Fickle Fans & Fallen Heroes

Once upon a time MotoGP was simple. Doohan was gone, Rossi was at the front, easily the best rider in the paddock, his celebrations were fun and interesting, and he always did wheelies over the line, with knack knack, flamingos, can-cans etc. It was easy to like him, and most people did.

Sure there was Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi for competition, but  Sete Gibercry didnt inspire much enthusiasm, and Biaggi was fun just for the near fail wheelies and the fights with Rossi. Biaggi after an alleged dust-up with Rossi left him with a small cut on his face: “I got stung by a mosquito” says Biaggi.

All in all, Rossi was a fairly clear crowd favourite.

Then something happened, and new people started rocking up, Rossi lost the championship to a slow riding and even slower talking yank. The bikes changed. And a host of new 250 graduates with skills akin to Rossi’s rose up in the ranks.

There is Dani Pedrosa, the pint sized Spaniard who endeared himself to the world by punting team mate Hayden almost right out of the championship but otherwise seems drap and boring. Snippets of his interviews in Spanish however indicate the presence of a dry wit behind a deadpan delivery. His Schumacher-esque ability to escape out the front and grind out huge margins is unfortunately matched by his Schumacher-esque personality.

There is now Jorge Lorenzo, the other spaniard. Gifted rider, aggressive, exciting to watch. His post race antics had Rossi haters snorting, “Just another bloody Rossi” and Rossi fans revolted “Bloody Rossi-wannabe”. High profile disagreements had people wondering if this bloke was just an arrogant little snot rag… and then he crashed. Smashed up and battered he went on to ride into 4th in China and then 2nd in France after push starting his bike with two broken ankles! The litany of crashes finally caught up and he couldn’t start after a concussion he recieved in a crash during qualifying for Catalunya. None the less his bravery, determination and straight out Doohan-esque toughness have won him many new fans.

And then there was Stoner. Australian, fast, Australian,  exciting to watch, Australian. The newly married Casey was a brand new man last year, and won a stunning world championship on a bike others struggled to come to grips with.

The pressure of being the hunted is telling on him this year, with some critical mid race mistakes showing up. Even so, the man formerly known as Crashy Stoner is performing brilliantly on a bike that no other rider can get into the top ten. Melandri’s 5th and Elias’ 8th at China the only reasonable result for Ducati thus far. He’s one of us. He’s fast and he has a hot wife!

We all love him. But we dont hate the others either.

Fans arent polarised, there is no great chasm of support one rider to another, so how do we know who to love, who to cheer for and who to boo? Stoner passes Lorenzo, everyone cheers, Lorenzo passes Rossi, everyone cheers, Rossi passes Lorenzo again, everyone cheers again! Its a golden age for MotoGP, and an age where we are spoilt for heroes.