Righteous Mike V
Check out Dave Carnie's article on King Shit about a recent event at an Anaheim Ducks game involving Mike V and some loser. Carnie's right on the money, and it's great to see Mike V living up to something he said a while back that I thought was kinda righteous -- that he would only fight (from then on) to defend his family.
I have a suspicion, and this is just my opinion here, I'm not talking about Carnie's or Mike's point of view, that fighting, for Mike, satisfies a need in him that he doesn't get anywhere else. I'll explain:
I have a number of friends -- they're young, in their late teens and early twenties, who grew up as part of the Orange County tagging scene. (Yes, there is a completely underground, although fairly visual, scene, where some taggers have respect, some are generally viewed as lame, and there are idols -- virtual gods of tagging, who can do no wrong. Think Eric Koston.) These kids are also skaters, and they've been skating the ramps and bowl in my backyard for years. When they turned 18, and some of them started going to jail for tagging, I took notice and spoke to them about it, trying to figure out what it is about tagging that was worth the risk of going to jail. I learned that the adrenaline rush, the pure thrill of doing something with a risk of getting caught, the hopes that millions of people will see your name, and the chance to earn the respect of your tagging peers all make the risk worth taking. I started letting the kids tag the bowl in my backyard, and some of them took me up on it, but to others, it just "isn't the same." They need the thrill of doing it illegally for the tagging to bring them the biggest rush.
For pool skaters, the real rush is in the skating, but the risk and thrill of finding a pool, draining it, cleaning it, patrolling, scouting, and finally shredding certainly adds to it -- you're constantly on edge, senses firing on all cylinders, and that's not a common feeling. The same goes, to a certain extent, for street skaters lighting up an illegal spot in the middle of the night, or getting the trick before the security guard comes back around. The rush may not be all in the risk, but it certainly adds to it.
So back to Mike. I've been compelled by this guy since the first time I met him, in 1989 or 1990 at UC Irvine, at one of the two ramp contests, I think it was the one where the Red Hot Chili Peppers played. Anyway, not ten minutes after meeting him he got in a fight with a security guard. He's always been a guardian of skateboarding as he sees it, which is awesome. And even though the Muska incident was a little quick and a little over the top, Mike is down for skateboarding and skateboarders and has always been willing to defend us physically, especially when others were a little less bold about it. He seems to have no fear, which I am envious of.
But I can't help to wonder if fighting, for Mike, brings him a thrill that he just isn't able to find anywhere else. I think he could've easily said to the drunk dude, while still holding onto the stick with one hand: "Listen, dick, this stick's for the little girl, get your hands off it." I could be wrong, maybe he did say something that didn't work and that was the next step. Maybe the guy deserved it for being a drunken asshole throughout the game, inconsiderate of families around him. Or maybe the face of the stick hit Mike's daughter in the face and that's what set him off.
What I do know is that Mike is an entertainer, whether it's on his skateboard, in a parking lot with four drunk frat boy wanna-bes, at skateboard contests, in security guard's faces, on the ice, or now, in the stands at hockey game, and I remained compelled by the man.
And I'm with Dave, I think this was a righteous fight.
Tagging Crew Video:
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