here's my rant, taken from a cult thread.
'i dont know. it seems that every year it is the duty of the us open to produce an 'unknown' skier, whether that skier is deserving or not. in past years, vinnie dorion came out of nowhere and did a flawless slopestyle run to win; philou poirier came out of nowhere and did a switch backflip to win big air; andy woods came out of nowhere and threw a bunch of 1260's to win big air; then last year, tj schiller came out of nowhere, won slopestyle, and did a switch 1260 to come second in big air.
now, all the skiers i mentioned were nobodys before they entered the open. then they did something super progressive or unheard of to win and gain mad publicity, and it just proved that the open is a necessary competition. but last night, without even seeing his footage, i think spong didnt deserve what he got.
first of all, what did basically every skier do? switch 1080. now, what trick did sprong do? switch 1080.
i have heard a bunch of times that in order to go pro, you have to be better than the pros. how did spong do anything superior to what the pros did? if anything, it was inferior, as other skiers were throwing more original tricks, some unnatural tricks, and even a few switch 1260s.
again, i didnt see the comp, and what i have said is all based on bishop's commentating. but i conclude in saying that derek sprong did not deserve to beat out skiers, especially charles gagnier, by performing the same trick as everyone else. his style and amplitude better have been miles ahead of everyone else, or im gonna be pissed.
if im right about this, then its the us open trying too hard to produce another 'unknown'.'
-Joel
~Phunkin Phatt Phreerider~
Capital City Rider
Dragons Lair
I don't condone this.