March 08, 2010
F*CKING AMAZINGAnd, yes, adding the asterisk does make it better.
It probably shouldn't be that I stand eleven inches away from the TV screen. After the third commercial I finally tear my eyes away just long enough to realize that it hurts to blink. And during that commercial, while in the bathroom trying to hurry, I just know that there will be a position change. Or someone will have crashed. An engine will have seized. Red flag, restart. I suppose it's just meant to be that those things happen during the commercial break so that when they go back to replay it, we get to see the absolute bare minimum before moving on.
And that happened this weekend during the AMA Superbike double header kickoff but I hardly noticed.
What caught my eye was Jake Zemke. Back from a what -- a two year hiatus? And sporting the Jordan Suzuki National Guard bike beneath him to boot! I couldn't freakin' believe it! I met Jake back in 2003 when I was in Dallas. He was partying with us and all the supermoto racers on the roof of a Red Bull sponsored bar (Lizard Lounge?). While leaning over the railing and waving to one of his buddies in the parking lot below, he lost his balance and fell forward. I grabbed him by the back of the shirt as he reached for his cowboy hat and he whipped around, looked at me and smiled. He put his hat on my head, laughed, and said, "Pretty sure you just saved my life!"
(On a side note, that was also the evening that Roger Lee Hayden, sporting what appeared to be a GF, asked me to hang out with him. Sorry, dude. You're like 5' 2". And not altogether cool when your woman is standing five centimeters away from you... Or any other time, really. But he was schluckered.)
It was all just a big blur of drinking, really, and I'm fairly certain Jake could have regained his own balance but still.... Damn good thing I saved his life.
He brought the first win (twice) to Jordan Suzuki since they got mixed up in the AMA seven years ago! First win!! F*CKING AMAZING!! What's more, during both podium interviews, he attributed the solid motors to Gemini Racing, totally giving props to all the right people. Never have I been more proud of you, Gorgeous, or wanted to rattle away in your ear all the praises I had swarming through my head the rest of the weekend and now. I was just a moment of reality off of sending you a text to congratulate you.
My voice is still a bit raw from the screaming. My eyes are still a bit puffy from all the times I've laughed so hard I cried while retelling the story to people who really have NO idea what the HELL I'm talking about. And I still appreciate all the guys buzzing about the big news, though now they do it without mentioning your name so often. It's awesome.
So, yeah, no worries. That whole 'saving Jake's life thing,' you're totally welcome. ;)
And great F*CKING job!
Braaaaaaaaaaaaap