The Future of the Reebok CrossFit Games, from a Notso-CrossFitter

I likely could have made this blog longer, but I'm not one for typing, and I'm supposed to be packing....shit.

The 2012 CrossFit Games season has come to a close.  Froning and Thorisdotter stand victorious once again in a memorable double-repeat as the fittest man and woman on Earth.

I spent the entire weekend watching the Spectator Stream live from my work computer, with an few hours of training and Post Checks here and there.  It was an awesome thing to watch.  The contestants have unbelievable stamina and strength.  PRs were being set left and right.  Everything was as intense and electric as you would imagine.

Attendance in the Home Depot Center set records.  Not CF Games records, but HDC records for any event held at the center.  If you started following CF back when I did (2008) its was nearly unfathomable how far this sport has come.  Rags to riches, more or less.

CrossFit is growing fast and isn't showing any signs of slowing down soon.  So we have to ask ourselves, what next?  The HDC can't hold it forever.  Hell, I don't think they can seriously consider using the HDC in 2013.  2012 tickets sold out completely in a matter of days!  There are a few viable options that I think CrossFit HQ and Reebok should consider as ways-ahead for the CFG that will allow the sport to continue its growth, provide more unpredictability, and allow more spectators to visit the games.

The biggest option that is probably the favorite of mine is treating the CFG the same as the Superbowl, World Cup, World Series and countless other major, worldwide sporting events.  Move the venue every year to a new location.  There are multiple venues that can hold more spectators and still have the facilities needed for unpredictable workouts.  Many major cites have held Olympic Games over the years and still have those facilities that can be used for track workouts, swimming, weightlifting etc.  Additionally, you throw in environmental factors that people must plan for.  CFG in Denver this year?  Better plan for high altitudes.  You see where I'm going with this?  Atlanta, LA, Denver, Dallas, Columbus (Rogue would love that, right?), all of these places fit the bill.  Why leave it in America?  We are searching for the Fittest in the World, right?  How about the CFG in Berlin, or Barcelona, or Sydney.  

One thing I heard repeated again and again is CrossFit in the Olympics.  This is where I think we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves.  Lets look at this realistically.  The IOC isn't going to allow Dave Castro to show up and drop a bunch of random workouts, with sketchy programming, standards, and safety considerations.  If it was ever even allowed to be in the Olympics it would be so over-regulated it would basically end up being a decathlon with weightlifting thrown in.  Anyway, why would CrossFitters even want to be in the Olympics?  That shit is mainstream.  I thought we were the rebels.  The fitness outcasts gathering on a dusty ranch for the "Woodstock of Fitness".   The Reebok partnership stirred shit up enough, and it was much more of a blessing than initially thought.  Initially, people were jumping ship like the Titanic was goin down!

Its hard to say what next year will bring.  But I hope it keeps up the trend.  Keep growing, keep moving forward, but don't forget where it came from.  "We are the Underground", keep it that way.

CFG Atlanta 2013!!  At least I'd think it was cool.

Deuces.