The FELD Entertainment people (the promotion group for FMX Freestyle Motocross) invited me to review the FMX Freestyle show at the Webster Arena last night. I'm a mom with two girls and a four year-old boy. I hadn't really considered taking the girls to the show, but figured we would make a family evening out of it.
FMX is performed with motocross bikes. The riders go up ramps placed 60 feet across. I have never been to a freestyle motocross event before, so walking into the Arena and seeing two-story tall ramps set up I already know this was going to be nothing like what I might have imagined.
A quick tutorial: I think we all know about the X-Games, where tricks are performed on ramps, half-pipes, and quarter pipes using skateboards and BMX bikes. The goals are getting air and using that airtime to do crazy things, I mean, tricks.
The FMX show also had BMX riders. With the right speed, the BMX riders launched themselves off the ramps and then pushed their bikes out to the side and then recovered in the short span of time they were aloft to have graceful landings. They even spun the bikes under them in a 360. FMX came about because of BMX riders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykmEuhfGTwI
FMX is set up as a competition. The first round has 60 second runs and the top four riders from that round compete in the final round with 80 second runs. After each run the rider heads over to the announcer for an interview where they talk about their run and the TVs in the arena show their tricks again so you can see the one they are commenting on.
They encourage the audience to really get into the show and cheer to suppor the riders. There are a few shirts that get tossed into the crowd. There is even a section where the audience gets to cheer to pick a winner.
It is a jaw-dropping spectacle. I was excited not just for the technical skill and training that the riders showed, but also because, as a mom, I was half-afraid they might not make the landing. No worries! These guys know what they are doing and while that 60 foot separation is long, it also gives these experienced riders time (you know, if you consider bare seconds a lot of time) to complete their tricks.
While I studied physics in college and can give you the equation for acceleration and graph the curve of a falling body, these riders, the BMX absolutely included, have an innate understanding of motion and gravity. They seemed to hang in midair. At some point, with the Superman trick, really flying through the air with one or no hands on the bike which launched them.
Watch for these tricks:
- Lazy Boy: rider lays back and puts his feet forward
- Tail Whips: Pushing the bike rear wheel out to the side
- Barhopping: the rider lifts his feet over the handlebars.
- Seat grabs: rider lifts off of the bike, lays flat in the air, then pulls himself back on using either one-hand or two.
- The Captain Morgan is self-explanatory.
- Heel clicks: touching the feet together over the bike
- Kiss of Death: Lifting up over the bike while holding onto the handles. Like doing a handstand on the bike while it is flying through the air.
- Backflips where the bike flips complete around! This trick is only 10 years old.
- Backflips while incorporating other tricks? Really!
Would I recommend going?
Yes. It is amazing. I enjoyed it even more because I had absolutely no idea what people could do with a motocross bike. Check out this video of the kids while we were watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZhIPW8q0Ak
Yep--my 12 year-old girl enjoyed it. I think my 10 year-old girl enjoyed it even more. She was very enthusiastic. The four year-old hugged and kissed my arm (which I did take a picture of, but it's blurry) and told me he loved me. I can't really say much more than that. My husband was more reserved recommending it for fans and 6-10 year old boys. He's also more of classical music and chess kind of guy.
I can't really say much more, so I will let this following clip speak for itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h43f8pWxEsA
Now the tips for Parents:
For souvenirs you can buy checkered flags for $5 (again, a good price for a show) which you can then have the riders sign after the event to turn it into a great keepsake. We bought some though my 4 year-old was too tired by the end of the night to stay to have his signed, much to my 10 year-old daughter's distress. They also have 4" tall toy that is a rider on a motocross bike.
It is a long show! Which is great becausee you get your money's worth. It clocked in at just about two hours. There is an intermission so you can have time to stretch your legs and buy some more snacks and such for the second half.
There is a lot of food available, including beer for the adults. The vendors walk up and down the seats with ice cream sandwiches, Cracker Jacks, and cotton candy. The prices were pretty reasonable for an event venue. They stop selling food in the arena after intermission, so if you were waiting, don't.
It is LOUD! Not the bikes so much, but the music and announcer, and the screaming fans. Really--it wasn't me. Oh wait. Yea, it was. My 12 year-old accused me of deliberately trying to embarrass her with my loud screaming. If your kids are sensitive to noise, make sure you have earplugs or other noise safety equipment.
The seats: the Webster Arena is of a size that all seats will give you a good view. I would recommend, if you can, to try to get seats in the first level where the riders tricks are performed at a level just above your head. Becuase the riders do perform their tricks high in the air, the second level has better views than normal.
