Jeremy McGrath

Jeremy McGrath entered motocross late, carrying a lifetime of BMX timing and an instinct to show off. Other racers jumped over obstacles. Jeremy skimmed across them, then threw stylish Nac Nacs, a BMX-inspired trick, after leading the entire race.

McGrath didn’t merely become the “King” of Supercross. He transformed the entire struggling sport around his personality. Suddenly, stadiums filled, outside sponsors arrived and young riders saw motocross as a sport with a rock-and-roll edge. Jeremy made the most mentally and physically challenging sport in the world look cool.

McGrath came up with the rest of the Moto Rat Pack: a group of young racers, mechanics and professional troublemakers who trained together, chased girls, raced pit bikes and turned Lake Havasu into their unofficial clubhouse. Jeremy let his competition see the boats, beer and parties. What he concealed was the relentless testing, preparation and work ethic really behind the “Showtime” mystique. If everyone believed he barely trained, and he still destroyed them every Saturday night, they began wondering why they should even try.

But Jeff Emig kept trying.

McGrath’s greatest enemy came from Jeremy’s own circle, and as McGrath’s streak grew, their battle spread beyond the track, into sponsors, money, boats, women and the friends caught between them. MOTO NINETIES asks what happens when the greatest party in sports becomes a war, and the seemingly untouchable King finally meets someone who refuses to bow down to his greatness.