Monster Jam
DETAILS:
Location: Monster Jam events are held throughout the country. Please see their website below (under “resources”) for schedule. Monster Jam - Los Angeles (2019) took place at Staples Center on July 12th-14th.
Hours of Operation: Please see their website for details.
Parking: For Staples Center; paid parking lots available in the area. Metered street parking is also available. And if you’re willing to walk a few blocks, free (but limited) street parking can be found as well. (Your best luck is in the neighborhoods west & northwest of Staples Center)
Cost: Dependent on event and venue, but tickets will generally cost between $20 - $40. As an example, we sat in the lower section of Staples Center for $33.50/person.
Time Commitment: 2-3 Hours.
Miscellaneous: SUPER IMPORTANT! I can’t stress enough how loud this event is. You will DEFINITELY want to bring earplugs. You can buy them onsite as well ($2 at Staples Center) but make sure to purchase them as soon as you arrive since many of the booths selling them were sold-out by intermission. Noise-cancelling earmuffs are also available for purchase, but are pretty pricy for a one time event.
Sometimes it’s good to pull away from your comfort zone and dip your toes into areas that you wouldn’t generally seek out. You might discover new interests that you would’ve never known about otherwise and even if these foreign excursions don’t turn out to be your cup of tea, you can always chalk it up to experience that will provide some good anecdotes around the water cooler. Attending Monster Jam was definitely my attempt at fulfilling all of the above. At the risk of turning in my Man-Card, I’ve never had an affinity for cars. I have no idea what separates a starter motor from the alternator, and I’m definitely calling AAA at the sight of a flat tire. But the thought of giant-sized Matchbox trucks running roughshod inside a venue typically reserved for basketball and Taylor Swift concerts tickled my childhood curiosity to no end.
Monster Jam is professional wrestling on wheels… very large wheels. To provide you some context of scale, the wheels on these vehicles measure approximately 66 inches in diameter which means just the wheels are almost as tall as your average adult. At 11 feet tall and 12,000 pounds, these Monster Trucks are absolutely massive! But far from a chaotic show of brute strength, there is a definite method to the madness behind these events.
A Monster Jam Triple Threat Competition is divided into six elements. Two of these elements are head-to-head races conducted with ATVs & Speeders (which basically look like suped-up dune buggies), hence the “triple threat” designation. The other four elements utilize the headlining Monster Trucks which go by names like Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, and Megalodon. In the world of Monster Jam, these trucks are as much celebrities as their drivers. Together, they compete in a timed obstacle course, two-wheel skills competition (doing tricks with at least 2 wheels in the air), a donut competition (rotating their trucks in “donut” fashion), and a free-style competition (doing as many death-defying feats as possible in a designated amount of time). The last three elements actually tabulate fan votes, using a smartphone app, to award each truck & driver their score. And just like professional wrestling, the winner of each element is allowed to pontificate to the crowd afterwards via the stadium scoreboard and speakers. The Rock, Dave Bautista, and John Cena all better watch out!
Throughout the night, each driver is awarded points based on how they finish in each element. The driver with the most overall points at the conclusion of all six elements is ultimately crowned the Monster Jam Champion, but with my primordial juices all revved up in the end like most everyone else in attendance, I can safely say we all left that night as winners.
