Eisenbergs’ Sixth Annual Showdown at the Hoedown presented by
Mountain Dew ended in memorable fashion.
Over sixty of the best street rollerbladers from all over the world,
including 2001 & 2002 X Games Gold
Medalist Jaren “The Monster” Grob and 2002 ASA Pro Tour
World Champion Blake Dennis (AUS), began skating
early in the evening on Eisenbergs’ recently revamped pro street
course.
Sometime
after 10PM the field was cut down from sixty to just the Final 5 skaters.
For a time it looked like Aaron Feinberg, former ASA Pro Tour Champion,
1997 X Games Gold Medalist and 2002 Gravity Games Gold Medalist, might
not be able to finish the contest. Aaron didn’t have his skates
on when it was announced he survived the cut and made it into the
Top 10 round. Aaron had taken a very hard slam in the previous session
and it seemed unlikely that he would be able to go on. To everyone’s
surprise, when the Top 10 round began Aaron was skating and what’s
more, when the ballots were cast and counted to determine the Final
5, Aaron not only survived the cut, he received more votes than any
other skater!
At
the Showdown the competitors are the judges. After a skater is eliminated
from the contest they receive a pencil and a ballot and are charged
with the responsibility of determining which skaters will advance.
By the time it got down to the final round there were fifty-five eliminated
competitors watching and scoring the remaining five.
Skating
in the Final 5 with Aaron Feinberg were last year’s Hoedown
Champion Brian Shima, 2002 ASA Rookie of the Year Brian Aragon, and
two emerging superstars on street Chris Farmer and Iain Mcleod. As
time was winding down in the final round it was clear that Aaron Feinberg
had the contest all wrapped up. As the field got smaller and the competition
got tougher no one was able to match the intensity or difficulty of
Aaron Feinberg.
But
there was still one thing yet to be resolved and that was the matter
of Best Trick. The last man standing in the Showdown receives $8,000,
and that is what the Final 5 were battling for, but there is also
a reward of $1,500 available to the skater who performs the best trick
of the night. Throughout the evening there had been many great tricks,
but none that clearly stood out from the others as the hands down
best trick. That is, until in the round of the Final 5 when Brian
Shima began attempting his final trick.
The
allotted fifteen minutes for the final round had expired, but the
whole crowd was waiting for Brian to land his trick. The emcee announced,
“Brian Shima is last year’s Hoedown Champion, so this
contest isn’t over until Shima says it’s over!”
and no one wanted it to be.
Everyone
was packed in trying to get a good view of Shima’s trick. Shima
came skating through the crowd at top speed. A lane had opened up
just wide enough to let him through. People were screaming for him
as he skated by, it looked like the running of the bulls. Shima launched
out of a 3’ quarter pipe up to a girder about 7’ above
the ramp. He grinded (soul) across the girder, over a chain link fence,
and then jumped into a 12’ tall vert ramp.
Everyone screamed!
The crowd went nuts as Brian skated up the other wall of the vert
ramp and raised his fists in victory.
With that the contest was over. Brian delivered the perfect ending.
It was an ending that no one will ever forget.
