(for lots of pictures of trucks flying through the air at M&T Bank Stadium, go here)
Filed under “The best decision ever made by an organization,” Advanced Auto Parts Monster Jam transferred its semi/annual event from 1st Mariner Arena to M&T Bank Stadium, and boy howdy what a difference it made.
The one or two times I had attended the event at the arena previously I vowed to never do it again; the reverb of the loudest engines ever against enclosed stadium ceilings assaulting one’s earholes coupled with the rapidly accumulating fumeage and carbon monoxide spewing from a dozen or so monster trucks and Quad Wars bikes is enough to kill a small animal, I can’t really imagine bringing a little kid to such an environment. Fortunately, every single one of these issues was done away with by moving the event to M&T, and it made for an incredibly enjoyable experience. The stadium was surprisingly full, with only the uppermost sections remaining empty (I don’t think they sold the seats pictured at any rate) and the crowd was decidedly polite and family friendly. There’s just something fascinating about monster trucks, it’s pretty undeniable, as evidenced by the sight of a 5 year old kid screaming his/her head off in a foam monster truck hat with dinner plate eyes, next to a grown ass man doing the exact same thing.
The show followed its usual formula, beginning with monster truck lap races followed by Quad Wars, a “roller derby” styled race with ATVs in which Team [insert locale, in this case Baltimore] takes on Team [insert “rival” locale, in this case Philly] and the home team always wins, followed by a Pro Wrestling style speech/fight session afterward. The rest of the show is peppered with odes to America, troop tributes and plenty of other wholesome Americana, and then they get to the good stuff, the Freestyle Competition.
And honestly, if you don’t care about watching trucks or quads driving around in circles, just come late to the event next time and only watch the Freestyle portion because it is RAD. Watching giant trucks flying through the air and sometimes-but-not-always sticking the landing is undeniably fascinating, even if you aren’t drunk. Have you ever seen a monster truck (or any vehicle, for that matter) drive up the side of a hill, do a corkscrew in midair followed by a flip and land on top of a school bus? Or similarly, a monster truck do a midair jackknife after ramping off of a pile of cars and then landing roof first and bursting into flames? Yes? Wait really you have? Oh. Nevermind then.
At any rate if you haven’t, and you’re looking for an awesome time with a group of friends, keep your eyes peeled for Monster Jam’s next arrival in our fair city and book your seats post-haste. Hopefully they’ll continue to hold it at the stadium where the open air and high capacity seating makes the experience a hell of a lot more enjoyable, judging by Saturday’s attendance I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t. Alternatively if you’re somehow in the Hagerstown area July 22-24th, you can catch Monster Jam in all its truck flipping glory out thataways.
MONSTER JAM
twas indeed awesome.