Have you ever wondered what the climate or behind-the-scenes-goings-ons were like when, at the peak of rollerblading popularity, the ASA formed and became the defacto business of blade contests? We’re pretty sure some of you have, just like us, so it’s lucky that our friend and blade memorabilia collector and former pro skater, Tracy White, dug up some letters he received from the ASA back in ’94/’95, as the organization was setting its agenda and signing on talent for its inaugural year. For blade history buffs it’s pretty fascinating stuff. In them there’s mention of skaters signing deals to skate ASA exclusively, and ESPN 2 coverage to millions of people, in hundreds of countries. Oh, not to overlook a little experimental event called ESPN’s Extreme Games. All this was happening 14 years ago, but there’s knowledge to be gained just the same. On the eve of this year’s AIL and WRS Finals, the WRS itself wrapping up its inaugural year, let’s celebrate a strong 2009 of grassroots blade efforts, and focus on carving out a future for our athletes, sport and enthusiasts that lives up to a standard set long, long ago. With the diverse talent and dedication present and interconnected in the blade world, we can make it happen.— ONE
The first x games.. crazy…
holy moly has it really been that long, feels like just yeasterday
we kick so much fucking ass hell yeah man lets fucking do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh geez great thanks for making me feel old. hahaha
Loving it! It’s great to see how people lose their way and deny their own roots. Gotta love money and how it creates amnesia!
nostalgia or not this is sort of a big deal considering our overall progress from the start which if i remember correctly was only a few years ferore this.. think about all of the pros tranferring from NISS at that time. what a list!
ooops before i meant to say only a few years before 1994 was when rollerblading took an aggressive stance.
if u think about it blading is still a young sport but in my opinion there is room for improvement involving old-school nostalgic past information, video posts, and interviews.
lets b real fellas, the overall agenda involving rollerblading was, is and will continue to b our quest for coverage. we need media coverage and if that means giving up on one comp circuit to promote another, then so b it.
Hmmm… Explains pretty well how our sport ended up imploding! Glad to see we’re growing grassroots this time around with AIL and WRS… -B
This is good…I for one say our sport needs to be educated as much as possible on the history. Hey everyone, wake up, our sport is under-appreciated, our pros under-paid, and mainly Im concerned with the fact that no matter where I look, X games in the summer, X games in the winter, I still see no media coverage. Blah Blah Blasphemy, hey, if we can’t win over the TV execs as far as getting coverage then I say we start a mental revolution. Words can brake bones boys, now let ur dog out, and let let that dog rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrun!
