It has troubled me
I write this as objectively as I can. I harbor zero resentment to the team and its' members (with one exception). In terms of the cycling scene as a whole I am a new comer and know only a fraction of the history. I will try not to make any uneducated assumptions or wild accusations. Please know that what I am basing this off of may not be entirely true, but it all comes from sources (sorry) people I trust to be accurate. Please correct me if I am wrong. This is not targeted at any one person or decision. I know people are going to hate what I have to say and probably disagree wildly, but I just want to say it. There are two sides here and at first I did not see or agree with both of them, but upon much thought I have begun to understand both arguments and my resulting feelings are less conflicted and more understanding of each sides needs. Even still, it really isn't much of my buisness. And don't tell me this isn't public knowledge, I have known for months, we all have.
xXx Athletico Cycling to this day, if you google search it, has a result that reads, "A USA Cycling group that is comprised mainly of bike messengers." And I am not troubled about how that sentence has become to be untrue, because that has been the case for some time. It is simple to fix, rewording to read, "A USA Cycling group that was built mainly by bike messengers." But the spirit of the foundation of the team has been able to live though* until this season. To many, the decision to drop Yojimbo's Garage, the shop owned and operated by founding member Marcus Moore, as the teams' shop sponsor was sacrilege. As it does not affect me I can not get up in arms, but to say I was not disappointed would be a lie.
From what I understand, both sides have a pretty reasonable argument and in the end, by choice of a comitte, this is just the end result. We all realize that having work performed at Yojimbo's takes a little more time than another shop might. We all still get service from him for our own reasons. It takes a while to get a wheel built, but it comes with a life time of being true, guaranteed. And I have been hit by a car on a Marcus Moore built wheel and it stayed round. And if it wasn't he would have fixed it. There is little cycling related he can not source and outside of wait time his customer service is next to none*. There are not many people who have the amount of cycling knowledge he does and that is impossible to come by in most shops. On the other hand, being a small one man shop has its' disadvantages, especially for a cycling team topping 100 members (I hope that is right, either way it is a substantial team). That is the only reason I know of for dropping Yojimbo's, but with the volume Mission Bay has I'd expect there are other benefits xXx will receive* that Marcus just can't match (again educated speculation). Yet, I think most serious cyclists know, that if they need something track or cyclocross related in Chicago, Yojimbo's can not be replaced by anyone.
So where does this leave both sides? As disappointing as it is I think the Yojimbo's supporters just need to understand that with the teams size that this was inevitable. xXx AthletiCo is going to have to own up to the type of team they have become (sorry, changed) [understand that they have become a different type of team], not that it is a bad type of team in the least, probably one of the better teams around who contribute a ton to the community. (addition) This meant that Yojimbo's may not have been the best shop for the team naymore. Faced with the departure of their messenger squad, and the resulting formation of the Cuttin Crew (I know that was its' own situation and there are arguments from both sides), and the loss of Yojimbo's as a sponsor, xXx is a team that no longer caters to the independent unstructured fun loving urban cyclist (are there enough adjectives in there?). It has become a racing team, with team strategy, specific race focus and regional goals. These are things that are mandatory with many teams, but I feel that the dramatic shift from the type of shop that Yojimbo's is to the type of shop Mission Bay is says something about the teams members and their focus*. (addition) Again, not a bad change, just a different direction, there are not any bad cyclists or bad intentions here, just different ones.
What really is the heart of this struggle then. Ultimately it is that xXx remains xXx in name. As silly as it sounds. With the departure of everything that has created the team, the teams core mission statement has changed*. (addition) Maybe less mission statement and more along the lines of goals. And thus many, without Marcus, feel it is no longer truly xXx. It is a shame that he or the other founding riders do not have any claim to the name because that would solve the hurt feelings. So with all of the founding fathers out; a team is emerging with principles far outside the ideals the team started with ((addition)I still feel this is the truth). I think xXx needs to know that this issue goes beyond the team, just a little, and the reason people have taken up a defensive attitude to the move is because xXx at one point stood for more than just a team name. Now that is all that is left*. Basically, it is not xXx in principle anymore and the people who know the history are disappointed. To be brutally blunt, much of that history, without Marcus on the team, the team will forget in the coming years.
So:
What's in a name?
*ATMO**
**According to my opinion. Yes, I know I am a shameless Sachs fan.
So I will add, sort of in response to Luke. I changed a word or two or added a sentance above in a place or two, noted and not deleted, just struck through, to more clearly express what I am trying to say. And I thought I made this clear from the get go, but I understand that the team needed to support its members in the best way that it can, and that is what it did. But the team needs to understand that its name is seeped into Chicago's cycling history and dropping Marcus was not going to happen in one easy stroke. The members and management of xXx are not bad people, and have the best intrests of thier team in mind. And that is all. The question in my mind that spawned this post was, Is xXx the same team without Marcus? And this is what I came up with. Everyone please remember this is just my opinion and I am in no way an all knowing cycling anybody. Cycling is just my life, always has and always will be.
BenPopper
13 Comments
Reader Comments (13)
"xXx Athletico Cycling to this day, if you google search it, has a result that reads, "A USA Cycling group that is comprised mainly of bike messengers."
That text hasn't been part of our Web site in years. If you know how to excise it from the Googlesphere, please let me know ASAP.
Also, our mission statement has not changed.
xXx AthletiCo is going to have to own up to the type of team they have become
I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to say here.
But I'm a lover, not a hater, so I think that's all I'll say here, and I'll resist all temptations to say more, other than to add that I wish you'd included me as one of your "sources." You have my e-mail. And the rest of management can be reached at management@xxxracing.org .
It does say that when you google it. I uploaded a screenshot to my flickr...
I know it says that. What I'm saying is that I don't know how to change it.
(Except I think I just figured it out. Had to do with the DMOZ open directory project. Who knew!? So I'll insert some meta code, blah blah blah, a corrected description should propogate through the Interwebs shortly. Apologies for the confusion.)
Luke, please see notes and revisions above. I thought I was clear about this not being an attack at the team or its managers. I did realize it would be seen as one. I think I have explained my point of view clearly, I don't think anyone did anything wrong. This was just bigger than switching sponsors, and I am sure that was realized from the get go. I do not understand how you are so troubled with a post where I praised the team numerous times as well. I feel I was actually rather light on any criticisms.
I think this can be a discussion or observation without being an attack. It's the largest team in the area and what happens there does have an effect on the cycling community. I hope this can be constructive and not hurling stones or getting defensive...
I think it is an interesting insight on how a team can evolve. Like many things the original intention starts to change as things get bigger and want to be more and more apart of the scene and community. I have seen the change in XXX as an outsider looking in. Not saying that the change is good or bad but it is strange and to me rather sad to think of XXX without Yojimbo's as their shop.
Maybe that is why killjoy doesn't care whether or not we have sponsors and don't have open memberships. Maybe being slightly unorganized is actually a good thing?:)
I am annoyed that XXX and 2CC have gone to black and white kits though. Such big teams couldn't come up with an original color idea?
My understandin is that xXx Racing - Athletico still has a messenger program.
go bears.
well done, ben.
give a holler if you are free
and looking to warm your bones
out in the suburbs this friday.
pace!
"So with all of the founding fathers out; a team is emerging with principles far outside the ideals the team"
We have definitely gone through some growing pains since the team's inception. This is mainly due to our open membership policy which has been the driving principle of the team from the start and will continue to be what the team is about. We don't turn anyone away that has an interest in racing a bike.
Management made a very difficult decision in regards to the bike shop sponsor, right or wrong, but a decision that needed to be made.
in response to holly's objection to another team using black and white:
huh?
do you think your team was the first to come up with black and white uniforms? seriously? if not, then why couldn't your team be more original in coming up with a color scheme?
somebody from killjoy did the same thing on CBR. i'm sad to say that it really lowers my opinion of the members of that team when i hear such ludicrous complaints.
I am saddened by the decision made by xXx Racing-AthletiCo towards Yojimbo's but as a nostalgic and emotional point for me.
The team has a variety of focusing to do for many people and speaking SOLELY for the dirtbags on the team - I didn't see jackshit of any other team promoting dirt riding. Even xXx when I joined - didn't have a solidified effort of dirtbags - in fact - the majority of the hoss dirt riders at one point in their racing career started out racing for xxx.
Evolution is necessary - to make things better for many reasons -and the team was doing that and I realized that there was a monumental effort being made to continue xXx as a team that reflects the 'everyman' effort and ambition of an amateur cyclist. In that same vein its trying to represent the multi-faceted efforts of racing in all its cycling forms. So - track was one very well highlighted facet of xxx. And to that regard - Yojimbo's did fantastic. But for the dirtbaggers who were true to the sport of dirtbagging didn't join on the auspices of the wonders of Marcus - they joined because the xxx community tried hard to give them something - something that I and a few others pride ourselves in trying to formulate - that you can be successful at MTB riding and racing in Chicago - something that I haven't seen a SINGULAR team in the heart of Chicago do - INCLUDING killjoy.
Don't interpret that as a slam as i believe Killjoy is the hoss of the hosses and have peripheral friendships from their team with my best buds - I like the exclusivity that the killjoy team has given themselves - but I do point out that I don't see Killjoy giving clinics to high schoolers out at Palos either.
So I had a dilemma last year - race for real and be selfish about how I train and ride - or develop an MTB program that can flourish in a city that isn't known for MTB. Every kid in the city interested in dirtbagging doesnt' know about the joys of what Chicago has to offer them - so I HAD to come back to xXx to see that those kids aren't left behind and that the joe schmo on a shitty hardrock can actually learn MTB skills and learn to hang with the best of them when they try. This is/was daunting for me - but there I am fighting the good fight alongside the best team members I can think of doing it with.
One thing I want to make explicitly clear is that xXx is trying to encompass 'every' discipline. And hopefully it will work - we can only try to make it so. We have a ton of hopeful volunteers wanting and willing to make a comittment to the cycling community. I wish that other teams didn't have a such fuck you punk rock attitude we can do it ourselves without you and we love to ride cuz we're hoss.
When I was growing up in Chicago - none of those fuckers existed. Now that we do exist (including myself as a fucker) - why the penchant to say that ONE shop held the meaning to it all for one team? Last i checked all the dirtbags that joined xxx - luv'd marcus for his message not his silly track bikes and velodrones.
it evolved much like every neighborhood in Chicago the past 30 years.
Don't be a bitch to the sport and contribute back in the manner you think is best and don't criticize an effort you don't know the scope of.
P.S. My last post was not a direct criticism to any one individual - I love this town and am very defensive of Chicago at large being a homegrown denizen of my city but I'll be damned that people forget the original intention of any team - promote the goodness of cycling.
You either do it or you don't - its not an individual effort.