How come when I look in the sports section of a paper, it never has articles on motocrossing? Maybe because most people don't know it is a sport or maybe because there aren't many TV shows about it. Well, let me tell you - motocrossing is a sport, a nationwide sport.

Motocrossing is taking a very powerful motorcycle and racing it against twenty or more bikes with the same amount of power. Riders have to do a certain number of laps around a track and the first person to cross the line is the winner.

You may think this would be boring to watch, but it's not. Imagine that on this track there are jumps, hills, sharp turns, and bumps that are put there to make it harder. Even the little kids will have to go over these obstacles.

There are many different levels of motocrossing. There are Pee Wee races for the little kids, Amateur for the bigger kids, and Pro for the best kids. There are also different teams: Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. Each rider has a sponsor. Without a sponsor, motocrossing can be very expensive.

A motocrosser can be sponsored by anyone, but most people are sponsored by a motorcycle company. Why would a company give a rider free stuff? The answer is simple. The company that sponsors the rider has its name put on the rider's jersey. If that rider wins a race, people are influenced to buy a product from that company because they want to be like the winner.

There are also many different races: hairscambles, outside track races, indoor track races, ice races, enduro races, and mountain climbs. Also there are many different powered bikes. There are 50s, 60s, 125s, 250s, and 500s. The higher the number, the bigger the bike.

One thing l like about motocrossing is that everyone has his own style of racing. My favorite motocrosser is Jeremy McGrath, who races for Honda and is sponsored by 1-800-COLLECT. He has some very good jumping moves: one, the knack-knack, where he brings his left foot over the bike to the right side and stands on the footpeg with one foot, which is very hard to do. Once while attempting this move, he fell of the bike in midair.

This brings me to another topic: the racing gear. Motocrossers usually wear a chest protector, racing boots, gloves, helmet, and a jersey. If a rider doesn't have riding gear, he can't race. This is one big rule of motocrossing.

Safety gear is worn because of how dangerous the sport is. I have seen guys get run over, or have their head spun around by a tire. Without the gear, they would have been in bad shape. Although this doesn't happen all the time, sometimes it does and then there is a nasty crash.

Motocrossing is also a very good sport to watch on TV. Some of the things riders do are amazing. They go over double jumps, triple jumps, and live to tell about them. Another good thing about motocrossers is that the riders love to show off. They will do a stunt anytime they can just to please the crowd. Pulling wheelies, jumping over people - they live to please.

So the next time you're looking in the television listing and you run across anything that has to do with motocrossing, watch it and find out for yourself how exciting and tough a sport it is. l