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Track "design" these days has made Monster Jam unwatchable


Ram27

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I was flipping through channels and saw monster jam on FS2. Watched 30 seconds then changed to football. 

 

It's just not fun to watch anymore, and so much of that is because of the track. Gone are the days of a gorgeous junkyard that breaks down over the show, gone is the visceral crushing of cars and busses, gone is cool stuff like fountains. 

 

It's all just dirt ramps. It looks awful. It's awful to watch. 

 

There's no space anymore, as well. You can't work up momentum and make a huge leap without crashing into another mound of dirt. 

 

Look at this:

KO9wSGn.jpg

look at this:

YAjGlf5.jpg

 

Why does Feld think this is better? Don't say competitve advantage. a] MJ is a glorified circus now b] in the old days, better drivers would go last; it actually leveled the playing field if they had less obstacles

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Personally, I think it is taking them a while to figure it out, but they are definitely improving on their track designs.
Now in response to the 2 awful complaints you have

a. It's actually becoming less of a circus with the new tours and new points system. Monster Jam is slowly turning into what people wanted, tours with legitimate points series. Everyone always seems to complain, calling it a circus, but are you really going to go to a show, see a really cool move and be like, "Nope, f u ck that, I've seem them elephants do them crazy stunts in that there tent with the circus and the crazy lookin dudes"
It's entertainment, just watch the show and enjoy.
 b. It really used to be just Dennis and Tom that would end the show with some huge moments, but now it seems as if there really isn't a lot separating the skill of the drivers. If all the obstacles fall a part by the end of the show, it is a major disadvantage if there is a high score on the board. It also sucks for the fans because if there is a big obstacle at the beginning of the show, but it's destroyed by the end, then you may miss out on some big moves that could have happened if the obstacle was made out of solid dirt and not flimsy cars.

I understand that you're probably just one of the many people that want to look cool trying to bash Monster Jam, being probably the 50th post about this topic, but it's actually not that bad.

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The tracks are what killed Monster Jam for me. I don't even watch it anymore. I love watching old episodes on YouTube (shame they're all in sh!tty quality). I don't even mind the ugly BKTs as much. I loved watching them crush cars and do donuts and jump over stuff. Now it's just jump over stuff over and over and try to do a donut without hitting another ramp.

Even in the time of the backflip ramp in like 2013 had a fair amount of cars on the track. Now it's just a bunch of colored dirt. You can barely even see the stadium floor.

2 minutes ago, MJFanatic said:

I understand that you're probably just one of the many people that want to look cool trying to bash Monster Jam, being probably the 50th post about this topic, but it's actually not that bad.

Before I get shots fired at me for this, let me say that this is my opinion. I feel like having other obstacles besides dirt made the show more interesting and exciting because it's not just repetitive jumps and flips and donuts.

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I feel like so many people who complain about the tracks fail to realize how expensive and how little junkyard automobiles there are. Like... think about that first, that's a note for so many people I see give that complaint. Seriously try asking to see how much a bus and some cars are, they're much more expensive and in way less quantity than in the past. Also campers have raised safety concerns in the past to fans and drivers alike. 


 

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26 minutes ago, Charlie H. said:

I feel like so many people who complain about the tracks fail to realize how expensive and how little junkyard automobiles there are. Like... think about that first, that's a note for so many people I see give that complaint. Seriously try asking to see how much a bus and some cars are, they're much more expensive and in way less quantity than in the past. Also campers have raised safety concerns in the past to fans and drivers alike.

This is true, but it was still nice when it was around. They sell plenty of memorabilia in terms of toys, pennants, plushies, etc. etc. etc. They also make some decent money on tickets. The fact that they still can't afford cars is ridiculous, at the junkyard, because they charge so much for a broken car that's coming back to you anyway. At least just sell the shell and keep whatever mechanical parts you want to. The audience can't see what's under the hood.

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39 minutes ago, Mr. Self Destruct said:

This is true, but it was still nice when it was around. They sell plenty of memorabilia in terms of toys, pennants, plushies, etc. etc. etc. They also make some decent money on tickets. The fact that they still can't afford cars is ridiculous, at the junkyard, because they charge so much for a broken car that's coming back to you anyway. At least just sell the shell and keep whatever mechanical parts you want to. The audience can't see what's under the hood.

I mean while true they have more money than other promoters they also have their own in fleet of trucks to maintain, as well as foreign markets to maintain. Kind of a far cry from promoters who do the same events year end and year out or a speedway that only does a couple shows a year. Hell Monster X did it and still does to a good extent.

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part of the tracks construction is for safety too, no more debris in the crowd plus the jumps are designed to launch upwards not outwards because of all the past wall damage. I personally love the shows still and still think they are good provided feld can keep their trucks in one piece

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I actually heard from a very reliable source that there was a problem with how FELD had motorcross coming into some of the same venues as Monster Jam, and the parts of the cars/vans/busses were getting left in the dirt. That's another reason they limited their tracks down to just dirt.

 

The tracks FELD used this past year in first quarter were okay, and I really like the style of racing they've been doing. However, I just hope they alternate between the style they did first quarter and the style they did at St Louis/Minneapolis recently.

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I mean eventually we're gonna run out of Ford Tauruses and E150's to crush, right?

Honestly the lack of cars isn't a deal breaker by any means. It was disappointing at first, mainly because we are so used to seeing cars be such an integral part of the courses. Honestly I don't mind the lack of cars, just the lack of originality in each course design. I'm not saying that every course has to be vastly different and unique from the last, but a little change in the designs doesn't hurt, even if its just shifting a few ramps around. The jumps are a little overly steep too. Still, not a deal breaker.

The only things I actually have problems with are the backflips and the World Finals track.

Backflips were awesome back when they were newer, but I feel like the novelty has worn off for me. I think they've just over-saturated it and there isn't really any excitement anymore for me. It's too fixed and predictable.

The current World Finals freestyle track is really just two giant islands of dirt made of all these mashed together ramps with no real breathing room or strategy available. It's like if the double box jump from WF11 was an entire course. The World Finals being a 2 day event is a drag too, but I know why they do it.

As far as your comparison goes, I cant imagine the World Finals 2 track being used today for any promotion with a budget, because the trucks would eat it up in seconds. That's literally why they started making bigger, stronger jumps 10 years ago.

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2 hours ago, Ram27 said:

Look at this:

KO9wSGn.jpg

look at this:

YAjGlf5.jpg

 

Why does Feld think this is better? Don't say competitve advantage. a] MJ is a glorified circus now b] in the old days, better drivers would go last; it actually leveled the playing field if they had less obstacles

Are you looking for serious answers? Because I would sure as hell prefer World Finals 16 to Worlds Finals 2. I'm going to throw this into perspective. If I'm travelling cross country to pay for a 3-day "Greatest Monster Truck Event on the Planet" event with a full day to prepare the track between racing and freestyle, then I'm going to be pretty disappointed if it's some bus/container stacks sitting on the floor in the same way as it was 16 years ago. With time comes changes, and as long as you aren't AC/DC you understand that (sorry/not sorry). Like think about it, if the tracks didn't evolve at all in the past 16 years, don't you think everyone would be complaining about how this sport is so damn stagnant and whatnot? Interest would fly out the window on mass scales. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the best tracks in all of history are being thrown in front of us (unless we're talking arena-wise, in which case these are very much the best tracks we've seen). But there's not doubt that shows have the highest potential of entertainment in years because the drivers are experienced on the tracks, and know what to expect, and can learn week-to-week on how to get better.

1 hour ago, Mr. Self Destruct said:

The fact that they still can't afford cars is ridiculous, at the junkyard, because they charge so much for a broken car that's coming back to you anyway. At least just sell the shell and keep whatever mechanical parts you want to. The audience can't see what's under the hood.

There's a difference between being able to afford something and a purchase being reasonable. I'm in a small band that would one day like to tour, and I also have money in a savings account, so why not buy myself a $1500 van so I can tour? Because I can use my money for more reasonable things (college textbooks are hella expensive), and can also keep it in case of an emergency. It's the same thing with FELD. Why put money into cars that aren't necessary when they already own dirt, and can put the money into expanding their shows and their brand into more countries, and build more trucks? They'll make way more money from expanding into new markets than they would from bringing back cars. Also if the junkyard could pull everything off the car that they could profit from then you'd be left with the subframe if even that. Places like Pull-A-Part have a list of basically every component of a vehicle online and you can buy all of it. This is more than the engine/drivetrain, this is every suspension component, brake component interior component, body panel, and literally anything else on the vehicle. I mean just as an example, Here's a Malibu that was a crush car in Cincinnati a few years back.

sUgGG.JPG

This car has been stripped of quite a bit I'd say, at least the front Fascia, headlights, and rear bumper cover. A lot of parts are dinged likely from the loader putting it into place, but there's still money in this car (well if it hadn't been painted and attacked by the loader.) Just as an example, the rims on this 12 year old economy car could still have brought in about $200, and I'm betting the suspension and axles/suspension arms were still in usable condition at minimum. I bet the interior was fine, or usable before monster jam got ahold of it too.

You also mention that the junkyards get the cars back right after, this is true, but after a Monster Jam show, what's the point? Let's be honest, if you saw a car that was clearly used at a monster truck show, even if it doesn't look that bad, you still probably wont pull a part from it because you know that 10,000 lb vehicles have been driving on/over it, and it's painted an obnoxious color. At least I wouldn't. Most of these cars are probably recycled after the show. Whether they sit in a junk yard for a bit beforehand or not, they're only going to pull in about $300 based on their weight, and the steel market has been anything but steady from what I've seen so that's a risky one. It's surely affordable by a company like FELD, but not reasonable.

Business choices are more than what you can afford, but rather what would be best for the expansion, and overall view of your company as a whole.

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You are entitled to your opinion buttttttttttt
a] MJ is a glorified circus now
Monster trucks have been a entertainment business right from the moment Bob Chandler crushed cars for his shop.

b] in the old days, better drivers would go last; it actually leveled the playing field if they had less obstacles

This driver skill gap is not as wide as it was back in 2002 when trucks would crumble if you thought of clearing a car/van/car stack. When 80% of the field can at any given time, win racing/freestyle, having a track that will maintain an entire event means it will really showcase said drivers ability.


Before getting uptight over disagreeing with the choice to go all dirt, take a step back and look at it from a bigger perspective. If the last two events of 2016 were any indication, tracks will be de-cluttered quite a bit. Just please do not be one of those people that rant and rave about how they are doing it all wrong, then go to the next Monster Jam event that comes near you.

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I think all dirt is eh, I miss obstacles like containers that trucks would climb over and whatnot but business is business.

One thing they should change is ramp angles. I remember growing up and watching Meents floor the truck off a step up or a motocross hill and rebounding the truck into a stoppie. Now they just shoot up into the air. 

One track Monster Jam should use is the tracks that had a massive dirt mound with a ramp connected, like Jacksonville 2010 or San Diego 2009. Those tracks had some awesome freestyles and they used minimal cars. Monster Jam could easily bring that back and not need any cars. 

It would be fun to watch today's drivers tackle a track like WF2, just to see how they would use such a limited track. 

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10 hours ago, Mr. Self Destruct said:

Even in the time of the backflip ramp in like 2013 had a fair amount of cars on the track. Now it's just a bunch of colored dirt. You can barely even see the stadium floor.

I'm just going to talk about 2014 here because it was the year I really got back into following monster trucks and it was the first year the backflip ramp was regularly used in competition outside of Vegas. 

The cars weren't really on the track in 2014 (and a few years prior), they were in it. They were just there, not getting crushed at all. Here's two pictures from Foxboro 2014. Dragon came out in the middle of racing, Northern Nightmare towards the end of freestyle. The cars built into the track are in almost the same condition in each shot.

npbyo0k.jpg

 

Z3WLYpw.jpg

The past couple years there's still been plenty of crush cars out on the track. (Though they did take some off turning cars the track at Foxboro this year and not use them for freestyle.)

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Personally i like the dirt tracks but the problem is that is the same track in every goddam show! And Monster jam was not about justo big air, saves or backflips. It was about destrucción too and the campers are not in Monster jam anymore sadly. Feld should be more creative and do different tracks in every show, like in 2008-2010 for me those were the best tracks. Btw Santiago, Chile last week was not a dirt track, it had just crush cars lol

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