MEC More Than Just Marketing

If you haven't seen the Monster Energy Cup first and foremost as a giant marketing ploy put on by the big wigs as Monster themselves, then you've been living under a rock. Marketing ploy sounds harsh, but I mean it as a good thing. When a company is willing to put $1 million on the line to market their brand through our sport, then it means that we've hit a new level of awesome.

The majority of the public doesn't know about sports until they're properly advertised. We've seen that through marketing connections with series like the summer and winter Dew Tour, as well as through specials on TV, like the Red Bull Signature Series on CBS. So, by such a prominent name in today's society (meaning Monster Energy) taking on motocross as one of it's main attractions, it can only mean good things to come.

We've already seen direct improvements. Each year, more and more supercross races are broadcast live on SPEED. Recap shows are aired on network televison. All the first motos of the 2012 outdoor series were broadcast live as well as streamed live online. The sport is growing. The industry is growing.

Racer X's Jason Weigandt took a look at how this past weekend showed growth in the sports' commercialization. You can read it HERE.

But, with new attention comes new responsibility. What will happen when/if motocross becomes as big as snowboarding halfpipe at the X-Games? Will commercialization turn away the original fan? Will the simplicity of simply cheering for a rider be lost by the glitz and glamor brought with fame?