The energy drinks and the capital they provide rule the sport of motocross and supercross. Not only in the United States but around the world. You would be hard pressed to find a series or team anywhere across the globe that does not at least slightly derive their budget dollars from the energy drink giants.
Back in the day, there were cigarette sponsors like Camel, beer companies like Olympia, Miller, and Coors, and even Wrangler jeans. We even had tech companies like Boost Mobile and EA Sports join in.
That all changed several years ago and it’s hard to imagine the sport without their involvement.
And it’s not only the big guys that are taking part.
Sure Monster, Rockstar, and Red Bull support the majority of the support, but even smaller ones like 51Fifty Energy have joined. The energy drink impact is unprecedented.
All of this has had me thinking, what happens to the sport if they go away.
Now I’m not throwing up any red flags here, just thinking.
What would happen?
Could supercross and motocross survive?
Who would replace these companies?
The first logical choice might be the automakers. Toyota is already heavily involved, and I’m sure they see a positive ROI for their efforts. The thought process is solid. Everyone attending a supercross or motocross has to get there somehow, and they most likely drive a car or truck. But then why have we not seen more companies get involved? Sure we had Dodge/Ram with the RCH team for several years, but why did it go away?
What about fast food sponsorships? Everyone eats, right? The problem there is our sport is small numbers compared to the public at large. After all, does your grandma care who won Anaheim 1? See motocross and supercross is such a small piece of the pie, it’s easy to spend those marketing dollars somewhere else.
I guess there is some real concern. If energy drinks go the way of alcohol and tobacco advertising, we’d be in big trouble. Support of the racers, teams, and series would ultimately fall back into the hands of the sport itself and the OEM’s and companies would need to pick up the pieces.
Something to think about. What are your thoughts?
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