If someone yells, “Who got the holeshot?” do you have a clue what it means?
Surprisingly, less than 2 percent of Indiana University’s student population can identify this term used in motocross, so do not panic. To explain this term, you have to at least recognize a dirt bike.
Students at this Big Ten School can name virtually everyone on the starting basketball team, recall specific years IU witnessed football championships, and even attend every soccer game during the hot, summer days. While they cheer on my fellow Hoosiers, I’m walking around Buchanan, MI, every summer in scorching 100-degree conditions, rooting for James “Bubba” Stewart to pass the checkered flag on his SUZUKI RM-Z 450. To some, watching men in costume ride dirt bikes at lightning speed and leap 70-foot jumps sounds like a drunken summer party. To me, that’s a lifestyle.
I have yet to meet one person who can name a current professional motocross rider, although I give pity credit to those who answer Evel Knievel.
How can this small, southern Indiana town not love the sweet smell of race gas in the air? And why do I not see men walking around shirtless, drinking beers yelling crazily while imitating the “braapp” of the engine starting on a bike? Whatever the reason, I yearn for the day this happens.
I’m proud to be a Hoosier, and I will always carry the cream and crimson logo wherever I go. Until the last buzzer of a basketball game or final match of a season, I’ll support IU athletics 100%. But, the only jersey that will never go out of season for me is the one worn on a dirt bike.
-Emily Saucedo
