Swizcorner – Atlanta “The Punt”

Sport is repetitive. The goals and methods to reach those goals are the same week to week. It’s the details that divide.

The majority of my time for Swizcorner this week was spent in the editing-bay. Breaking down the film, Zapruder-style and trying to figure out just what the hell was going through Mike Alessi’s mind that left him at the decision to square-up and center-punch Broc Tickle’s bike over 5th place in a heat race. Broc had worked his way by Alessi, stalled in an attempt to pass Hahn, dropped to 8th and within 2-laps made the pass on Alessi again. Alessi had gotten a little chin music from Tomac when he went by and Alessi was clearly dropping out of qualifying position and he knew it was inevitable. He was simply cognizant that he was out-matched in this heat and instead of finishing strong and focusing on the Semi and possibly the LCQ, he chose to drop the hammer in a fashion that neither rider would have a shot at riding out of.

It was a total bush-league, Alessi-handbook, move. This wasn’t for a main event win or a last ditch effort in an LCQ. There’s a reason Mike Alessi has the reputation he does; he earned it and amazingly continues to earn it year in and year out. If it was in the Main Event or the LCQ, there would be at least a little wiggle room to claim passion in the name of points, instead he can only claim temporary-insanity. His options were to accept what was happening and give up the position or run up the inside of Broc, not perpendicular, into his foot peg and see how it went. Instead he chose the Kamikazi move which obliterated both of them.

It’s just typical of what we have come to expect from Alessi and further proves what all of his amateur opponents, now Pro’s as well, have claimed of the Alessi’s from day one. It’s not like Mike is just dirty, I mean he couldn’t even make this move look calculated. He coasts past the tuff-block and then looking like a first-time racer with arm-pump, wicks the throttle open and releases the bars. I couldn’t help but think back to his most infamous of moments, Glen Helen ’05 where he put on possibly the worst acting display ever caught on tape. Standing on Tedesco’s bike and dragging his own closer to it, to try and create an argument that his was trapped under Tedesco’s. Just bizarre and par for the course.

The second worst display of acting I can remember is Mike’s attempt to explain his actions before the first Semi on TV. Utter bullshit. Own it if you’re gonna do it, Mike.

Some would like to compare this move to that of Chad Reed on James Stewart in Atlanta 2011 or even Kevin Windham on David Vuillemin in Phoenix of 2004. Not so fast there, I say. In the Reed and Stew war of Atlanta 2011, it was the last lap of the Main Event in the midst of a series both riders stood a good chance at winning. Looking solely at the incident even, Chad’s move was a crapshoot at best but he didn’t go into James Stewart’s swing arm, he cut across James’ trajectory path in front of James’ front tire. Chad had a shot at riding out of the incident if James got on the brakes but instead he gassed it and changed Chad’s plan.

In Phoenix of 2004, similarly, Kevin Windham cut across the inside of the corner in front of Vuillemin’s front tire and Kevin had so much more momentum that even when DV gassed it, Windham’s trajectory allowed him to stay upright on the bike. Kevin’s move was on the first lap of the Main Event which makes it look like more of a cheap-shot but he did cash in the win. So there’s that.

With that being said, I’ll allow the footage to speak for itself and form your opinion. Oh and for all of the piling-on and hate on Mike’s physical well-being online, Broc is A-OK. Let’s keep that in perspetive. If he had hurt Broc, I’d be bearing a torch myself but in the end it was just another senseless move in a career of senseless moves. No need to wish physical harm on the guy on the Interwebs…