Last weekend I announced the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway, one of the nation's finest race tracks, in front of some 70,000 people. This coming weekend I'll have the pleasure of working the Indy Car race at the beautiful, state-of-the-art Iowa Speedway which will hold close to 40,000 fans, and every seat there will be sold. That got me thinking. Working these huge capacity crowd events is something that I not only enjoy, but it's something that I've become quite used to because huge sold out crowds filling massive facilities is the norm in today's Monster Jam world.

This year, as an example, at the events that make up the 2009 Monster Jam on Speed TV series we've been in front of either sold out or near capacity crowds in the biggest American domes and stadiums, in major cities like Minneapolis, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, St. Louis, Jacksonville, and El Paso building up to the World Finals. The stadiums in each of those cities seat between 50,000 and 75,000 people. And that's a small listing of the places this year where the sport's loyal fan base has turned out in excess of 50,000 fans. Then there’s Houston and Anaheim, where the sport contests multiple events within a month or so of each other, and the fans keep coming back and packing the stands.

My point here is simply to emphasize how amazing the support this industry gets from its fan base really is. The millions who attend Monster Jam live and the millions who watch it on television are the fuel that drives the sport, and the great thing is that there is no stagnation or leveling off, the fan base continues to grow, now globally. A few weeks ago the sport’s debut in Poland was greeted by a capacity crowd in excess of 40,000. That ability of Monster Jam to draw so many attendees in Europe is unique in American motorsports. Over the years that I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the European tour I’ve talked often with locals in country after country, and virtually each and every one of them has told me they have no interest in the American based auto racing circuits. In Europe they are Formula 1 fans, period. American stock cars, even American open wheel cars, don’t have a base on the European continent. But bring over the big trucks and their talented drivers and watch those same Europeans get in line for autographs and pictures at the pit party and then fill every seat in some of Europe’s most spacious stadiums. I find that to really be amazing.
In the United States there are now so many events that are sell outs on an annual basis. It’s not overly hyping Monster Jam to claim that the hottest ticket in Atlanta each January is a ticket to Monster Jam. Same thing in Orlando, where the Citrus Bowl these days is sold out in advance of the annual late January event. Those are just two examples. The list of cities with huge domes and stadiums that sell out annually for Monster Jam now numbers in the dozens. And this is a sport that has built this fan following without any major media attention other than the coverage on Speed and our specials on CBS. I mean you won’t see Monster Jam previewed in USA Today every week as you will see with NASCAR and Indy Car. No, this amazing growth of the sport’s popularity has been earned on the track by the phenomenal performances the superstars of the sport turn in each and every time they hit the floor, and of course the unparalleled interaction the fans get with the drivers. We all know that there are no entertainers or athletes who spend as much time signing autographs, taking pictures, and just talking with their fans as the Monster Jam stars do. Clearly that personal attention our drivers give to their supporters, along with the excitement of their on track performances, has built Monster Jam into the can’t miss event it has become in so many locales, and now that extends beyond the borders of the United States.

It’s a tough economy out there these days, all over the world, and everyone in the sport, including the folks behind the scenes who put the events together, has to work harder than ever to make sure these events remain at the pinnacle where they are now. Many other sports, motor sports included, plus lots of entertainment forms are struggling with attendance dropping, sponsor revenue shrinking, TV ratings declining. So it’s great to see that the Monster Jam fans place such a priority on watching and attending these shows all over the world, even in a struggling economy, so that the sport keeps playing to full houses throughout the year. As long as everyone involved in Monster Jam keeps pleasing those fans as their number one priority, there’s no reason to believe that not only will the series remain as strong as it is now, but it will continue to cultivate millions of new fans all over the globe in the future.