Matthes,
I’m one of your ten listeners and want you to know your one funny guy, I didn’t discovery you till just recent when you did the article on being a team manager for a day, FRICKIN HILARIOUS by the way. I don’t know if everybody gets your humor but I read it as if your telling me the story in person and find myself laughing out loud to myself like a little kid. From that day forward I continue to read anything you write. Anyway, enough kissing up. I was wondering if you have every tried or plan to do a Podcast with "THE KING OF SUPERCROSS" Himself? NO, not Ferry, MC. I’ve always been such a huge fan, a bit of a stocker you could say, In a Matthes/Ferry way. I just want to hear what he’s been up to, What his forecast is for the next few years, Why he left Bell helmets, What Happened with KTM and his forced early retirement, even though I read it in his book, I still think its B.S.. What he likes about the fuel injection and the Hondas. He’s thoughts on today’s tracks and racers, what he sees as the biggest change from when he was racing. I just want to hear the inside stuff straight from the man. Anyway, If your still reading this thanks for taking the time. I think I might get my friend to listen to your podcast this week so hopefully we can get you up to eleven listeners. I think I hear Rush Playing, Gotta run.
Thanks for the laughs,
Ruben
Orange County, CA
Age: 33
Ruben, thanks for the nice letter and I’ve been trying to get MC on. As a matter of fact he said he’d do it one time and gave me his number. Then he didn’t return messages about arranging a time, I have also left another message maybe 6 months ago. MC knows me and we get along great, he’s an awesome guy who maybe is too busy or doesn’t want to do one. Which is perfectly fine and I will always like The King, no matter what.
Hey Matthes,
Great job getting Mikey on. It was my first time listing to the podcast, I am hooked now.
You should see if J-Law is up for it???
Thanks again
Steve
Steve (nice name!) I would love to get Lawrence on a Podcast but unfortuntely, he hates me. I offered him the chance for an interview at Anaheim 1 when he was telling me that he hates me but he declined. I said I wouldn’t touch one word of what he had to say and I would let him call me whatever names he wanted. But he still declined. I think he’s a fascinating character in the our sport. When he rides good, I say that and when he does dumb stuff, I say that too. I even came to his defense in an "Observations" column at Mt Morris when people said he took out Dungey. I didn’t feel that he did. I wish he’d be like his buddy Hill who had a problem with something I wrote and we spoke about it. Anyways, better chance of JFK rising from the dead and doing a Podcast with me than J-Law.
Hey, Steve, this is Javier from Puerto Rico a fan of your Observations column and the podcasts. Since James switch to Aldon Baker’s training he has been made believe that regime of training is made for after Daytona when the season is "suppose" to really start because that’s what Aldon has told him like he told Ricky all the time. Even you could hear Ricky say that himself a couple of times in the past, but could you please tell Stewart to NOT believe that crap cause think about it…
Since 2003, after the Daytona round of each year, how many supercrosses did Ricky win? Answer: ZERO
You can put that as a trivia and I’ll bet anything that no RC fan knows that stat. If you received this could you forward it back to me so I’ll know that it got to you. Thanks
Javier
Javier, I thought you were crazy but after checking with some stat guys, what you say is absolutely true. And it’s amazing for sure. I do remember when I worked for Yamaha and Reed reeled off all those wins in the second half of the season but couldn’t make up enough points, people in RC’s camp was saying he was riding for points, taking it easy etc etc but I was on the side of the track watching (Ferry was hurt) and RC was trying his hardest and practically stretching his throttle cable trying to keep up Chad. He was horrible in the whoops and that was due to his funky bike set-up more than anything, he was good till about halfway and then he was on a bucking bronco. Anyways, nice job!
Steve,
Excellent as usual. Keep on keeping on. We brought a Supercross virgin(an east coast cousin who grew up just miles from Unadilla, but never saw the outdoor event there) to SF for the show and he went away stoked beyond belief. He’s now headed to Anaheim this weekend for more supercross exposure.
Question: How do we get more non-riders to attend? It’s a GREAT show for anyone not just core fans. I hear all these comments from hardcore fans about the boring racing, but to a newbie, I can tell you there’s nothing apparently boring about the show or James Stewart’s riding – he’s just amazing. My cousin was blown away, when during the opening lap of big bike practice Chad and Josh hit the dirt so hard then got right back up to continue riding. It’s one thing to see athletes fall on a court or field, it’s quite another to see them basically drop out of the sky, bounce, then keep on going unscathed.
The track looked great on paper, but when we arrived it was like a mini-version of what David Bailey walked everyone through. Who shaved the whoops? We left the stadium after practice for dinner, and when we returned the whoops were gone and replaced with a much softer version. Nick called it during his gas card acceptance speech – Dirtwurx and crew need to step it up and quick.
The mains are too short for racing to really develop – not good.
We all thought Alessi looked great in the first few laps of the main and expect him to continue to improve. Thought you were a might unkind, and will be proven wrong about his riding by season’s end. He was the ONLY guy last summer with anything at all for James, and is still riding himself into shape. Cut the kid some slack.
Podcast Request: Terry Boyd(sp?). I can’t stand his style and he irritates me to no end – I usually enjoy public speakers, so not sure why I find him grating. To add insult to the injury to my ears this weekend, he repeatedly made fun of Nick’s accurate comments about the poor track. IMHO, announcers, no matter how bad they are should not be making fun of riders, period. That’s the fan’s job (and of course yours). I might enjoy Supercross a lot more (especially live) if I could find a way to like this guy. As the voice of Supercross, perhaps he’d make a solid Podcast interview for you? I’d listen in for sure.
Did you get a photo with the Rockstar pole dancers in the pits? We saw Moms and Kids getting photos with them in the afternoon – hilarious! Gotta like the number 19 – he’s looking to be perhaps a better racer than the rest.I like my pink “Cycle Center” hat and it makes me easy for friends to find at the races… Look at how stoked we all are. Looking forward to this weekend, and next week’s observations already. Nice piece in the CN on managers too. So true, not just in racing.
Dave
Dave, thanks for the letter and yes the Rockstar "strippers" are pretty funny. How do you explain that to your little girl…"Mommy, I want to dance with a pole like they are doing"…good times trying to worm yourself out of that one. Anyways, Terry Boyd would make a good Podcast guest but there are about 3,452 people on my list before him. And thats not a slam on Terry but there are SO many moto gods that I want to talk to. I agree with the whoops but they usually roll them for the night show to make it look pretty but when they did it in San Fran, the dirt was so soft that they just crumbled.
Steve,
So I’ve got a Black Eyed Peas song stuck in my head, which got me to thinking about the BEP song that was on the Terrafirma 8 (oops….I mean Throttle) video a while back durring the Darcy Lange segment. This got me to wondering what’s up with him these days. The most recent news I can find is the Racer X Canada interview from May. I come to you for this information because you seem to take pride in being the token Canuck (and all things Canuck in nature) on the Racer X staff. Thanks.
-Kevin
P.S. – I showed up at Byrne’s posed as a delivery driver, but was given a line about riding dirt bikes in Flordia or something. Sounded kinda fishy, but I ended up just taking all the General Tso’s chicken and Crab Ragoon that was to be "delivered" home for myself.
Nice move on taking the chicken man. Darcy is doing well and working as an electrician or something like that on the island. I’m not sure if he is ever going to race again but at least he made a crap load of cash and where he lives, he can probably buy the town with his checking account.
Steve,
I have really become a fan. Your stuff is excellent. You have the ability to call it like you see it and although it may upset the riders you’re referring to – they still talk to you next week. That is a trait even Ping doesn’t possess. Your ‘Observation’ columns read very well and your podcast show is worthy of being televised by SPEED. I think that the questions you ask are what us fans want to know. It was weird after reading your Observations for years and then hearing you on podcasts. Your timing is different on paper than in person. Not that that is bad, you have a good sense of humor either way and I enjoy both.
How about doing a podcast with Darcy Lange? There are a lot of us wondering how he’s doing. A friend of mine, Tom Chandler (whom I haven’t seen for a while) used to wrench for him years ago in Arenacross and always thought a lot of Darcy. Maybe Darcy is still recovering and would rather not.
How about Cole Siebler? I hear through the grapevine that he has great speed at the practice track but gets all wigged out at the race. He’s a super individual and it would be interesting to hear him answer your questions. Go Idaho! He and Ben Evans are locals. Ben has gotten Racer X press lately, but it’s been awhile for Cole. Wiemer is from Rupert, a ways away, but another Idaho star. I was amazed when you did a podcast with Jake that he didn’t know Bradshaw very well. Bradshaw, Danny Smith, Siebler and Evans seem to work together quite a bit.
On a side note, Mitch Payton would be an excellent candidate for one of your podcast shows. I’m sure you’ve asked, would he do one?
I live in Boise, Idaho and get the chance to mountain bike with Bob Hannah and Jeff Hicks. Those guys are great. Jeff will trail ride with us every once in a while and is still good with a bike (shocker). Bob on the other hand would rather talk about anything other than dirt bikes.
I have my Salt Lake City tickets and if I see you I’ll say hey. In the meantime, keep up the good work my international friend.
Thanks again,
Morgan
Morgan, you make me blush with your letter. Thanks for the nice words. Mitch might be next week actually as he is a hard guy to get ahold of but I’m working on it. Seibler would be good and the Bradshaw one I did was epic. You can find it on the "Da Links" section on here. He was great to talk to for sure. Hicks used to race in Canada all the time and against the Rollerball so he has respect from me. Thanks for writing in and if you see me at Salt Lake, stop and say hello.
