Monster Jam!

Just returned home a bit ago from the Monster Jam event at the Sprint Center, and it was a blast. In case you're unfamiliar with Monster Jam, just think Bigfoot and you've got it (though ironically, Bigfoot isn't affiliated with the Monster Jam series). But it's the same idea: huge trucks crushing things and jumping high.

A highlight of this year was that our good friends Scott and Spencer joined us this year, as did Kylee. We arrived early for autographs and got pics and signings with everyone but Grave Digger (the line was obnoxiously long). Then we sat back and enjoyed the spectacle of ear-busting, car-crushing, gigantic trucks throwing themselves around the arena floor. Below are the kiddos with the some of the more high profile trucks:

Aaron Basl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Dan Evans, Destroyer

(we snuck up to the back of Grave Digger for this one...Pablo Huffaker, the #2 GD driver, is about six feet to the left just out of the picture)

The standard Monster Jam event that you see on TV includes two main pieces: a race, and freestyle. Last year's race was really silly because the Sprint Center floor is so small - they basically started, jumped one car, and stopped. Fortunately, this year they decided not to even attempt a race, so they brought out some smaller freestylists instead, and that was much more fun. The finale was having motocross, BMX bikes, and four wheelers going simultaneously, which was really cool stuff:

There were several monster truck events, including donuts and wheelies, and closing out with the freestyle competition. The winners were given plaques which they autographed and then handed out to a kid in the crowd who was decked with their truck's gear or holding a sign. I was particularly glad to see Aaron Basl (TMNT) find a kid in the handicapped section to give his to. Class act.

There were a couple of trucks participating that I've not heard of before. I suspect that they are regional trucks, or maybe just second-tier trucks who haven't gotten the same national exposure of the big names. Or, maybe they just suck so badly that no one cares about them. Seriously, a couple of them were so lame on their runs that I began to wonder if they had been deliberately told to be lame in order to make sure that the big name trucks win. Not sure about the seedy underbelly of this industry, but that's how bad they were.

Still, as bad as the no-name trucks were, the big name ones were great. By far the best was Grave Digger, so here is his winning freestyle run (the blue truck parked off to the side broke down earlier, so it was just moved out of the way):

Grave Digger video

I doubt the KC event will be televised, but many other cities are. If you're interested in checking it out, you can get a regular fix on Speed TV, so check your cable listings. The Monster Jam world championship competition is coming up in a few weeks, and that's the best of the best drivers and trucks in a top-notch arena, so it would be a great place to take your first look.

All in all, it was a really fun event. The kids seemed to enjoy it, we got some good autographs, and some good memories, too.