DK
2005-04-22, 12:43 AM
Here is a post from a freeride mountainbike forum I read. i thought this was worthy enough to share with you. Please read it. (just fill in "unicycling" when it says "mountain biking) Do you think this applies to unicycling too? Do you think unicycling would be more "extreme" if there were more blacks?
Thanks,
H
This was an article that sat in my head for quite a while before I decided to write it. I am really worried that this is not the place to discuss such a thing, as its a topic that can incite a lot of anger and stuff. I am coming at this topic from a purely curious point of view, not preaching a thought or trying to solve anything.
Quite honestly, i am posting this with a considerable amount of apprehension.
Anything that refers to the difference between races is a touchy subject, and you have to tread extremely carefully to avoid any trouble. Not only do you have to be wary about offending people with a false remark, but you also have to be aware of the people that are just waiting for ammunition so they can yell and scream about something.
As such, I’ve had to add in this bit below so that I can say what I’m thinking, and if people get offended, they can eat it.
“ EVERYTHING I AM ABOUT TO WRITE IS PURELY SPECULATION AND OPINION, AND IS NOT PRESENTED AS FACT. IF IT OFFENDS YOU, SORRY, MY BAD. GO FOR A WALK AND LET IT SLIDE.”
Now then, to the point.
If you talk to people, you will almost always find that there is a general agreement that there are sports that are “black” and sports that are “white.” To clarify, it seems there are some sports that seem to have a slant towards a particular race, although that’s not an absolute. To use the most obvious example, Basketball would commonly be chosen as a black sport, while something like swimming would be chosen as white. Of course, there are white guys playing ball and black guys swimming, so its not a true statement at all, but it is a common perception. <b>I’m not even going to attempt to tackle the possible social and physiological reasons for such a division, as I have neither the qualifications nor the research needed for such a volatile and monumental task.</b> I’m just a web nerd, not a journalist.
So, of course, this has me thinking “where does biking fall into this?”
Unfortunately, the obvious answer is that mountain biking, and especially downhilling, is primarily a white sport. You don’t see many black guys riding, or at least, I don’t. I know they are out there, but they are definitely outnumbered. Its unfortunate too, as I think that black guys could take the sport to a whole new level.
Allow me to explain.
Anyone who says there is no physical difference between the races besides color is either completely naïve, or just being a politically correct asswipe.
There are a ton of articles available online that will break down and explain the differences between the two races in a much more clinical way then I could ever hope for. Do a search in Google for “physical differences between blacks and whites” and you will be reading for the next 3 months. Thankfully, that means I don’t have to make the effort to include links and notes to support this article. Remember, me= web nerd, not a journalist.
So, I am going to now make a huge sweeping statement, which I personally believe to be true.
If there were more black people in the sport, I think the sport would be further then it is, in terms of progression.
Simply put, I think blacks are considerably more gifted physically then any other race. When it comes to sports that require pure explosive muscle power, I believe blacks have an genetic advantage. Take any sport that requires a lot of power and athletic ability, make the participants an equal mix of the races, and i truely beleive that on average, the black athlete will have a natural advantage. I beleive that blacks are, on average, faster, stronger, can jump higher and are quicker then the other races. While this is purely an opinion, its an opinion based on observation, and common sense. Its not exactly a shot out of left field, nor is totally unfounded.
Heres the fun part.
What if you had a higher percentage of black riders in mountain biking? Would they be faster? Jump higher? Could they wreck the XC field?
I really beleive that the sport would be further then it is with the inclusion or more races. This may be an ideal comment, as there are unfortunately many social issues that need to be addressed first. Again, I will not even attempt to address them. I am speaking PURELY on a physical basis.
I think one of the best examples of what an influence black athletes could be is to look at Shaums March. Shaums is one hell of a rider, and hes been around a lot longer them many of the new riders realize. For those of us that do remember Shaums’ beginnings, we know that he was doing things that nobody else was even attempting. Shaums would (and still does) bust huge air whenever the mood hit him, and trick it up to boot. Bunnyhop to manual off picnic tables, big drops, and then some. All on his 6” travel Mountain Cycle San Andreas with Zzyzzx forks. And this is in 1997! Hes still doing it too, with a 3rd at this years RedBull Bike battle.
What I wonder is, what would it be like if there were more guys like him in the sport? Would the limits of what we are doing now have been reached earlier? I suppose its one of those what-if kind of questions that really has no hope of reaching any type of conclusion, nor do I hope that somebody suggests one.
This was just a thought i had, and wanted to invite a little discussion.
Hope everybody can see that.
Edit: FYI, Shaums March is a pro DH rider who is black.
Thanks,
H
This was an article that sat in my head for quite a while before I decided to write it. I am really worried that this is not the place to discuss such a thing, as its a topic that can incite a lot of anger and stuff. I am coming at this topic from a purely curious point of view, not preaching a thought or trying to solve anything.
Quite honestly, i am posting this with a considerable amount of apprehension.
Anything that refers to the difference between races is a touchy subject, and you have to tread extremely carefully to avoid any trouble. Not only do you have to be wary about offending people with a false remark, but you also have to be aware of the people that are just waiting for ammunition so they can yell and scream about something.
As such, I’ve had to add in this bit below so that I can say what I’m thinking, and if people get offended, they can eat it.
“ EVERYTHING I AM ABOUT TO WRITE IS PURELY SPECULATION AND OPINION, AND IS NOT PRESENTED AS FACT. IF IT OFFENDS YOU, SORRY, MY BAD. GO FOR A WALK AND LET IT SLIDE.”
Now then, to the point.
If you talk to people, you will almost always find that there is a general agreement that there are sports that are “black” and sports that are “white.” To clarify, it seems there are some sports that seem to have a slant towards a particular race, although that’s not an absolute. To use the most obvious example, Basketball would commonly be chosen as a black sport, while something like swimming would be chosen as white. Of course, there are white guys playing ball and black guys swimming, so its not a true statement at all, but it is a common perception. <b>I’m not even going to attempt to tackle the possible social and physiological reasons for such a division, as I have neither the qualifications nor the research needed for such a volatile and monumental task.</b> I’m just a web nerd, not a journalist.
So, of course, this has me thinking “where does biking fall into this?”
Unfortunately, the obvious answer is that mountain biking, and especially downhilling, is primarily a white sport. You don’t see many black guys riding, or at least, I don’t. I know they are out there, but they are definitely outnumbered. Its unfortunate too, as I think that black guys could take the sport to a whole new level.
Allow me to explain.
Anyone who says there is no physical difference between the races besides color is either completely naïve, or just being a politically correct asswipe.
There are a ton of articles available online that will break down and explain the differences between the two races in a much more clinical way then I could ever hope for. Do a search in Google for “physical differences between blacks and whites” and you will be reading for the next 3 months. Thankfully, that means I don’t have to make the effort to include links and notes to support this article. Remember, me= web nerd, not a journalist.
So, I am going to now make a huge sweeping statement, which I personally believe to be true.
If there were more black people in the sport, I think the sport would be further then it is, in terms of progression.
Simply put, I think blacks are considerably more gifted physically then any other race. When it comes to sports that require pure explosive muscle power, I believe blacks have an genetic advantage. Take any sport that requires a lot of power and athletic ability, make the participants an equal mix of the races, and i truely beleive that on average, the black athlete will have a natural advantage. I beleive that blacks are, on average, faster, stronger, can jump higher and are quicker then the other races. While this is purely an opinion, its an opinion based on observation, and common sense. Its not exactly a shot out of left field, nor is totally unfounded.
Heres the fun part.
What if you had a higher percentage of black riders in mountain biking? Would they be faster? Jump higher? Could they wreck the XC field?
I really beleive that the sport would be further then it is with the inclusion or more races. This may be an ideal comment, as there are unfortunately many social issues that need to be addressed first. Again, I will not even attempt to address them. I am speaking PURELY on a physical basis.
I think one of the best examples of what an influence black athletes could be is to look at Shaums March. Shaums is one hell of a rider, and hes been around a lot longer them many of the new riders realize. For those of us that do remember Shaums’ beginnings, we know that he was doing things that nobody else was even attempting. Shaums would (and still does) bust huge air whenever the mood hit him, and trick it up to boot. Bunnyhop to manual off picnic tables, big drops, and then some. All on his 6” travel Mountain Cycle San Andreas with Zzyzzx forks. And this is in 1997! Hes still doing it too, with a 3rd at this years RedBull Bike battle.
What I wonder is, what would it be like if there were more guys like him in the sport? Would the limits of what we are doing now have been reached earlier? I suppose its one of those what-if kind of questions that really has no hope of reaching any type of conclusion, nor do I hope that somebody suggests one.
This was just a thought i had, and wanted to invite a little discussion.
Hope everybody can see that.
Edit: FYI, Shaums March is a pro DH rider who is black.