Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128161
Letters to the editor "Bare-chested freestyle MXers chasing Thumper and should be sent to Voices. Cycle News. other Disney characters through a burning forest..." PO. Box 5084. Costa Mesa. CA 926285084. faxed to Bad Taste Over and over a commercial is being shown on Speed Channel for EA Sports' new freestyle video game, and on this commercial they depict cute little forest animals being roosted and running for their lives from tattooed morons on dirt bikes wearing no shirts or helmets. Don't we have enough problems with environmental groups without the obvious stupidity of this? Rather than positively promoting riders and off-roading, apparently EA Sports is only about a quick buck. Big surprise! LeWis Sreer Spr1ngdale, AR Bad Taste II I was recently watching Speed Channel and happened to see the commercial for EA Sports Freekstyle video game for the Sony PlayStation 2. This commercial is computer- animated and displays off-road motorcycles riding through the forest, setting the forest on fire, and terrorizing cute "Bambi" -style woodland creatures. The final scene is a rider with no shirt or helmet roosting all these animals with mud. I don't know what EA Sports or Sony was thinking with this ad, but it definitely puts off-road motorcyclists in a bad light and gives the environmental extremists ammo against us in land-closure cases. EA Sports, or Sony, needs to be more responsible about how they advertise and how they represent offroad motorcyclists. Dan Cameron VIa the Intemet Bad Taste III EA Sports - what the heck are you guys thinking? The commercials you are running to promote your newest computer game, "Freekstyle," may set back the image of off-roading by 20 years. Bare-chested freestyle MXers chasing Thumper and other Disney characters through a burning forest, presumably set ablaze by the rider tearing up the landscape... give me a break. If you are as incensed as I am after seeing this travesty, don't waste your money on EA Sports' game, but rather send it to AMA's "Save Our Trails" program that puts the money to good use by matching all donations dollar for dollar to protect your right to recreate on public lands with your motorcycle. Last week, they presented $27,000 to District 37's Legal Defense Fund. So thank you AMA and thank you District 37. No thank you, EA Sports. Bill Howell Cucamonga. 0' Pumped On TV Wasn't the camera action awesome in Sunday's World Superbike race from Misano? I especially liked the on-bike cameras - particularly Neil Hodgson's one that looked out the back, between the pipes. Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss both had their heads within inches of his exhaust on numerous occasions before finally passing him. When Noriyuki Haga moved in for the kill on Hodgson, I found myself jumping back from the set to avoid being hit by his Aprilia. The audio (and commentary) added tremendously to the excitement. The other camera action was equally impressive, giving me the ability to see clearly the scrapes on the lowers of Bayliss' bike. Then, on the podium, it finally happened: Bayliss and the podium interviewer have spoken to each other so much this season that they didn't even talk about the race, opting instead to talk about wakeboarding and the wife and kids. Come on, Edwards, get him at Laguna Seca! Robert Covington VIa the Internet Wattsy ! want to take a moment and say thank you to some very important people. While on an MSR catalog photo shoot recently at the Wisp Ski Resort in Deep Creek, Maryland, Shane Watts crashed hard and suffered some potentially serious injuries. As it turned out, Shane's injuries were not too severe, although he might have argued otherwise at the time. While trying to look great for the camera, Shane jumped off a rock and tried to downside a log - a feat most wouldn't even consider. But a small error left Shane on the ground with a broken vertebra and a broken knuckle. It was at that point that the resort manager, Adrian Spiker, took control of the situation and immediately called for medical attention. The local EMT and emergency personnel reacted quickly and with the utmost professionalism. As a result, Shane's injuries were not compounded and he will be fine in a few weeks. The care he received at the Garrett County Memorial Hospital in Oakland, Maryland, was exceptional, as well. My thanks and appreciation go out to everyone involved in this unfortunate incident, including Shane's fellow MSR riders, the emergency medical personnel, Mr. Spiker, his doctor, and the hospital staff. These people helped keep a bad situation from get- ting worse. Thanks, and keep up the great work. 714/751-6685 or e-mailed to editor©' Steven Adams VIa the Internet cyclenews.com. Published letters do Wattsyll not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle I just wanted to commend Shane Watts on his positive attitude. After reading Shane's letter on Cycle News online, I was very impressed with the way he has taken all of his recent injuries in stride. It is a fine example of true character that is very rare in our world today. News. Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all are subject to editin9. Anonymous letters will not be considered for BryanSufer Phoentx.AZ Wattsylll publication. All letters should contain the writer's name. address and daytime phone Only Shane Watts could describe a small crash (leading the reader to believe initially it was a small tipover or something) as one that resulted in "another small bone broken in my left hand, but I also suffered a broken vertebra in my back and some internal injuries, like severely bruised lungs and chest." My thought was: What's a large crash in Shane's mind? number Shawn McAtee Yorba Undo. 0' TV Worship With regard to Speed Channel's coverage of motorcycle road racing in the U.S., have you people all lost your marbles? Please follow me: Kneel down at the foot of your bed as I do every day and every night, clasp your hands firmly together and repeat this daily prayer, "God up in heaven, thank you for Chet Burks, Dan Murphy, Dave Sadowski, Brian Drebber, Freddie Spencer and Larry Maiers. Amen." Keep up the good work, men. Find an intelligent, attractive female to interview the riders and we'll be golden. Paul Silbert Tustin, 0' Dear Bubba First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on proving a lot of us out there in "bench race" land all wrong. I'm a former racer myself and still continue to be a big fan. My last race on a motocross bike came in late 1994 at the rough-as-all-get-out "outdoor" track in Oklahoma City's Motorcycle Raceway. I believe I got third or fourth in 125cc Open and second in 125cc Novice. Anyway, I've never been blessed with money, talent, or the speed it takes to be successful in motocross. A late start also played into that. I keep in touch with the motoworld by way of computers, friends, and many trips to a lot of races near here. I was pretty skeptical about your rookie season as it started out in cue I _ .. Editor. < 0 _. n CD fn supercross. I believe I even wrote Cycle News to criticize your overly aggressive passing decisions. But I stepped back and realized I wasn't there in person to see what happened at any of the supercrosses. The media, magazine editors, and fans (including me) seemed to have mixed emotions. Some said the aggression would cost you (it did). Some said the smooth, Robbie Reynard-like fluid riding style would be a blessing (it was). Watching my ESPN2 coverage and reading Cycle News and RacerX, I couldn't make up my mind how I thought you might do in the outdoors. Speed? Yep. Smoothness? Yep. Fitness? Apparently. Experience at high national speeds? I honestly didn't think you'd have it. I was wrong again. Lastly, I'd like to say that when I got home today and read my Cycle News, I nearly got choked up reading about the 125cc race at Southwick. I had read online earlier in the week regarding the tragiC news of Danny Smith's older brother, Kip. I can relate to it. I lost my big brother 12 years ago. I know how painful it can be. For Danny to have even shown up to race is a lot. For you to walk up to Danny before the races and pass on condolences isn't huge. It's human. You showed heart to a competitor, and that means something. Not to the other racers, but everyone. But for you to climb off your broken steed to cheer for Danny - that is huge. I know what it means to have had people just pat me on the shoulder and to tell me they were sorry to hear the news and that everything would all be all right. I can tell you, it meant a lot. You remember those people. As I'm sure Danny will you for the rest of his days. Thank you, James, for showing us all championship class, without winning a championship (yet). n _ _ so Chuck Ball VIa the Internet JULY 3, 2002 5