A Sea Of Red

There's something about Robbie

"Hul-loh," bids the voice on other end of the line in an accent that sounds more groggy than Australian this early in the morning.

"Robbie?" I almost don't recognize him.

"Yes, hey. It's Robbie," he clears his throat. "Good mornin'."

Believe it or not, Robbie Maddison requested the phone call bright and early at 7:30 a.m.; apparently, there's a lot to do in the days leading up to a feat that could end your life.


Maddison with his trusty Honda CR 500 ... ready to jump across a football field.

Work out, work on the bike, look over physics equations, eat right, check the Las Vegas weather conditions, read the Farmer's Almanac, do some Christmas shopping -- all in a day's work when you're about to try to fly your motorcycle across a football field.


Maddison, the 26-year-old freestyle motocross rider from Kiama, Australia, will attempt the "impossible" in an effort to fulfill his lifelong dream and, in the process, land the longest motorcycle jump in history -- live from the Rio in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve (ESPN, 11 p.m. ET).

Sound like somebody else you know?

"I am dedicating the night to Evel Knievel." Maddison declares. "I have always looked up to him, just like everybody else who rides motorcycles has. He was my inspiration. And with his passing it seems like the perfect time to pay tribute to him. The timing of all this is very interesting."

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Ahhhh. Brings me back to my youth...watching ABC's Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay.

Tivo has been programed for a week. I am a sucker for these shows...

HenryGale wrote:I am a sucker...

He made it.



Twice.

That was reasonably impressive.

Just saw a clip of it on ESPN's Sports Center.

A strong headwind kept him from making it a really impressive jump. That's why he tried it a second time (with less length) since he was going 360 in practice.

The delays waiting on the winds to die (they never did) drug out the whole show and stole much of the excitement. But it was indeed more entertaining than watching Dick Clark (painful to hear him speak) or Carson Daly (painful ... period).

Is the jump on U-tube somewhere? I'd love to see a video link to the jump.

Go to ESPN.com

I got to see the video of the jump...very well done. He got a LOT of run up (which Id guess would be required to get the speed necessary to jump a football field). How did the other trick go?

The truck flipping guy had an accident in practice and couldn't do it for television.