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I just had the pleasure of watching the skateboarding vert finals of the 2001 Gravity Games. What a great competition. Rune Glifberg followed his second-run 92-plus score with an amazing and beautiful 96 point final run. This truly has to be one of the most beautiful vert runs ever. He stitched together five back-to-back technical tricks (including two 540s), he threw down a gorgeous full-extension Madonna, he pulled off a textbook-perfect tailgrab so flawless that it floored me to see it in the middle of a competition run.
The pleasure was not just the beautiful, technical and creative riding. It was heartwarming to see, yet again, this community of sportsmen who are genuinely happy and congratulatory when a co-competitor beats them. There is a tangible atmosphere of personal respect and nobility; the community feeling reminds me of Seattle musicians who consider sales to be after-thoughts and spend entire interviews endorsing other bands rather than talking about their own work. If you are a skeptic please take some time and watch part (or all) of the next pro skateboarding competition: the level of skill and sportsmanship is sure to surprise and impress you.
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