..By Paul Moser
..Special to AllAroundPhilly.com

It doesn't matter. If the tattoos, piercings and wild goat tee didn't tip you off, Metzger is not your traditional athlete. He is the “Godfather” of Moto X.

And as of Monday, despite any preconceptions one might have of the foul-mouthed daredevil, he is the 2002 ESPN Summer X Games Best Overall Athlete.

On the final day of the X Games the veteran completed his dominance of Moto X events - fueled by his patented backflip - that included Monday's gold in big air, Friday's gold in freestyle and Sunday's silver in step-up. Shortly after the big air gold, Metzger was handed the Best Overall Athlete award, a guitar, by ESPN personnel. 

"Best athlete of the year means a lot," Metzger said. "People like Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman have been athlete of the year. Those are the guys I've looked up to my entire life.

"Mat Hoffman is No. 1 in my book. Tony Hawk is No. 1 in my book. And, now, I'm No. 1 in my book."

In the very least, Metzger is No. 1 in the freestyle Moto-X circuit. That is until anyone can catch up with his arsenal of tricks headlined by the most feared move in all of extreme sports -- the backflip.

Metzger completed the first recorded no-foot backflip twice and a near no-handed backflip on his final run Monday before wiping out, resulting in a score of 95. Regardless, the 26-year-old freestyle pioneer collected his third medal in four days.

While Metzger was basking in the glory that has been his trip to Philadelphia, Las Vegas resident Carey Hart was all about unfinished business -- namely his own backflip, a move that put him in the hospital a year ago in the same event.

Cheered on by recording artist and girlfriend Pink, Hart nailed the first backflip of his career during competition for a 94.67 -- resulting in a mob scene at the base of the ramp.

"It was tough coming into the stadium where I had just destroyed myself," Hart said. "It played head games with me. It was serious commitment doing it. I was just thinking I had to sit back and commit."

Brian Deegan, front man of the Moto-X group called the Metal Mulisha, finished with the bronze and a 90.33 despite lacking a backflip in his repertoire. Deegan, along with Metzger, are members of the Mulisha and veterans of the sport.

While the last few years — 2001 in particular — were dominated by the new generation of Moto-X, the grandfathers of the sport made it a mission to reclaim the X Games this summer. A man named Metzger and the insanity needed to pull a 230-pound bike over your head 30 feet in the air did just that. 

"The old school guys never really have taken freestyle all that serious," Metzger explained. "Just this year a lot of old school guys have been practicing together and been doing our homework finally. Doing our homework finally paid off."

Added Deegan, "All these kids only know how to hit ramps and little stuff. When it came to throwing down, that's where the old-school guys stepped up."

One of the oldest and most talented took it the farthest. He is the X Games' best athlete -- regardless of first impressions -- and plans to push the games and his sport into the stratosphere.

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