X Games
Hyperkinetic ESPN-owned action sports tournament modeled on the Olympic Games; surfing was a featured event from 2003-2007, and again in 2013. The X Games began in 1995 as the "Extreme Games," held in Providence, Rhode Island; events included skateboarding and in-line skating, alongside unconventional sports like sky-surfing and street luge. 180,000 spectators were drawn to what USA Today called the "Look Ma, No Hands Olympics." ESPN was convinced that the tournament had hit a cultural nerve,...