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Every so often, I start feeling very controversial. Usually this gets me in trouble or gets my article yanked at the last minute. (Yes, this has happened before.) It's happening again and I feel powerless to stop it. I am usually very laid back, reserved, and quiet until I get to know you. Once I know you, watch out because I'm gonna tell you like it is every time you ask me! The whole thing is this..... lots of our shows are dying. I don't like it. There are shows that are already dead that I never even got to go to. There also seems to be a trend going. I'll explain. A show promoter wants to start a good show for whatever reason; fun, money, because he likes to work his ass off, whatever. The show starts out small but is lots of fun mostly because you are just chillin' with your homies, you know there's a shot you might win (cause it's a small show), and the price is okay too. The show starts to grow and grow. With that comes a move to a bigger venue. That means it's going to cost the promoter a little more so he's got to charge a little more to get in. Now there are more vehicles to judge so he has to find more people to do this. This lessens your chance of winning because: 1. There are more vehicles there. 2. There's more chance for error on the judges part. and 3. More than likely, one person is not judging all of one class that they could specialize in. Everyone starts hearing how much fun this show is and how the competition is getting harder. Even more quality rides are starting to show up. People drinking, hanging out, tearing stuff up, fights, and other unkind things tend to follow. So all these extra people keep coming. The promoter is happy that his show is doing so well, even if it means he has to raise the entry price again to cover the extra security, extra help, extra judges, etc. This is where the bitching starts. People gripe about the price of entry but still don't care to take care of the grounds. People gripe about the judges not spending enough time on their vehicle, whether they win or lose. People gripe about everything. Most people that go to shows go to have fun. Some people go to get rowdy. And that's fine. But if you are getting rowdy and tearing shit up, then it's partly your fault that the costs keep raising and the rules keep getting stricter.
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A show shouldn't be about babysitting. It should be about hanging out and competing against other vehicles like yours. The rowdy stuff can happen in your hotels, where YOU are responsible for the damages. By no means am I saying you can't party. I'm a party girl myself. But, damn, show a little respect. I've noticed that the shows that tend to be the best "all around" shows to go to are the ones that send you out of the show field to party. I see that a lot of the newer promoters are doing this. I also like it that most show promoters realize that their show is not the only one out there, and try to keep to the same dates each year. Pretty much, we have a schedule that we can follow, with each of the promoters being respectful of each other and not trying to shut one another down. For example, Pigeon Forge, One couple, one show, divorce, two people, two shows, same weekend. This worked okay for a while because either they worked together, or simply didn't work against each other. Now it doesn't work. I would think it would be very bad taste to badmouth each other's shows. Kinda petty, even. I might even go so far as to say childish. Surely if someone can pull together a whole show, they wouldn't be this way. I sincerely hope that the up and coming shows that are growing with booming numbers do not end up dead because of people griping and being petty. I hope the shows that we already have stand the test of time and I hope that the shows just starting up do well and avoid the trend. I hope that the enthusiasts keep going to these shows, even if they have a bad year. Everyone is entitled to have a bad go every now and then. I hope that all of you are ready for the competition. I hear it's gonna be fierce this year. Brandi GulowAll comments to MinitruckerChic@aol.com
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