High Five 5 things The A.V. Club learned at this weekend’s Wrigley Field snowmobile event

At first glance, a snowmobile event situated outside Wrigley Field seems like kind of a weird idea. 10,000 glances later, it’s still pretty weird, but this Saturday’s Red Bull Fuel And Fury event worked, all the same. For us non-snowbunnies, though, the world of snowmobiling remains a dark and mysterious place. We did manage to absorb a little bit at Fuel And Fury, though, so with that, The A.V. Club presents five things we learned this weekend at Red Bull’s Wrigley Field snowmobiling event.

• Snowmobiles don’t need to run on snow, apparently.
Going in to the event, we naïvely assumed that Red Bull would be piling up mounds of crushed ice and faux-snow for the competition. Imagine our surprise when the snowmobiles just whipped around on mulch, dirt, and gravel, all of which was covered with either a weird faux-snow linoleum looking sheet or plain old Astroturf. Between runs, the snowmobile treads would get hosed down—to remove gravel? To stay cool?—but for the most part, these things appear to be all-terrain vehicles.

• Snowmobilers are just regular athletes with different haircuts.
Extreme athletes have a reputation for baggy clothes, shaggy hair, and druggy looks, but really, these dudes are probably just as ripped under their Burton jackets as anyone playing televised professional sports these days. A snowmobile weighs about 450 pounds, and Saturday’s competitors were flipping them mid-air and whipping them around like dirt bikes.

• Snowmobiling has a lot of fun lingo.
When a competitor hits a jump but doesn’t do a trick, that’s a “dead sailor.” Daniel Bodin won the competition after debuting his Shaolin Backflip. Other competitors went for the prize money with tricks like a Heart Attack, Kiss Of Death Flip, Cliffhanger, Superman, and Indian Air. Also, it’s not a “snowmobile.” It’s a “sled.”

• Snowmobile honeys are a breed apart.
Ladies cruising the event for sweet sledneck love had a definite look going on. It included tons of bronzer, hair that had been flat-ironed within an inch of its life, and furry Ugg boots. Sweatshirts are also encouraged. The guys also rocked a specific style, featuring mandatory fitted caps, soul patches, and diamond earrings. Bonus points to athletes sponsored by an energy drink no one’s heard of yet.

• When Red Bull throws an event in Chicago, they Chicago the shit out of it.
Before the event, two Blues Brothers impersonators took a picture on a ramp with the competitors. During the event, the athletes maneuvered around a mini “Hey Hey” emblazoned foul pole from Wrigley and the Blues Brothers mobile. Commentators wore Cubs jerseys and sat behind a giant “W” flag. Cubs great Ernie Banks even showed up to present the winners with their trophies. We had to wonder if the competitors feasted on a buffet of Chicago dogs and deep dish pizza before the shindig.