Happy Go Skateboarding Day! Do you (or did you ever) own a skateboard? It’s not optional for you then! According to the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) you have to participate! Since 12 year old me owned a soft plastic yellow skateboard, I felt the call as well.
And with Minneapolis hosting the X Games for the third year, we could not just relegate this to some suburban skate park. ESPN supporting this event may have had something to do with it. Or maybe we are just that cool. Nicollet Mall during lunch time? That’ll work! Busses? Nah, they can wait, we got ramps here! A couple of restaurant patios suddenly became prime viewing areas.
3 local skate shops Cal Surf, Familia and Third Lair designed a skateable feature. Familia re-created the iconic Spoon and Cherry (how long before the first skater will try the real thing?). ESPN brought along X Games medalists Nicole Hause, Dashawn Jordan and Yuto Horigome. Hause couldn’t skate because of an injury but Jordan and Horigome joined a bunch of local skaters of all ages and skill levels.
The X Games have always committed to “Shred Hate” and watching the skaters interact with one another was a lesson in good manners. To the casual observer the scene seemed chaotic, but skaters looked out for one another. A self governing safety net. If some of the younger skaters slowed down the more experienced ones, it was taken in good spirit. The skaters were there to celebrate their sport and culture, and to take a crack at the new features. Of course being able to skate downtown probably had a pretty big draw as well.
We are less than a month away from the X Games at US Bank Stadium – make your plans!
