In normal years, a giant and warm press tent is erected, fans flood into the venue and bring a huge energy for the final competitions. And getting sled privileges is, well, a major privilege. Insert coverage. This year, the corrals were dotted with poles set in place 6 feet apart — but with so few media present, it almost looked like a dog agility course with excessive space. This was my sixth year covering X Games and frankly, it felt surreal to be covering an event of this magnitude at all, particularly on the heels of Pitkin County going into red-level COVID restrictions.
With COVID precautions tinting every organizational decision, of course we were encouraged to drive in our own vehicles. Still, my mind was blown from this difference alone.
But as much as the fans can get in the way and grate my nerves, they also bring an energy to the venue that I believe is truly needed by the athletes.
From a photography standpoint, the fans offer a definite perspective for just how big these athletes are going. And photos of fans improperly dressed, slipping down the insanely steep and slick side of the halfpipe, never hurt to add to the storytelling each year, either.
LaRae is the absolute best part about the media tent. This year, I was one of 12 media members allowed on site, and the press center was an open tent where only two people were allowed at a time, donning their ESPN masks, of course. Looking back, I just shake my head thinking about all the wasted time I spent stressing about it, setting myself up to be exhausted for the week before even starting. These were the main differences as a photographer this year at X Games, but we all rolled with the pandemic punches to have another successful year of X.
We were given so much more access and flexibility as creatives as well, which felt like the biggest luxury. I have so much gratitude for the people that made this event come to fruition, albeit a different experience; I was just elated to be out shooting my favorite annual event again, and it makes me hopeful for the future.
One of my favorite things about X Games is the emotion and energy around each event — seeing all the athletes and their families gather from all over the country and world to watch them compete.
Call me cheesy, but those celebration moments of a perfect run, ranking score or medaling and then seeing an athlete go straight to the families or coaches in celebration … capturing this emotion is one of my favorite things to photograph. Yes, the photo is a little out of focus — this was with film, and I had a millisecond to capture the right place at the right time, so give me a break!
Despite the aggravated ESPN workers trying to prevent hugging at the bottom of the runs, the athletes did not fight their human nature. The hugs still happened, the emotion and celebration were still there. Myles Vordemark scored 13 points and had five rebounds and four assists. Swiger finished with 10 points and led the squad with eight rebounds.
Sidney shot 19 for 45 The Arrows shot 20 for 54 Minster led at the end of the first quarter and used a scoring edge in the second to take a halftime lead. Stephey had four rebounds and four assists.
Minster shot 21 for 47 The Cardinals built a lead by the end of the first quarter, then used a scoring edge in the second to take a halftime lead. They ran away with a scoring edge in the third quarter. Rindler led the team with five rebounds. The Eagles built a lead by the end of the first quarter, then used a scoring edge in the second to take a halftime lead. Troy Christian outscored the Jets in the third quarter and in the fourth.
The Trojans built a lead by the end of the first quarter. Each squad scored eight points in the second, but Arcanum pulled away with an scoring edge in the third and edge in the fourth. She did not relax, however, and scored even higher on her second run and, with gold virtually guaranteed, attempted in an incredibly difficult and rarely-seen trick for her final attempt.
Although she failed to land it successfully, her prior efforts had secured her a gold medal. Martinod pulled off an impressive series of tricks in her attempts to catch up to Sharpe, but the Canadian was simply too dominant, and Martinod had to settle once again for silver.
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