# Boarder Cross Baggies: What's Up? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 20, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808 "2010-02-20T21:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kimberly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Kimberly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimberly)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/1 "2010-02-20T21:50:53Z")
Maybe I’m missing something, but isn’t the point of boarder crossing to get to the finish line ahead of the other three boarders that are racing in one’s heat? I can’t help noticing that the Olympic downhill skiers and speed skaters wear sleek, aerodynamic outfits to help them slide through the air and prevent drag, thereby enabling the best possible time to the finish line. If boarders want to finish first, why do they wear super baggy outfits that catch wind like a parachute? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/2 "2010-02-21T01:43:35Z")
Because they’re skateboarders on snow and the boarder style of clothing is more important to them than the small advantage they might get from wearing a skintight suit. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/3 "2010-02-21T03:17:00Z")
My glib anwer is because they are stupid. I suspect the real reason is product endorsment deals. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/4 "2010-02-21T04:29:21Z")
It’s solely because they are too hip to conform to your square conventions. They’d rather lose and look good than win and look bad. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/5 "2010-02-21T10:20:29Z")
People keep bagging on the snowboarders for their clothes, or for listening to iPods, or being on their lawns… seems to me that if they dick around most of the time in jeans, they should probably continue doing so for competitions. Why change up what you’re already good at? Last I checked, the gold medal winners were wearing baggy clothes. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/6 "2010-02-21T10:29:24Z")
It seems to me that if they dck around most of the time in jeans, formal competition should be beneath them. The gold medal winners wear baggy clothes because the talent dropoff between the United States and the rest of the world is a huge yawning chasm. ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/7 "2010-02-21T13:43:04Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > It seems to me that if they dck around most of the time in jeans, formal competition should be beneath them. > > The gold medal winners wear baggy clothes because the talent dropoff between the United States and the rest of the world is a huge yawning chasm. Remind us who won Gold in the women’s half-pipe. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/8 "2010-02-21T15:35:12Z")
Fair point, but consider the medals in general. How many half-pipe medals did the Americans win? Was it four out of six? (I don’t remember clearly.) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/9 "2010-02-22T02:12:31Z")
I don’t think that boardercross has nearly the need for aerodynamics as any alpine skiing event. It’s more of a jostling and momentum sport than raw speed. There’s no aerodynamic positioning or drafting like in speedskating. Until some dude or dudette actually starts dominating the sport wearing skin tight clothing, nobody is going to follow suit. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/10 "2010-02-22T04:23:11Z")
Snowboards in general aren’t about speed, as they’re much slower than skis. They’re all about tricks, jumps, and style. Skiing is vastly more efficient when it comes to getting your ass down the mountain as quickly as possible. Consider that boarder cross is the fastest snowboard event while skier cross – the same course on skis – is the slowest skiing event. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/11 "2010-02-22T04:56:25Z")
No two courses are the same, so there is no real advantage to being faster, as long as you are first, and strategy and technique will dominate that. Also, the various freestyle sports (snowboarding, snowboard cross, ski cross, aerials, moguls) have the culture of coolness and style, and they tend to be somewhat self-policing on that - someone wearing a speed suit would get ribbed incessantly, and that has an influence. The athletes don’t _want_ speed suits and strict clothing rules, etc. There is also the advantage of the baggier clothes allowing for padding and protection, which is a good thing when you’re likely to fall from rather large heights and severely hurt yourself (the downside of the suits worn in time-based downhill skiing). ---
**Author:** ![Amazingrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Amazingrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazingrace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/12 "2010-03-03T01:14:16Z")
And it’s actually part of a sport-wide agreement. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html) Here’s a link to Scott Wescott talking about it with Colbert [http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/snowboarding](http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/snowboarding) I know I’d probably prefer the baggy clothes to a speed suit [stupid sexy Flanders] Feels like I’m wearing nothing at all [/stupid sexy Flanders] ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/13 "2010-03-03T14:33:19Z")
Snowboarders do wear those skintight lycra suits like the skiiers, though. In the (snowboard) parallel giant slalom event in the last days of the games they were all dressed the same as for alpine skiing. So the events with baggy clothes appears to be a rigidly enforced expression of anti-establishment, and apparently none of those involved are aware of the irony. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/14 "2010-03-03T16:43:12Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > It seems to me that if they dck around most of the time in jeans, formal competition should be beneath them. And why would that be? ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarder-cross-baggies-whats-up/529808/15 "2010-03-04T02:20:36Z")
> [@Amazingrace](#): > > And it’s actually part of a sport-wide agreement. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html) Wow. So snowboarders want rules established because they are afraid of snowboarding losing the anti establishment spirit. I’m gonna have to go with: Snowboarders are stupid.