Has Snowboarding “Sold Out?” Who Cares!
I am alternately amused and appalled by one hardy perennial: the anxiety over whether snowboarding has “lost its soul” through “going mainstream.” This was most famously evident in the 1996 Olympics, when “the snowboarding community” did not know if it should rejoice or reject the invitation to enter.
I believe that you see a similar phenomenon at work in skateboarding. (I recall reading something about this in the August or September issue of TW Skateboarding.) And in the 1960s, you probably (I was too young to notice) had surfers lamenting that the Beach Boys were, by promoting surfing in a superficial way, destroying the sport, the life, the universe and everything.
Whether you see riding as a fun diversion from life or something approaching a religion, what other people think of it–and whether or not it is used to sell cars and trucks, telephone service, or denture cleaner–shouldn’t matter. Enjoy it for what you get out of it, not how it is popularly defined.
November 5, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
Amen!
I have friends that haven’t yet realized that snowboarding has been an Olympic event yet! Goodness! And the Olympics has promoted the sport much more than I ever could! Other friends watched the Olympics (at my gentle urging) and thought what Shawn White was doing was what I could do! How funny! And while it is a close to a very deep religious experience for me, anyone who has the courage to get on a snowboard and link turns has my respect. It’s a sport, requires great athleticism and focus to be good, and until you’ve tried it, don’t diss it!