Now they are society. They are stars of television, commercials and video games. Extreme sports are becoming more accepted, more normal, more mainstream. Armstrong hopes to lure the ESPN's biggest extreme event, X Games, to Louisville. Yeah, I watched the X Games.
People now realize that it takes work.
It is athletic. ESPN has received the lion's share of the credit for changing people's perceptions. Since the inaugural broadcast of the X Games in 1995, interest has been on the rise. Some of the extreme athletes have become celebrities. Skateboard legend Tony Hawk is what Michael Jordan is to basketball and Tiger Woods is to golf.