The lights went out, the fat lady sang...
Posted 09/27/2009 10:54:00 by i am vans
Now that it's all been said and all been done, we can take a look back at the 5th Downtown Showdown and organize our thoughts. Most of you won't have to write them down, and you should feel fortunate, if only because to catalog all of those thoughts might span as many as 20,000 words. You might start paring it down to just the most important things to you personally. Hell, we all do that. I'll tell you what some of my favorite things were, and maybe you can tell me yours.
Seeing the Zoo York crew out here this year was a fine and wonderful thing. The boys from back east and all points are as potent as they come. Look no further than Zered Bassett and Ron Deily doling out the 1-3 punch on the Little China Girl Banks. On Friday, Zered also straight nollie'd the FLiP pyramid cleanly as well. These guys are so good and on the rare occasions that they surface in this sort of environment, the results are spectacular. We've all seen Chaz do his thing on TV, so seeing the rest of the squad competing here only proved the depth and talent of the Zoo squad.
I'm thinking, maybe we need an "iron man" award out here next time. Especially in light of watching Angel Ramirez throw down. Angel was the single pro rider representing the Foundation crew, and he was forced to skate every obstacle. It didn't look forced in any way though. He looked perfectly eager to skate with the gas pedal slammed to the floor all day long. I can't remember the last time I saw someone go that hard for that long. Between Angel and Nick Merlino and a small supporting cast, the F-crew took home the $30,000 overall team winner's title. Not bad, not bad at all.
The Black Label team made one of those showings that prompted $100 dollar wagers on them winning the whole thing. I overheard several people talking brashly about their performance, and there was a very good reason for this. Tyler Mumma, Chris Troy, Peter Watkins, and Shuriken Shannon put in powerful performances all around the joint. And to top it off, one of my favorite dudes out there in the last couple of years, Vince Del Valle simply annihilated the Creature Hesh Cross to take top honors. Vince comes from that world where specialists fade and true all-terrain rippers dominate, and his future is brighter than a 20,000 candle power flood light.
Hearty congratulations are due here to the iPod-powered Jani Laitiala who came out here and repeated as the top pro performer. Jani isn't exactly a rookie, he's been in this game for quite some time now. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is on U.S. currency in Finland, but hopefully he will be able to parlay that check into a worthwhile wallet lump.
Each and every one of the skaters out here brought something amazing to the table. Guys like Truman Hooker coming out of the woodwork and killing it. Sean Malto defining smoothness. Louie Lopez and Curren Caples firing heavy warning shots at the older guys. Kevin Romar making it all look easy. And the beauty of it is, we most likely will be treated to another serving of that next year. This thing shows no signs of fading and we're already 5 years in. A once in a lifetime event, once a year. There is certainly nothing to complain about there. Epic skateboarding in a surreal environment, with something for just about everyone, even this jaded and bitter personality.
I'd like to send out a huge thank you to all involved, the Van Doren family and the entire Vans crew, and all of the sponsors who help put this together and fatten up the prize purse. Rockstar Energy Drink, FUEL TV, Mitsubishi Motors, Epiphone and SPoTlight Productions ( Ryan and Brian, you guys are killing it! ) Also thank you to all of the participating companies, Girl, Blind, Foundation, Skate Mafia, Black Label, Toy Machine, Zoo York, Creature, and FLiP. But the biggest thanks, of course go out to each and every skater out here this year. You all are what make this thing so great. See you next year.
-BLKPRJKT
Seeing the Zoo York crew out here this year was a fine and wonderful thing. The boys from back east and all points are as potent as they come. Look no further than Zered Bassett and Ron Deily doling out the 1-3 punch on the Little China Girl Banks. On Friday, Zered also straight nollie'd the FLiP pyramid cleanly as well. These guys are so good and on the rare occasions that they surface in this sort of environment, the results are spectacular. We've all seen Chaz do his thing on TV, so seeing the rest of the squad competing here only proved the depth and talent of the Zoo squad.
I'm thinking, maybe we need an "iron man" award out here next time. Especially in light of watching Angel Ramirez throw down. Angel was the single pro rider representing the Foundation crew, and he was forced to skate every obstacle. It didn't look forced in any way though. He looked perfectly eager to skate with the gas pedal slammed to the floor all day long. I can't remember the last time I saw someone go that hard for that long. Between Angel and Nick Merlino and a small supporting cast, the F-crew took home the $30,000 overall team winner's title. Not bad, not bad at all.
The Black Label team made one of those showings that prompted $100 dollar wagers on them winning the whole thing. I overheard several people talking brashly about their performance, and there was a very good reason for this. Tyler Mumma, Chris Troy, Peter Watkins, and Shuriken Shannon put in powerful performances all around the joint. And to top it off, one of my favorite dudes out there in the last couple of years, Vince Del Valle simply annihilated the Creature Hesh Cross to take top honors. Vince comes from that world where specialists fade and true all-terrain rippers dominate, and his future is brighter than a 20,000 candle power flood light.
Hearty congratulations are due here to the iPod-powered Jani Laitiala who came out here and repeated as the top pro performer. Jani isn't exactly a rookie, he's been in this game for quite some time now. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is on U.S. currency in Finland, but hopefully he will be able to parlay that check into a worthwhile wallet lump.
Each and every one of the skaters out here brought something amazing to the table. Guys like Truman Hooker coming out of the woodwork and killing it. Sean Malto defining smoothness. Louie Lopez and Curren Caples firing heavy warning shots at the older guys. Kevin Romar making it all look easy. And the beauty of it is, we most likely will be treated to another serving of that next year. This thing shows no signs of fading and we're already 5 years in. A once in a lifetime event, once a year. There is certainly nothing to complain about there. Epic skateboarding in a surreal environment, with something for just about everyone, even this jaded and bitter personality.
I'd like to send out a huge thank you to all involved, the Van Doren family and the entire Vans crew, and all of the sponsors who help put this together and fatten up the prize purse. Rockstar Energy Drink, FUEL TV, Mitsubishi Motors, Epiphone and SPoTlight Productions ( Ryan and Brian, you guys are killing it! ) Also thank you to all of the participating companies, Girl, Blind, Foundation, Skate Mafia, Black Label, Toy Machine, Zoo York, Creature, and FLiP. But the biggest thanks, of course go out to each and every skater out here this year. You all are what make this thing so great. See you next year.
-BLKPRJKT