RAD

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

The Olympics featured a lot of firsts this year.

Michael Phelps became the first athlete to win eight gold medals at a single Olympics. The U.S. women’s softball team lost for the first time in the Olympics, ever.

One other first? The debut of BMX racing.

A new beginning followed the conclusion of the X-Games that brought the sport of BMX into a larger capacity with a chance at gaining even more viewers.

Still, I found myself wondering, “Where is the life-size bowl of Kix with the ramp/spoon sticking out of it?” and “Why isn’t Lori Loughlin cheering any of these guys on from the stands?”

That’s when I realized that RAD needed to be dusted off and featured in Old School Love.

If you don’t remember RAD, you’re likely under the age of 20 and are getting ready to click over to another article. However, if you DO remember it, you know the exact feeling I’m talking about when you see BMX racing on television.

RAD told the story of an up and coming BMX rider named Cru Jones whose sole aspiration is to qualify for “Helltrack.” Sure, school and SATs are pretty important, but the endorsements and the love of racing have Cru’s mind on obtaining that elusive goal of becoming a star.

Standing in his way are president of Mongoose bikes, Duke Best (a phenomenal name for a villain, by the way) and his money ticket, Bart Taylor. Incidentally, gold medal Olympic gymnast Bart Conner played the role of Taylor, probably because Billy Zabka and James Spader were both busy. Michael Phelps, if your millions of endorsements don’t pan out, take notes from Conner’s performance.

Duke Best sets up numerous obstacles for Cru to qualify for Helltrack, but he gets help from his new girlfriend, Christian Hollings (played by “Aunt Becky” from Full House, Lori Loughlin). With help from Christian and several sponsors around town, Cru develops a t-shirt business around “Rad Racing” and is able to qualify. The race at the end of the movie is basically a showdown between Cru and Taylor (and I won’t give away the ending).

Another highlight of the film includes the music, featuring songs such as John Farnham’s “Break the Ice.” Also, Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel” is featured at a school dance where Taylor’s cronies (who are twin brothers) perform a head-scratching dance routine with a woman while Cru and Taylor perform bike tricks on the dance floor.

However, as odd as everything seems to be in this movie, the racing sequences are what get the viewers’ attention. The Helltrack race, in particular, is thoroughly entertaining and essentially realistic.

Granted, watching these actors race in this movie isn’t going to make a legend like Dave Mirra lose any sleep at night, but Hollywood did a fine job in capturing the competitive spirit of BMX racing that could possibly be parlayed into the Olympics and the X-Games.

This is exactly why a movie like RAD deserves some Old School Love. Here’s to a real life Cru Jones somewhere out there who has his eye on the big prize. While racing on “Helltrack” might not be possible, an even more enticing opportunity awaits.