Troy Dog
When Red Bull KTM dropped the press release that Cooper Webb would sit out the remainder of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season the comment section made for some very interesting takes—it is the comment section after all, what did you expect?
Let us get one thing straight, Troy Dog does not believe everything riders say or janky press releases. (Although, that guy who writes the GEICO Honda press releases does an incredible job, no idea who it is.) I question just about all comments and make my own assumptions.
I met Webb when he was fun-loving fresh 14-year-old in 2009. Off the track at the amateur nationals he was always around the Vurb motorhome and giving us crap. Well, mostly giving Travis Steward crap and those two would go back and forth. It was good times.
I met Cooper again in 2012 when the pressure set in. He had just signed his Star Yamaha contract and was not the funny kid I had met 2 1/2 years prior. He was a man of few words and had a chip on his shoulder. This was the making of the champion that you see before you today.
I bring all this up because of all the speculation out there about how Webb is sitting out these as someone put it “joke of a national series.” Let’s get one thing straight: if Webb says that he is hurt then the dude is hurt. He is not going to leave race wins or money on the table just because. If the guy can physically race then he will be on the gate. He does not want to just beat you, he wants you to know that he is better than you. He wants to take away your confidence. He wants to take your girlfriend. He could have passed you three laps ago, but he wants to wait until the final turn of the race to do it just because it will hurt you worse.
The fact that Cooper crashed like that in Arlington and came back the next weekend should probably tell you what type of racer he is. Look at this crash and tell me this dude isn’t gnarly as all hell!!! Does this look like a guy who would just “sit out?” Didn’t think so.
He has a lot of whatever it is Chad Reed has in him. Whether or not it is “grit” like our boy Ralph Sheheen thinks, or something else, is up for debate.
For once I believe this press release is legit. Webb has done an incredible job throughout his career at being real and saying what is on his mind. Why would he change that now? He’s won championships for a reason. If he has to sit out the abbreviated summer to rest a nagging injury then so be it. He will be back to fight another day. That is what Cooper Webb does.
Main image: Ryne Swanberg | Instagram: Octopi Media
