Donny Robinson (left) and Mike Day (right) failed to win gold in BMX's Olympic debut. AP
	REACT: What did you think about the Olympic debut of BMX? Send your thoughts to Justin Tejada Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Make your case:

Around 10:50 on Thursday night, I was pretty pumped to see the debut of BMX in the Olympics. By 10:55, after NBC had showed both the men's and women's finals, my only reaction was, "Really, that's all?"

BMX was added to the Olympic program this year to attract a younger audience, including kids like SIKIDS.com visitors, in the same way that snowboarding was added to the Winter Games. But for a number of reasons, the debut of BMX felt like a dud.

Oddly enough, it wasn't the action that was lacking. Both the men's and women's races were extremely exciting, with tight competition, brutal crashes, and a demanding course. That bodes well for the future since it's far easier to cure a sport's boring presentation than it is to cure a boring sport.

One of the first things that needs to be remedied is the timing. If you're trying to attract a younger audience, don't broadcast the finals after many members of that audience have gone to bed. I was lucky to catch it all since NBC did a poor job of letting viewers know when the BMX would be aired at all. And then when they did show the finals it seemed like they were over before they began. Yes, BMX is a short, one-lap race around the track. But if NBC can devote hours to showing the preliminary rounds of team handball, you'd think they could've shown some of the early rounds of BMX or done something to stretch out the action so as to create some suspense and drama. Instead, all viewers got was a little more than five minutes. It's going to take more time than that to create new fans of the sport.

Another disappointing factor was the performance of the Americans. Mike Day and Donny Robinson did win silver and gold in the men's race, and Jill Kintner took bronze in the women's contest. But I'm sorry, that's just not good enough. BMX was invented in America, and for many years was only practiced in America. In my opinion, Americans should have not only won both men's and women's golds, but done so in convincing fashion. Keep in mind, that people didn't really pay much attention to Olympic snowboarding until Ross Powers, Danny Kass, and J.J. Thomas swept the halfpipe competition at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. And Shaun White didn't really break through into the mainstream until he won gold at Torino in 2006. If BMX is to become a big deal in the U.S., Americans have to become the dominant force in the sport.

I recognize that these things take time. Snowboarding's debut at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano was nothing spectacular. It wasn't until four years later, that the event became a big Olympic draw. Hopefully, BMX can work out the kinks in time for the 2012 Games in London.