EXTREME SCENE X GAMES OPEN WITH FAMILIES, FREEBIES, EXPRESSIVE ATHLETES.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

A professional BMX rider from France, Romuald Noirot had his own explanation for what went wrong. The Staples Center scoreboard flashed another. And in the stands, 16-year-old Steve Enriquez of Compton offered yet a third take.

So many different ways to describe the first wipeout of the opening day of X Games IX.

On the third run of Thursday afternoon's Bike Stunt Dirt prelims, Noirot went up for a backspin 360 and ended up with nothing but a face full of mud. The crowd groaned, Noirot's bike crash-landed and the Sky Cam above it all kept right on rolling.

``Not enough speed,'' Noirot said afterward. ``Last year was the same thing. I'm not really looking to do that at all.''

On the arena scoreboard appeared the first definition from the X Games' extensive glossary of terms. ``Hang up: When a rider catches his back wheel on the ramp or jump.''

But the best description might have belonged to Enriquez, who turned to his three friends, each of whom paid $5 to be among the day's crowd, and uttered in amazement: ``Did you see that guy who fell off his bike? He just got crushed.''

With that, the ninth-annual action-sports event was off to a flying start. On a day when the PGA Championship opened and Major League Baseball played 13 games, the X Games took their growing place on the sports landscape.

The first day of competition was about moms and dads, sons and daughters, free Mountain Dew, free Taco Bell food, $10 souvenir programs, $24 commemorative T-shirts and one biker, Mike Aitken, with a sticker reading ``P.I.S.S.'' on the front of his helmet.

That stands for ``People In (expletive) Situations,'' as if any explanation was needed. He was joined by fellow BMX pro Mark Kehl, who wore a white ``Mob Choppers'' T-shirt to go with the glittering ``Jesus'' sticker on his helmet.

The in-arena announcer, obviously not prone to exaggeration, called the Games: ``The biggest, baddest, most epic event in the history of action sports.'' That was midway through the first preliminary group.

Still, the opening day was fun for all.

The contradictions were plentiful, starting with Aggressive In-Line skater Bruno Lowe and several of his fellow competitors smoking cigarettes in between their 60-second runs in the Park finals outside the arena. Lowe might have been on to something: He won his first gold medal.

Playboy TV sent a camera crew to interview adults. At the same time, Hershey's sent its street team to hand out chocolate-milk samples to kids.

The Goodyear blimp floated above it all, and seemingly every angle was covered by an ESPN camera. For one day, the house that Shaq built gave way to a BMX rider, Cory Nastazio, with a mohawk and the word ``nasty'' tattooed on his back.

Some got in on the act more than others. Before his run in Park, Brazil's Carlos Pianowski shed his nondescript tank top in favor of a Kobe Bryant No. 8 Lakers jersey. The crowd cheered and Pianowski even took a few fake dribbles before his second run.

He ended up taking fourth, with a run that some said could have won gold and some moves that Bryant never could duplicate.

``I love the Lakers,'' Pianowski said. ``I've come to Staples Center for some of their games. Everyone saw me take off my shirt and said, `What's he going to do?' It feels pretty good.''

There was one heartfelt moment, as Fabiola da Silva dedicated her gold in the women's Park to her father, Ernesto, who died last month of liver cancer at age 70. Fellow Brazilian Bob Burnquist kick-flipped his way to the top spot in Skateboard Vert prelims, taming the world's largest halfpipe with a score of 89.67.

One question on several people's lips was: Where are all the fans? At 7 p.m., less than 30 minutes before the start of the night's Bike Stunt Dirt finals, entire sections of the Staples Center lower bowl were empty. Fewer than half the arena's luxury boxes were used.

A network official said the opening Thursday of the Games usually is the slowest. This also is their first year in a new city. Another ESPN official added that the first-day attendance was comparable to that of last year in Philadelphia, when the Games drew more than 220,000 fans.

That mattered little, however, to Brad Nelson, Matt O'Brien and Chris Nelson, all elementary-school friends from Laguna Beach. They came to the Games early in the afternoon and couldn't stop talking about the free hats and T-shirts they picked up.

``It's kind of like a swap meet,'' O'Brien said. ``And it's more cheap than Disneyland.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Cory Nastazio executes a back flip in the X Games Bike Stunt dirt finals.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(2) Outside Staples Center, the crowd cheers during the X Games' Aggressive In-Line Park finals, won by Bruno Lowe.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

TODAY