. The goal should be to get people to notice mountain biking, get them in the door and make them excited. From there it doesn't take long until they become exposed to every other discipline (whether through an LBS,a friend, a local mountain bike club or even this website)

 The-Medic is another prime example of people getting worked up over stupid crap for nothing... The Rampage was just shown on national TV to an audience that is mostly compromised of people who have NO IDEA that this biking ever existed before which means something familiar is what will draw the people to the sport which means more ratings, more investing, more money into our sport. Why do you think Shaun White is talked about so much in promotions for the X-Games or the new Mtn. Dew event at Breck? It's because it attracts more people. It's pathetic how many of you get upset when our sport is being portrayed to a wide audience by someone who has probably never ridden a bike before but still has massive respect for the sport and does a pretty good job presenting it to a WAY wider audience than ever before. Anyone with common sense would agree that this little concession of who does the intro. and outro of the event in order to create more viewers is nothing but beneficial to the sport. Quit trying to be the angry local... it gets old quick. If that affects your view on mtbing then maybe you should stop riding because you're not doing it for the right reasons. By the way I find it hilarious that people get so worked up over Sal when his part in this whole broadcast was very small... haha, get over it.

 btw, love the term teeny bubble... that's just ahhhdorable.

 I'm just so hurt that some moron SLC Utah doesn't like what I said... You still didn't disprove ANY of what I said But it was cute how you tried to sound like you know what you're talking about. How does showing something liek this "bring more money into our sport", and where does that money go??? Do you think that somehow this is gonna drive the cost of bikes down, or ANYTHING that even remotely effects the individual rider??? No, sorry, it's not that kind of sport. The only people who made money off of this event are the winners and the broadcasting company who sold advertising air time...

 Are you drunk or something? I never said any of that, haha. Now I feel bad that I was talking down a retarded man-child...

 "...which means more ratings, more investing, more money into our sport" Direct quote... Also, we don't NEED a bunch of Gapers to discver" this kind of riding, nearly every person on the plannet knows about mountain biking, and they'll discover DH/FR in time... It's not like it's been hidden away in any respect.

The coverage was CRAP, and if yu dn't know that you;ve got your head wedged further up your ass then I thought. Sal is just an Icon for how f*cking LAME all these "bro brah" anouncers are... And talking about Shaun White... kinda proves my point there tyke He is an athlete relted to the sport, but he's the exception not the rule.

BTW using the term "Retard"... pretty bad form but what you expect from someone from the Land Of Joseph Smith.... How do you find helmets to fit you, you walking dick with ears... Sorry, but I've been riding longer then you've been alive . SOrry KID, but you're just out of your league here. Fair enough if you want to voice your oinions, but you sound like a f*cking idiot with all the BS you're spewing. Right now you're giving Protour a run for his money... yeah, its that bad.

 ^ Sorry but I'm not mormon and didn't grow up in Utah... again, the angry local thing is kinda played there... might want to give it a rest because all that anger really isn't healthy for you. Nice playing the I've been riding more than I've been alive card because as you've just shown, that's given you SO much wisdom about this sport.... hahaha, man you're a sad case. I guess winter drives everyone a little nuts.

 And sorry to burst your bubble but its kinda fact that when a sport gets more attention, that means more ratings which attracts more and larger sponsors/investors which in turn creates bigger prize purses for contests, more contests and bigger/higher paying sponsors for competitors and riders that film alike. Plus more people will buy mtb vids which results in people that film mtbing get more money. This has been evident in other sports such as surfing, skateboarding, moto... etc. I'm done, sorry everyone for entertaining this clown and clogging up your dashboards! haha

 Great... so Pro's get more cash prizes and what exactly does this do for the average rider??? Nothing, it just gives TV coverage a boost... which in turn doesn't do anything for the average rider... You simply don't have the intelect to carry on this coversaton so have fun on the short bus... f*cking bell-end.

 +1 for Sal

Knowing what you're talking about (Bender, Burdon, Kinrade) and being able to present that to people who have little exposure to Rampage are not always the same thing. Can you imagine where Apple would be if the Engineers created the ads? I think Sal has always done a good job representing action sports in mainstream media. Doesn't come off as an industry 'bro' and as a sports commentator doesn't conjur Bob Costas.

What I think it'll do for the average rider is create more riding opportunities. More coverage will get more people wanting to ride. More people wanting to ride will want more bikes. Those people wanting bikes will come from different financial backgrounds and the bike companies will (hopefully) offer a larger range of options. More people with bikes will find out there's few places to ride like Rampage. They'll (hopefully) want to change that and build trails and (hopefully) become the advocates of the future. Is it going to be automatic? absolutely not. Look at snowboarding. In the 90s it was this outlaw snowsport. Once ESPN took it mainstream it grew bigger and bigger. With the exception of a few clueless ski resorts, snowboarding is allowed everywhere. Also now, I can buy top of the line snowboards in the $900 range or I can buy boards in the $300 range. Brands have come and gone and new ones still come and go. The point is that there is opportunity because the masses want it.

Some people that saw Rampage on NBC will give Freeride a try. Then they will learn that there are different types of mountain biking. Their excitement for mountain biking will become infectious and they will want to introduce their friends/family. Those people may not be interested in freeride, but they like the idea of riding a bike and playing in the dirt. They may want to do DH/XC/Enduro/cyclocross. Maybe not that last one (i kid i kid).

 I'd rather watch world cup XC on tv...

 Cam got robbed even harder...

 I think NBC does a good job of presenting these things to the mainstream audience. I mean most of us here prefer to watch live and don't need all the fluff stuff like background on the event, or the riders, or the course overview etc because we follow the sport and know whats going on already. But to the mainstream audience they have to show that stuff.

 record it like I did. DVR from my phone. done deal

 that guys such a douche' From his manacured orchestrated "extreme hair-do" to his poser commentary about any given sport he's announcing... guys a f*cking joke IMO.

 k dude you already got your opinion out once. we get it. you dont like Sal, good for you

 suck it up butter-cup...

 That's still there regardless of if it's on TV or not. Mountain biking hasn't always been some obscure sport or anything. Just most people thought that it was a bunch of lycra-clad road bikers who ride around flat dirt roads. If anything, this just shows people there's more depth to the sport.

 I don't know what the judges were watching!

 ??

 personal video recorder

 That's a phrase I have never heard in america. We (not me personally) have DVR, Digital Video Recorder. I guess there still is VHS recording too. I love all these small branding differences from country to country.

 What if we get to watch it at work?

 What if I am from Spain?

 What if I'm riding MTB instead?

 They put the Joyride one (and a lot other Signature Series shows) on Red Bull's YouTube channel shortly thereafter, so us unlucky ones to watch it live will probably get it there soon

 The Joyride Signature Series show was on Red Bull's YouTube channel soon after, just wait for a couple of days, I think it'll be up there next week at some point.

 Four pm.

 Nope, try 12pm. At 4pm you will be watching CSI miami, super pissed at panzer103 for not understanding time zones!

 Noon

 Yeah, l was way off. my bad.