Rocky Slope to the Mainstream
by Nathaniel Cook
As the freeskiing world prepares itself for the winter games in 2014, it goes without saying that we are entering a transitional period as fans and proponents of the sport. Over night, the freeskiing has become internationally “legitimate”, and will, in three short years, be showcased to an audience of more than one billion people. This means that what was once a somewhat obscure sport beloved by the US and a select few will now proliferate the world at large. When the pipe competitions directly follow Ice Dancing, you can expect some bizarre crossover audiences.
Of course, Snowboarding traveled a similar route, and there has certainly been backlash in that community, with the old school somewhat resenting changes to the sport. However, no subculture should expect or want to remain insular forever, especially one as cool and important as our’s. This likely won’t change the fact that some will be wary of the influx of attention and viewers. Despite the fact that greeskiing in the Olympics may prove marginally divisive, the sport will ultimately benefit.
Fans of subcultures often feel an affinity and investment in their chosen communities more than those who jump on the bandwagon late. This only makes sense. Finding a small community that you and a few others are members of provides a feeling of exclusivity that is shattered by too many people coming to the party. This isn’t limited to sports alone. Musicians who spend years underground and finally chart, artists who give up the violence of their earlier work for something more friendly, styles that were once indicative of rebellion being adopted by tweens: there is a long history of early members of almost any subculture feeling alienated when their communities crossover into the mainstream. While the impulse to do the same with our sport may be strong, it should be with a broader vision of the sport’s future that we view all the coming changes. We really can’t expect to keep freeskiing to ourselves, and the change that comes should be embraced. Otherwise, the sport will become stagnant.
The fact is that with more exposure comes more innovation. As the sport grows its audience, it will also grow its participants, and ultimately its achievements. Yes, there will be more gapers at events, and strapping on a pair of twin tips at the slopes, but that’s a good thing. It goes without saying that we, and every athlete in the field, were once gapers as well. Ultimately, the benefits of a wider audience far outweigh any of the costs.
Every change comes with its dissenters, but change is synonymous with progress. The new ideas and fans that come in will, over time, muffle the din of hardcore fans deriding what is happening to their sport. What the next decade will bring is anybody’s guess, but there’s little doubt that more people will be watching, participating, and loving freeskiing. Isn’t that really the whole point?
