What can be seen in the Olympiahalle this Saturday afternoon is the stark opposite of what is happening in front of the hall on Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz. The E-Bike Days are currently taking place outside and are all about environmentally friendly transportation. In the bright sunshine, people young and old try out modern bikes.
Inside the hall, electromobility must remain outside this afternoon. Here, in the arena, screaming engines blow their exhaust fumes into the crowd.
At the weekend the “Monster Jam” was a guest in Munich. The horsepower spectacle has been running in the USA for 32 years. The show has long been traveling worldwide. Content: Oversized and souped-up carts, which are supposed to be reminiscent of cartoon characters, jump over obstacles, have to complete a course as quickly as possible and perform tricks, for example by balancing on the front tires. The audience then awards points for this, including the “wow factor”.
There is no need to explain to fans that the number with the front tires is a “nose wheelie”, nor that such a tire-filled monster weighs almost five and a half tons and has 1,500 horsepower. For those in the know, the deafening noise is a rich sound, the smell of exhaust fumes is the scent of freedom.
In Hamburg, the Monster Jam was recently canceled because the carbon monoxide pollution in the hall was too high and a child developed health problems. In the Olympic Hall, however, this still seems to be within tolerable limits. The lower tiers are covered and unoccupied; fans at the entrances blow fresh air inside.
One can or must even doubt whether the whole thing is still up to date. But what excited children in the 1980s is apparently still fascinating today. A corresponding number of families sit in the audience. Fathers and their sons, and more rarely also daughters, dominate the picture. In the adult audience there are many middle-aged men in trucker T-shirts, their graying heads covered, their culinary preferences predictable: the currywurst at the catering stand sells out within a short time.
Anyone who watched videos of the Monster Jam in preparation will be a little disappointed in Munich. While the show is certainly a spectacle in large stadiums – with flips, neck-breaking or, better yet, axle-breaking long jumps – the limited space in the Olympic Hall only allows for a smaller program.
The presenter tries to encourage the audience again and again during the two-hour show: “Make some noise, Munich!” There is applause, but it doesn’t come close to the atmosphere in a football stadium.
The fans don’t care. Long queues form at the devotional stand. There are t-shirts, flags and toy monster trucks. They are not just bought for boys and girls of primary school age. Many people who lived through the 1980s are also taking action this afternoon.