FearDaDuncaN_SA
01-10-2009, 04:44 AM
I've never been and I was wondering if any of you have?
Thoughts?
I mean, after reading this blog, I dont know if I should go. (Person wento to Monster Jam in some other state.)
San Antonio= Jan 10th and 11th
Who’s ready for some Monster Jam?
Um, yeah, apparently not me.
Saturday night I went to the US Bank Arena to take in the event. Something new for the new year and all. Monster Jam features big trucks with really big wheels racing one another and popping wheelies while running over and crushing old junker cars.
Now, part of the reason I wanted to attend Monster Jam is because I have something of a penchant for, shall we say, redneck sports. Bullriding, BMX freestyle (actually, almost anything freestyle), watercross, motorcross … I sincerely like all that stuff. It’s fun; it’s different; it’s weird. So I figured Monster Jam would fit comfortably in with those other sports. I expected the evening ahead would be supersized fun with more than a little Americana patriotism thrown in for good measure.
As I waited in line for my tickets, I began to sense that the crowd would be a little different than I originally expected. The place was swarming with young parents and their broods, dominated mostly by boys in the 4 – 8- year-old range. Some wore Boy Scout uniforms (is there a monster truck badge available?), some were acting out scenes from Star Wars (one very popular piece of merchandise for sale at the venue was a sparkly light up light saber – what light sabers have to do with monster trucks I am not certain), some were giddy with anticipation and some were already throwing tantrums.
Inside the arena was a madhouse – I’ve never seen that venue this full, so kudos to the promoters. I checked out the audience. In addition to the kiddie contingency, I noted lots of father-son bonding and more than a few Bengals fans (hey, they need something to cheer for, right?). Following a fairly tepid salute to our nation’s veterans and an uninspired rendition of the national anthem, it was right to the action.
A group of six trucks competed in the wheelie competition. Apparently fans know and root for trucks more than for the drivers and today’s competitors included: Bat Man, Donkey Kong, Brutus, Avenger (driven by a guy who goes by the name Mr. Excitement), Monster Mutt Dalmatian (the only truck driven by a woman, Candice Jolly), and the Grave Digger, the event headliner and obvious fan favorite.
In the wheelie competition, the big trucks with very big wheels drive very fast over a ramp and over old cars, frequently becoming air-born or at least lifting the front tires up off the ground. Kind of all looked the same to me, and after all the trucks had completed their wheelies, the winner was … Grave Digger.
There was a lag, a long, very long lag before any more competition was to be seen, and the announcers spent that time hanging out in the center of the track talking about launch, landing and how the condition of the track affected competition. Umm, hello? The track is a bunch of dirt you dropped into the center of a covered stadium. It’s protected from the elements and seems fairly benign. I’ve figured out by now that I’m not the target audience, but I don’t think the four – eight set cares about the condition of the so-called track either. Of course the ubiquitous T-shirt cannon made an appearance, and prizes were promised for the “wild and craziest fan” of Monster Jam.
Needless to say, I was not a winner. Sigh.
Also during this time, vendors hawked skies full of cotton candy and mountain ranges of sno cones. To five- year-olds. At 9 p.m. And the announcers hawked merchandise, from T-shirts to posters to programs and mysterious unnamed very special items too special to mention by name – go, now, run out and consume, they seemed to say. Although the ear protectors that looked like earmuffs with monster truck wheels on them were super cute. Unfortunately, I purchased standard issue earplugs for $1 from a vendor outside.
Head to head racing followed and after five very brief heats in which it was really hard to figure out who the winner was, Grave Digger was declared the winner. Surprise, surprise. I was beginning to get a WWE feeling here.
After another (no kidding) 25 minutes of banter with no monster truck action, intermission was called. Go buy merchandise! Now! I really felt the whole event was held to sell merchandise.
And I was bored to tears. I can’t imagine kids were fairing much better.
Despite the promise of a BMX freestyle exhibit sometime after the intermission, I decided to bail. I had a better plan for catching speed and excitement.
I stopped at Blockbuster and rented Death Race.
Thoughts?
I mean, after reading this blog, I dont know if I should go. (Person wento to Monster Jam in some other state.)
San Antonio= Jan 10th and 11th
Who’s ready for some Monster Jam?
Um, yeah, apparently not me.
Saturday night I went to the US Bank Arena to take in the event. Something new for the new year and all. Monster Jam features big trucks with really big wheels racing one another and popping wheelies while running over and crushing old junker cars.
Now, part of the reason I wanted to attend Monster Jam is because I have something of a penchant for, shall we say, redneck sports. Bullriding, BMX freestyle (actually, almost anything freestyle), watercross, motorcross … I sincerely like all that stuff. It’s fun; it’s different; it’s weird. So I figured Monster Jam would fit comfortably in with those other sports. I expected the evening ahead would be supersized fun with more than a little Americana patriotism thrown in for good measure.
As I waited in line for my tickets, I began to sense that the crowd would be a little different than I originally expected. The place was swarming with young parents and their broods, dominated mostly by boys in the 4 – 8- year-old range. Some wore Boy Scout uniforms (is there a monster truck badge available?), some were acting out scenes from Star Wars (one very popular piece of merchandise for sale at the venue was a sparkly light up light saber – what light sabers have to do with monster trucks I am not certain), some were giddy with anticipation and some were already throwing tantrums.
Inside the arena was a madhouse – I’ve never seen that venue this full, so kudos to the promoters. I checked out the audience. In addition to the kiddie contingency, I noted lots of father-son bonding and more than a few Bengals fans (hey, they need something to cheer for, right?). Following a fairly tepid salute to our nation’s veterans and an uninspired rendition of the national anthem, it was right to the action.
A group of six trucks competed in the wheelie competition. Apparently fans know and root for trucks more than for the drivers and today’s competitors included: Bat Man, Donkey Kong, Brutus, Avenger (driven by a guy who goes by the name Mr. Excitement), Monster Mutt Dalmatian (the only truck driven by a woman, Candice Jolly), and the Grave Digger, the event headliner and obvious fan favorite.
In the wheelie competition, the big trucks with very big wheels drive very fast over a ramp and over old cars, frequently becoming air-born or at least lifting the front tires up off the ground. Kind of all looked the same to me, and after all the trucks had completed their wheelies, the winner was … Grave Digger.
There was a lag, a long, very long lag before any more competition was to be seen, and the announcers spent that time hanging out in the center of the track talking about launch, landing and how the condition of the track affected competition. Umm, hello? The track is a bunch of dirt you dropped into the center of a covered stadium. It’s protected from the elements and seems fairly benign. I’ve figured out by now that I’m not the target audience, but I don’t think the four – eight set cares about the condition of the so-called track either. Of course the ubiquitous T-shirt cannon made an appearance, and prizes were promised for the “wild and craziest fan” of Monster Jam.
Needless to say, I was not a winner. Sigh.
Also during this time, vendors hawked skies full of cotton candy and mountain ranges of sno cones. To five- year-olds. At 9 p.m. And the announcers hawked merchandise, from T-shirts to posters to programs and mysterious unnamed very special items too special to mention by name – go, now, run out and consume, they seemed to say. Although the ear protectors that looked like earmuffs with monster truck wheels on them were super cute. Unfortunately, I purchased standard issue earplugs for $1 from a vendor outside.
Head to head racing followed and after five very brief heats in which it was really hard to figure out who the winner was, Grave Digger was declared the winner. Surprise, surprise. I was beginning to get a WWE feeling here.
After another (no kidding) 25 minutes of banter with no monster truck action, intermission was called. Go buy merchandise! Now! I really felt the whole event was held to sell merchandise.
And I was bored to tears. I can’t imagine kids were fairing much better.
Despite the promise of a BMX freestyle exhibit sometime after the intermission, I decided to bail. I had a better plan for catching speed and excitement.
I stopped at Blockbuster and rented Death Race.