Opening Day of a new season is one of the most exciting times of the year in any sport, and the fans in Minneapolis get several chances annually in the Metrodome to experience the specialness of Opening Day. They enjoy the Twins opener in April, the Vikings opener to start each new NFL season, and for the past several years the Metrodome has also been the site for the beginning of a new Monster Jam season. That tradition will continue in Minneapolis this coming Saturday night.
An awesome lineup is scheduled to compete in the event that kicks off the 2009 Monster Jam on Speed TV season, featuring the renewal of the greatest rivalry in motorsports: Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger versus Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction. Because of the success of Monster Jam all over the world and the fact that many major events are contested on the same weekends during the first quarter of the year often Anderson and Meents find themselves in different parts of the country on a given weekend. So the fans in Minneapolis this Saturday night, and those who will watch this event next year on Speed, get the added bonus of Tom vs. Dennis racing and freestyling in the Metrodome.
Anderson returns as the defending freestyle winner of this event, having amazed everyone last December with a freestyle performance that including arguably the biggest leap of the year, in terms of actual height at the apex on the jump. It’s rare that Meents can’t top another competitor’s jump, but Anderson got the best of the big air last year and Meents will be looking to top that for sure this time around. So expect the big guns to open the season in spectacular fashion, especially in freestyle this Saturday.
It’s going to be incredible to again to have Anderson and Meents competing to start the new season, but both know well that they have to battle more than just each other. This line-up is sensational all the way through it, so the racing competition should be wide open and the freestyles will be amazing. In all a ten truck field will go for the big trophies and with the quality of this roster any one getting the Double Down trophy for winning both racing and freestyle looks like a long shot, although everyone, especially Anderson and Meents, clearly have that piece of hardware as the ultimate goal.
Expect the race bracket to be wide open with no clear favorite going into the competition. Sure Grave Digger and Maximum Destruction will be tough to beat, but John Seasock plans to have something to say about it as he begins his second straight season carrying the banner in Batman as the reigning World Racing Champion. Then there’s Linsey Weenk. Remember, he won the racing bracket here last December in his first stadium event driving for the Ford sponsored team in the Built Ford Tough Blue Thunder. Blue Thunder certainly rates among the racing favorites as well, but the bottom line is that every one of the ten trucks in the field is a legitimate threat to grab the racing trophy.
Same for freestyle. While Digger and Max are again the favorites, Anderson and Meents are both aware that they have to bring their “A” game to be able to top a World Finals caliber freestyle field that includes Damon Bradshaw, who just keeps getting more spectacular in the Air Force Afterburner. Or how about George Balhan, always a contender in his Escalade. And you better keep an eye on Captain’s Curse, a truck that has tasted a world title now being piloted by Alex Blackwell, one of the sport’s fastest rising stars.
We truly will start the season the way every Monster Jam fans wants to see Opening Day – with some of the sport’s best in an all out battle to start the new season on top. Also worth close watching will be the brand new Team Scream, with Jim Koehler rolling out a brand new Avenger and Chris Bergeron piloting a sparkling new Brutus. Sometimes we’ve seen it take a few events for even veteran shoes like Koehler and Bergeron to get a handle on a new piece, but with these two guys, you know they are going to push the new equipment to its limits from the opening bell.
Each and every participant rolls into Minneapolis full of hope and enthusiasm that this is their year, with the ultimate goal of winning the Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals next March in Las Vegas. Everyone in competition this coming Saturday believes that there is no better way to start a quest for the world title than by winning the new season opener. That’s one of the things that make Opening Day so special, whether were talking baseball or Monster Jam or any other sport. Opening Day is all about the hopes of greatness in the new season, and after all the preparation for the new campaign, finally starting on the trek that every athlete wants: one that ends with a championship.
Also in Minny we’ll be debuting the new Speed TV broadcast team for 2009. Once again I’m thrilled to be joined for the call of each race and freestyle by Devastator driver Mark Schroeder, who was awesome in his “rookie” TV season in 2008. As a veteran driver and an energy-filled broadcaster Mark brings that in the driver’s seat expertise to the broadcasts that fans have told me they really enjoy. And Sara Dayley will be joining us as Monster Jam on Speed’s new on-site host and pit reporter. The talented daughter of former Major League Baseball pitcher Ken Dayley is new to the weekly Speed team but she hits the ground running, having done a great job throughout 2008 filing reports for Monster Jam Online, and already appearing in several TV pieces on Speed and CBS, so I know that she is pumped up for the new season as well. By the way, if you’re coming to the Metrodome this Saturday be sure to stop by the Speed TV set and the winner’s stage and say “Hi” during the Built Ford Tough Party in the Pits. Sara, Mark, and I are all looking forward to getting the chance to spend some time with as many Monster Jam on Speed TV fans as we can as we lead up to the opening of what is sure to be a phenomenal 2009 Monster Jam season.
