Does America Have A National Treasure Equivalent To Valentino Rossi?

As the final bike crossed the finish line at this year's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, a seething mass of Italian fans jumped the fence, flooding the track in yellow and sunburnt flesh, their fist-pumping catharsis a powder keg of jubilance one misstep away from pandemonium.

And they cried, “Vale! Vale! Vale!”

Has one man ever inspired such fervor and adoration? Especially a man who isn't demanding the sacrifice of a generation of youth, or promising a new era for his country—a man who…only races motorcycles?

The devotion of Rossi fans worldwide, but especially in Italy, make him a figure out of time, as though torn from the pages of myth and legend. Like a garland of victory around his neck, he carries this burden. They take every triumphant pass, every play to the camera, every wedgie-picking outlap as food for their unrequited love. His name carries the hopes of generations of race fans.

Yet, in America, to the general population who know nothing of two-wheeled racing, the name Valentino Rossi means nothing.

When I talk to non-motorcycling friends and try to tell them about Rossi, I hardly know where to begin. The tendency would be to say, “He’s like the Lebron James or Tom Brady of motorcycle racing,” but that doesn’t come even close.

Does America have an equivalent to Rossi? Entire sports teams might inspire such fervent devotion, but one man? I can’t think of a single figure in American culture who is so universally adored.

Is it because Rossi is just that special, or is it something about the European character that lifts up a single figure to such glorious heights that he practically represents the spirit of an entire nation?

Is there an American equivalent to Valentino Rossi? Comment below.