The Sports View

By Sun Advocate

Local communities seem to have begun embracing skateboarding and other alternative sports.
Youth who partake in the activity of skateboarding don’t realize the history the no-longer-extreme sport has.
Despite popular thought, skateboarding is not a new thing.
Born in the ’50’s, it used to be a “rebel” sport to parents and grandparents, but with the youth of today, it has become a normal occurrence like watching television and drinking Mountain Dew.
The rebirth of the skatepark has even taken place, there seems to be one in every small town, including Price and East Carbon.
Parks started popping up early in the ’80’s and seemed to cater to the growing punk and rebel groups of the time, slowly dying out in the ’90’s.
With certain reality shows and skating pros becoming popular, along with extreme sporting events, skateboarding has rolled back into the mainstream and everyone is doing it.
A new movie based on a true story of guys and their skateboards is coming out. For those who haven’t seen the previews, “Lords of Dogtown” is coming out soon.
The movie is the story of a group of California surfers who become famous overnight with their skateboarding talents and suffer the trials of those unprepared for instant fame.
If people haven’t noticed or never knew, the skatepark is back along with the skateboarding trend and local communities are now embracing the youth who participate in the sport by funding these parks.
With the somewhat acceptance of skateboarding by the masses, the attitude of the entire activity has lost its luster for some who think it is too mainstream.
But my question is, is it really accepted, or are they just stashing these troubled teens away from the “normal” folks? Hey, at least they’re not skateboarding down the railings at the city library, right?
The popular thought has become if you’re entertaining the masses and making money doing it, then you’re “selling out.”
Skateboarding is the trend right now for the youth, but next week, who knows. But everyone knows that with the death of one extreme sport, always comes the birth of a new one and it’s usually more dangerous than the first.