Snowboarding's debut at the Nagano Games was examined
last night by NBC's Roger O'Neil on "NBC Nightly News."
O'Neil: "They were outlaws on the slopes -- but today the
bad boys and girls in baggy pants are the darlings of ski
areas everywhere." Michael Berry of the National Ski Areas
Association: "Snowboarding has become very, very important.
This year we can anticipate something in excess of 20% of
tickets sold will be sold to snowboarders." O'Neil reported
that "only" seven of the nation's 500 ski areas still ban
snowboarders, and that there are 175 manufacturers making
snowboards. O'Neil: "In the next 15 years, boarders are
expected to outnumber skiers -- a new king of the mountain
riding a whole new edge" ("NBC Nightly News," 2/9).
LET'S RIDE: Shares in snowboard company Ride "shot up
as much as 70% Monday morning after snowboarding made" its
Olympic debut. After noon, the shares proceeded to drop,
ending the day at 2 7/8, up 11/18 for a gain of 31% for the
day (USA TODAY, 2/10)....In AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHICS, Marc
Spiegler that the "snowboarding myth doesn't really hold up
to close examination. The sport's not that popular or
rebel-infested, and it's hardly GenX." In his piece, he
cites NSGA estimates showing "only" 3.7 million Americans
snowboarded in '96 (AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHICS, 2/98 issue).
