2007 Inline World Championships - Reports and Photos

[The Major]

Originally Posted by Pepper Montana

Joey Mantia proved that he is the fastest rollerblader ever! Way to go, Joey. Better than anyone else, ever! Even Chad Hendrick.

I know you meant inline speed skater. And Joey being better than Chad is certainly debatable.

[Pepper Montana]

Originally Posted by The Major

I know you meant inline speed skater. And Joey being better than Chad is certainly debatable.

Major,
No, I definitely meant pro rollerblader. Joey had a sig line or something somewhere on the internet where he was saying that he was "pro rollerblader." It was just tongue in cheek. I know that some people hate being called a rollerblader and I can see why. Like nails on a chalkboard.

Until Joey goes to the 'alympics' and makes a scene in the media, I'm definitely more of a Joey fan. I resent Chad for his behavior. He is an incredible athlete though. No argument there.

[sk8crazy]

Originally Posted by Pepper Montana

"rollerblader"

I get that it's a recognizable name to a lot of non-skaters and/or some rec skaters. But, after many years of still hearing inline skaters being described as "rollerbladers", well it really bothers me. I know it's petty, but it's like calling a hockey player a "Bauer player". Some people just don't get that Rollerblade is a brand name just like Bauer or K2 or CCM.

[online inline]

Originally Posted by Pepper Montana

Until Joey goes to the 'alympics' and makes a scene in the media, I'm definitely more of a Joey fan. I resent Chad for his behavior. He is an incredible athlete though. No argument there.

Chad had a way of just crushing the competition. He didn't win, he prevailed. It just seemed that he was cut of a different grade of steel. Not to mention how important a figure he was in terms of distinguishing the double push before it was the default way of skating.

I'm not sure you can compare the two, at least i'm not convinced of it. But i will say that i miss the days when Chad would be amongst the skaters in the major races. He was colorful and he was a hoot.

I do think the Shani escapades were unfortunate, and were grossly overblown by the media. It was good for the sport (in terms of media attention only) to dummy down the whole thing in terms of getting attention at a level even a dope could understand, but it was at the cost of the reputation of this great athlete and great competitor. That's unfortunate.