We won’t forget how it was, and how it’ll be again sooner or later. Olympics or not, skatepark boom or skatepark bust, skateboard “fashion” on the runways and in the movies, it doesn’t matter. We won’t forget the looks, the disdain, the dismissiveness, all the resistance we’ve encountered while just trying to have some fun on our toy.
I won’t forget being put in the back of a police car and handed a ticket at 13, simply for skating alone down a sidewalk. I won’t forget being given a ticket at 25 while skating alone across a city train station platform, an extension of the sidewalk itself, on my way home to my newborn son, on a Sunday night after work. Confusion at the fun we have on our boards I can understand. Undo punishment? Never.
Support skateboarding or don’t, you companies, cities, whatevers, and whoevers. We don’t really care either way. We know that when there’s no longer a “market” for your “product” you’ll move on, and guess what? We’ll still be here having as much fun as ever on our useless wooden toys, sneering at your looks of disdain, or just outright ignoring you, if that’s how it’s going to be. We’d say thanks for stopping by, but good riddance is a much better send off.