There’s no crying in motocross; A case study in premature celebrations

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Don’t sell the skin until you’ve caught the bear. Don’t praise the day before the evening. These are all age-old adages with different origins, yet they suggest one implicit and simple lesson; it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Notice too that they all begin with “don’t”. As in “do not”. As in “do not be an idiot”. Being stupid in life can end up costing you things, whether it’s money, love, friends, trust or credibility. Keeping your head about you is important. It is part of maturing as an adult and developing as a credible citizen. In the world of sports it can be the difference between winning and losing which is ultimately the point of competition; to draw a line between victory and defeat. It is one thing to fail or fall short of a goal because of an injury or by being outdone by a superior competitor. So long as the preparation was legit, we humans can stomach these brands of loss. However, if the loss or failure derives from one being stupid, that is an entirely different story.

There is no shortage of examples of athletes doing stupid things. Most of the time these rash outbursts have no bearing on the final result of the competition.  There are also a lot of examples of athletes or teams losing in stupid ways. But, there is still some room in my heart for compassion in these instances. Humans have a natural relationship with error after all. We all make mistakes. However, there is one special category of stupidity in sports that warrants no compassion because it is entirely avoidable; the early celebration. When this behavior rears its ugly head one of two things can happen; it ends up not being a factor but embarrasses, or it ends up costing everything. The schadenfreude in me loves when the latter happens. It’s humbling and degrading. It mocks arrogance and washes away hubris. The perpetrator and the victim are one in the same. There is nothing worse than losing a competition because of selfishly and narcissistically celebrating too early, This goes for individual or team sports. For this there is absolutely no excuse.

Leon Lett is chased down by Don Beebe in Super Bowl XXVII. Image courtesy of ESPN.

We have seen this happen many times, and no sport seems to be immune. We’ve seen it in cycling, football, soccer, rugby, basketball, racing and politics. Each example reflects an individual enjoying their feats prematurely because they just can’t get over themselves and what they have accomplished. Now, I am not suggesting that they shouldn’t be proud of their assumed victories. It takes hard work to win at anything except the lottery, and the winner earns the right to celebrate. Yet, you can only be called the winner if, you know, you actually win. Wait until you cross the finish line to express yourself. Don’t be stupid. It can be expensive.

Last Saturday night at the X Games in Los Angeles we were treated with the latest example of this type of victory-cancelling stupidity. The event was the Women’s Moto-X motocross race, and the competitor was Australia’s Meghan Rutledge. With a seemingly safe and commanding lead heading into the final lap of the race, Rutledge decided that she simply could not wait to celebrate her inevitable win. As she soared over the final jump, she let go of one handlebar and pumped her fist in the air. In doing so she compromised her balance, and her bike landed too far forward. She dumped the bike going into the final turn, and several other riders passed her on their way to the finish line. Amongst them was rider Vicki Golden who would go on to claim her third consecutive title in the event. To Meghan’s credit she did finish the race. In 4th place. They don’t give out medals for 4th place. Not even at the X Games.

Before I get into this too much, I want to disclose that poor Meghan Rutledge is only 18 years old. She is young. Younger people make more mistakes than older people. It’s science. I also want to disclose that it doesn’t matter how old she is. What she did was stupid at any age. Stupidity is ageless.

After the race, Meghan, who fortunately was not hurt in the crash, was visibly upset. Once she had taken her helmet off, she was seen crying, mascara stains streaming down her face. She knew what had happened, why it happened, and what caused it. She knew she screwed up. In an interview with ESPN she said “I was out there leading. I’m really young. I’ve never led an X Games before, I celebrated a bit too early and made a mistake.” Well, she was right, she was leading an X Games race for the first time, and she did celebrate “a bit too early”. However, that is about where the facts stop. First, she says “I’m really young” like it’s an excuse. Meghan, if you are adept enough to use your age as an excuse for your behavior than you are old enough to know better than to do what you did in the first place. It’s as simple as that. Second, she refers to her early celebration as a mistake. No. Absolutely not. A mistake is forgetting to set your alarm, leaving the garage door open, or leaving your cellphone at home when you go to work. This wasn’t a mistake. It was on purpose, and it served no means other than to boast. It may seem harsh, but she got what she deserved.

The good news for Meghan Rutledge is that is she is indeed young. She has a long career ahead of her, and if she learns this lesson properly now then she will be just fine. I have no doubt that she will have future opportunities to win gold at the X Games. In fact, I will root for her when she comes back. After all, if she didn’t crash and burn on Saturday I would never have heard of her. She is now my favorite female motocross racer by default because she is the only female motocross racer who I am even aware of. Congrats Meghan!

Rutledge celebrating the win that wouldn’t be. Image courtesy of X Games/via YouTube

While I watched the video of the incident for the first time, I was immediately reminded of a similar situation that took place a few years ago at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The event was Snowboard Cross. It consists of four snowboarders racing down an obstacle-strewn course. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins. 2006 marked the first time that this particular event was included in the Games. Snowboarding in any fashion was first introduced to the Olympics in Nagano in 1998, and since then the sport has garnered more and more sanctioned events. 2006 was a chance for those who love the sport to see it reap more international attention and respect, especially in contrast to the other more traditional sports like skiing and figure skating that have dominated the Winter Games throughout their history. Enter Lindsey Jacobellis from Stratton, VT.

Lindsey Jacobellis at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. Image courtesy of Spokeo.

If you look at Lindsey’s career as a whole it is easy to see why she is considered the greatest female Snowboard Cross rider of all time. I don’t care if it’s a young sport. If you are considered the greatest of all time in anything you are an icon. She has won Gold in the event in some way, shape or form 10 different times over the span of 8 years. She was dominant in the Winter X Games pretty much every time she strapped her board on. Then came the Olympics. The 2006 Games provided Lindsey with an opportunity to prove that the sport she loved and excelled at was on par with all other forms of competition at the Olympics. It does not get any better, and it was her Gold medal to lose.

Surely enough as the Snowboard Cross final went on, Lindsey developed a very comfortable lead over the next closest rider, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland. Victory was in sight and in her grasp. Then she made the decision to accept that victory prior to actuality giving it to her. As she floated over the second to last jump, she bent down and attempted a grossly unnecessary method grab. A trick. A stupid trick. She fell and skidded to a stop. She got up, but had to fight gravity to get over the jump towards the finish line. Meanwhile, Frieden passed her swiftly and crossed the finish line first. Jacobellis received the Silver medal.

I remember being beside myself when I was watching this. I was so angry with her. I couldn’t believe that she would pull such an idiotic and selfish stunt just mere feet away from winning Gold. Not just for her either, that was a Gold medal that the United States of America deserved as much as she did. To make matters worse, she had the gall to lie about it in the aftermath of the race in an effort to hide her stupidity. She claimed she tried the method grab to “maintain stability”. Bull. She eventually gave in and admitted that it was “unnecessary”, and that “Snowboarding is fun; I was having fun.” Yes, because in order to have fun you have to do tricks. Winning isn’t enough. You have to do it with swagger. Apparently only snowboarders had fun at the 2006 Olympics. The bobsledders, figure skaters, and the biathletes were having a miserable time representing their countries while doing the things they love. I couldn’t help but think while I was watching Lindsey’s behavior and reaction that she wasn’t in Turin to represent the USA at all. She was there to represent Lindsey Jacobellis.

Swiss rider Tanja Frieden with her Gold medal from the 2006 Winter Olympics. Image courtesy of live-wintersport.com.

Since 2006 Tanja Frieden of Switzerland has owned a Gold medal that she absolutely deserves. Perhaps it should have or could have been worn around the neck of a girl from Vermont, but stupidity got in the way. Freiden didn’t get lucky. Jacobellis got selfish, and she perpetrated what I would say is the most significant and unforgivable incident of early celebration in the history of sports. What she did dwarfs what Meghan Rutledge did in the Moto-X final last Saturday at the X Games. Frankly, the X Games don’t deserve to be mentioned on the same level as the Olympics. However, what happened in 2006 is a sign of what happens when one influences the other; it muddies the waters of premiere competition. Unfortunately, we are in a new age of mentality when it comes to competition, and I think athletes like Jacobellis and Rutledge are the norm. It has become more about tricks and swag then it is about the sport or the game itself. When you combine sheer stupidity with unchecked selfishness and mix it with a lack of respect for competition you get stories like Jacobellis’ and Rutledge’s. But, hey, at least they’re having fun!