Why Shaun White Losing at the Olympics Is Good for Snowboarding

There's a side to snowboarding you won't ever see on NBC or on packs of gum or Target commercials. It was represented on Friday, when Sage Kotsenburg won the Olympic Gold for slopestyle snowboarding. While all the talk leading up to the Olympics suggested that this event — on the Olympic stage for the first time — could not be won without the controversial all-flash and no-substance triple-cork move, Kotsenburg showed everyone otherwise

The trick itself is symbolic for a larger struggle in the snowboarding community between artistic integrity and commercial success. Since private corporate sponsors pay snowboarders rather than an established team or association, being a professional snowboarder requires not only skill but also good salesmanship, money and fame. It is easier to wow the crowds and win competitions with big flip-and-spin maneuvers, but it's more impressive, as Kostenburg showed us, to win without them. Read more...