Monster Trucks More Popular Than Taylor Swift?
Welcome to Monster Jam
Why do Americans love monster trucks?
We went to multiple monster truck shows in the past few months because our two-year-old son loves them. The minute he discovered what a monster truck was he was infatuated.
The massive tires.
Giant engines.
Lifted suspensions.
Graphic designs with captivating names: Grave Digger, ThunderROARus, Big Foot, Megalodon, etc.
We first tried the Hot Wheels version of the Monster Truck experience, which led me to think the target audience is primarily children like my son.
I could not have been more mistaken.
Monster Jam is Hot Wheels’ competitor. They use dirt tracks, instead of the arena floors used by Hot Wheels. And unlike Hot Wheels, there’s no car crushing, except for perhaps of the monster trucks themselves.
At Monster Jam, the trucks compete with one another in various skills and big air events, as if it’s like the X Games for monster trucks.
They crash, wreck, bounce, and fly all over the place.
The stadium we went to in Bridgeport, Connecticut was on the smaller side, so we didn’t get to see all of the big air tricks and flips - yes, flips! - that I’ve seen in other videos. Regardless, it was still fascinating seeing these giant 12,000-pound trucks flying through the air, performing wheelies and handstands, and executing many other jaw-dropping tricks.
Grown men and women - even without children - filled the stands. They yelled and cheered when the monster trucks flew through the air or did physics-defying stunts.
I’m not sure there is an equivalent event anywhere else in the world. Monster trucks are uniquely American.
With that said, the Monster Jam event tours 130 stadiums and arenas annually across 6 continents. They may even own more dirt than anyone else in the world. Given this expense, the Monster Jam organizers typically stash big piles of dirt next to each venue.
Monster Jam sells four million-plus tickets per year in America. That’s more than the 3.3 million Taylor Swift sold in 2023.
Why do Americans seem to love monster trucks more than Taylor Swift?
The family-friendly nature of the events is the easy, albeit incomplete, answer. The Hot Wheels events are arguably even more kid-friendly with the glow party lights, announcers that engage children in the audience, and the crush cars that all toddlers love watching get destroyed.
The more comprehensive answer is the American love of bigness. From McMansions to Costco, there’s something innate in us Americans about big and grand things.
We also love power. Conquest. Dominance.
Monster trucks are like the metaphorical vehicle for those innate American qualities.
So when many of us see a 12,000-pound vehicle with 66-inch tires tearing across a track and soaring through the air, we go wild. No matter if you’re age 2 or 62.
Monster trucks are also incredibly loud. They demand to be heard.
We made the mistake at our first monster truck event — the Hot Wheels version — of not purchasing headphones in advance.
Big mistake.
Immediately after the trucks turned their engines on and their roar reverberated off the arena walls, I ran to the main concourse to buy our son a pair. Many adults wear them in the stands too.
So to boil it down—monster trucks are big, loud, and completely unnecessary. Which makes them fascinating and very American.
If you’re looking for a weekend activity in America, or in many of the other venues around the world, check the Monster Jam schedule.
I would only recommend going to the Hot Wheels version if you have children.
Monster Jam is the real deal. The organizers, crews, and drivers don’t just obsess over the monster trucks, they go dirt crazy too. Here are just some of the adjectives they use to describe dirt:
“Fluffy, sticky, loose, tacky, grippy, greasy, slick, crumbly, powdery, bone-dry, baked out, dead, loamy, earthen, sandy, slidey, soupy, snotty, and marshmallow.”
There are approximately 20,000 different types of American soil, so the plethora of adjectives makes sense. It also means that no two shows will be the same. The dirt is a little different everywhere - from the red clay in Atlanta to the dark topsoil in Chicago.
The Hot Wheels events don’t have these variables. They don’t have the same types of competitive events. But if you want to see some old cars being crushed, you’ll have some fun.
And if you go to one of the big stadiums to watch Monster Jam, you might even see the technical, big air events. Some compare it to watching elephants launched through the air.
Grown men embrace in the stands.
In a country as divided as ours, perhaps we need more monster trucks in our lives.
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