If you are a fan of anything involving motorbikes, then your answer to whether or not motocross should be included in the Olympics, then the answer is probably an overwhelming yes. Sports come and go out of the Olympic programme, and there are lots of good reasons why the lobby to have motocross included may be successful in the future.
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Precedence
There are lots of sports which have previously featured in the Olympics such as polo, rugby union, baseball and golf, and even more which have featured on one or more occasions as a demonstration sport but have not made it into the full Olympic programme. This category includes sports like gliding, water skiing, bowling and American football. Motorsport, involving car racing rather than motorbikes, has only featured on the programme once, away back at the 1900 games in Paris. So is it not about time motocross had its turn?
Faster, Higher, Stronger
The very motto of the Olympic movement of faster, higher, stronger seems perfectly suited to motocross as the very aim of motocross is to get around the course as quickly as possible. Many critics of motorised sports in the Olympic programme seem to think that using a motor to help you is in some way cheating, but this shows that they do not understand the skill involved in motocross. And besides, there are no such objections to sports such as kayaking, dressage or road cycling where the competitors get “help” from their aerodynamic bikes or kayaks. Rules would have to be set about what sort of bikes would be appropriate for the competition, but as there is already a successful World Championship in the field, this is a fairly simple
process.
Enthusiasts
It can certainly be argued that many of the sports which do feature on the Olympic programme have far fewer people taking part in them than motocross. Sports like dressage or sailing are very much niche pursuits, and there aren’t many spectators who spend their weekends watching them either. People who are eagerly browsing through the new 2014 Fox MX Gear catalogues or who spend every spare moment tinkering with their Kawasaki or Suzuki motorbike in the garage would be delighted to see motocross in the Olympics. Showing off the sport to a worldwide audience would bring motocross to a whole new market and sales of the 2014 Fox MX Gear range and those Kawasaki bikes would go through the roof as people clamour to take up the sport they’ve been watching on TV.
Excitement
Part of the appeal of the Olympics is watching new sports which you wouldn’t ordinarily be interested in. Lots of us found ourselves glued to the tennis, dressage or handball in 2012, and the beauty of motocross is that it is a simple, exciting sport to watch. There are no complicated rules to learn, and the basic premise of getting around the course as quickly as possible is very basic. There is also the possibility of introducing unusual and original obstacles to make the event even better for spectators.
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