Dear AMA Pro Racing Fans,
It’s OK to scream. It’s OK to yell and cheer, to clap, hoot and holler. It’s OK to chant, hold up posters, and wave flags. It’s OK to paint your chest in the war colors of your favorite team. It’s OK to have a favorite racer, to high-five, boast and brag. Basically, it’s OK to be a cheese head.
The AMA Superbike series has traveled to an historic track in Daytona, Florida, to the picturesque valleys of Sonoma, California, and to a race held on a global stage near Salt Lake City this season. But nowhere so far have the fans been more excited than in the small town of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The fans at Road America last weekend added an extra ingredient to an already exciting series of racing. They screamed as their riders crossed the finish line. They packed the winners circle and they showed the racers that their efforts were appreciated.
The Mythical Cheese HeadA lot of the excitement at Road America had to do with the fact that Blake Young grew up just a few miles from the track. But I’m going to give credit to someone else. The mythical cheese head.
Now, I don’t know this man’s name, but frankly, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know that his name is Jim and he works at a bank at Plymouth, Wisconsin. For now, I need him to be the example of how exciting AMA Pro Racing can be.
Yes, maybe he’s a little drunkenly slobbish, and maybe the cheese head sets the bar at a height that I don’t want most AMA fans to reach. But he’s got passion. And he, like the rest of the Road America crowd, made racing at Elkhart Lake that much more enjoyable.
Each series in AMA Pro Racing (Supersport, Daytona Sportbike, and Superbike) is going to come down to the wire this year. The Superbike series is
Blake Young Jumps Into Crowd nearly tied at the top with Blake Young, Josh Hayes, and Tommy Hayden vying for the championship. In the Daytona Sportbike series, each race is coming down to a five man scramble for the win. And in the Supersport class, 7 riders have already graced the podium.
So fans of AMA Pro Racing, get out to the track. Paint your faces and scream as your rider comes across the line. Get drunk (not obnoxiously - my family is ashamed of me drunk, but have a good time), get loud, and get excited. Clap, cheer, hoot, and holler. Wave flags, make posters, and remember that the motorcycles don’t have to be the loudest things at the race.
Signed,
A Fellow Fan
