Monster Jam Kansas City 2014. We just keep going

As you may have guessed from the high-octane TV commercials lately, there was a Monster Jam event in Kansas City’s Sprint Center over the weekend.  They’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’re only gonna’ need the edge.  It was pretty exciting stuff in the ad.  And for like the 25th year in-a-row, I witnessed the February mayhem.  I actually had a pretty fun time, although there are some things about it that make me wonder why.  This might not be the best show in the country, and the ticket prices are flat-out ridiculous, but I’ve been waiting all winter to hear racing engines and suck up some carbon monoxide.  Let’s check out some of the stuff that was going on Friday night in downtown KC.

Outlaw Monster Truck Nationals secretly rock Kansas City's Kemper Arena

So here’s something you might not know about me.  I’ve attended at least one monster truck show a year for the past 28 years.  I’m not really proud of that, or ashamed, or whatever.  I just like loud, powerful race vehicles, and they often hold these in the winter when the regular car races are over.  Lately, there has only been one shot a year to see monster trucks in Kansas City—the Monster Jam event at the Sprint Center in February.  But last weekend, MAP Motorsports hosted the Outlaw Nationals in the old Kemper Arena.  Did I go to this?  Do you really have to ask?

2013 Monster Jam in Kansas City. Just fun, nothing too serious

You can argue that Monster Jam monster truck events are staged, redneck, whatever.  But I think they put on a great, kid-friendly show, and the trucks themselves are nothing short of amazing.

The Monster Jam tour made its annual stop in Kansas City’s Sprint Center over the weekend.  As usual, this isn’t one of their major events.  It’s not televised.  Most of the big name drivers don’t make it.  And the Sprint Center is too small for these trucks to do anything very spectacular.  But they still draw big crowds for these events, and it really is a fun atmosphere.

Monster Jam Kansas City. It ain't what it used to be

For as long as I can remember, I have been attending monster truck events. And whenever Monster Jam hits Kansas City, you can bet I'll be there. But for all of its success and popularity, this fringe form of motorsports has really changed--and in some ways, not for the better.

I grew up in Nebraska, and when I was a kid, these shows were considerably more grass roots. Monster trucks were sort of a novelty, and their claim to fame wasn't so much that they could jump real high, but rather that they could slowly crush and destroy cars. Glass and plastic would pop and crack, leaving all kinds of debris and carnage scattered around. But it was unlike anything else, and it definitely seemed cool at the time.

I'm going to complain about the Kansas City Monster Jam event, then tell you how good it is

I've never really understood why Kansas City needed the Sprint Center. Well, maybe it just wasn't what I expected. My favorite indoor stadium event each year was usually the monster truck show, and Kemper Arena managed to handle it for a long time. I was hoping the Sprint Center would be much bigger, like the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, and they would be able to host large-scale Monster Jam events worthy of SPEED TV coverage. But the Sprint Center seems to be the same size as Kemper. And it's harder to park. And the Quick Trip store inside was out of food.

At any rate, the small size of the Sprint Center will forever hamper the quality of participants Kansas City's Monster Jam event will attract, and it will always hold back the amount of action the drivers can present.

That being said, I still go every year. The constant complaining doesn't stop us from spending ridiculous amounts of money on tickets and concessions. These events cause long-term hearing damage and carbon monoxide poisoning, so you can bet I'll be there.