You'd have thought the First Union Center complex was a theme park Sunday afternoon. Scores of people stood patiently in line -- sometimes for more than two hours -- to enjoy a day of music, games, and, of course, "extreme" sports.

The ESPN Summer X-Games was in town.

Touted as the Olympics of action sports, the X-Games combines intense competition with interactive fanfare.

Once spectators enter the arena, they're guaranteed a memorable experience, says Maria Elles, ESPN public relations and media manager.

"Once you get in, you walk into the interactive village, and that's great," Elles said. "You can come away with a lot of great items from our sponsors. Not only are you getting to see all the (events) for free, but now you are actually coming away with stuff as well."

Fans of the annual event also depart knowing that they witnessed perhaps the best action sports has to offer. More than 300 athletes from 18 countries converged on Philadelphia to compete in seven sports categories.

Winning is secondary to most of these competitors, admits Marc Englehart. Englehart, a native of Lansdale and a recent graduate of North Penn High School, placed fifth in his aggressive in-line vert roller-skating event on Aug. 18.

What matters most, Englehart points out, is convincing a public focused on team athletics to give action sports a chance.

"I think this is great, there are so many people here enjoying themselves and cheering us on," said Englehart, 18. "It's great to have something like (the X-Games), it brings (action sports) into the big cities. Maybe it will lead to the construction of more skate parks."

FUN AND GAMES

Introducing action sports to the masses, said Elles, has been a primary mission of the X-Games.

"All we ever wanted to do was raise the awareness of action sports," she said. "When we first started, nobody knew you could make a living off of skateboarding or bicycle stunts.

"More kids are becoming interested in skateboarding or Rollerblading or BMX bikes, and choosing that over something like baseball or softball," she added.

Introduced to the world by ESPN, the Extreme Games opened for the first time in 1995. About 198,000 spectators and participants joined seven corporate sponsors in Providence and Middleton, R.I., for eight days of bungee jumping, wind surfing and mountain biking.

The surprising turnout, along with critical praise, prompted the Connecticut-based sports network to make the competition an annual event.

Its quick success earned the games a new title. In January 1996, it officially became the X-Games.

But it didn't end there. With a rise in the popularity of summer action sports, ESPN announced plans for a Winter X-Games. Held at the Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif., the four-day competition attracted 38,000 spectators to the winter wonderland in January 1997.

Although the crowd remains the largest in its brief history, the Winter X-Games continues to draw about 30,000 fans each year.

This year marks the first time that the X-Games have been staged outdoors and indoors, providing fans with an added venue for events. As a result, 33,300 people took advantage of the free admission and crammed the First Union Center complex on Aug. 17, the first day of indoor competition. About 45,500 fans dropped by the following day.

"That's all you can ask for," Elles said. "We've been really pleased with the number of people."

HAWK'S A BIG DRAW

Many of the spectators attended Sunday's events to see skateboarder Tony Hawk. Hailed as the Michael Jordan of his field, the 33-year-old California native is the most recognizable participant at the X-Games. He has several endorsement deals, his own Sony Playstation video game, and a summer skateboarding tour that also is sponsored by ESPN.

To the surprise of no one, Hawk and partner Andy Macdonald took first place in Sunday's skateboarding vert doubles finals.

But Hawk did not compete every day, leaving other hopefuls with an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Marc Englehart, whose brother Andre also took part in the aggressive in-line vert competition, is in his second year as an X-Game athlete. Englehart has been in-line skating for eight years. He joined the professional ranks as a 15-year-old in 1997.

Englehart is far from Hawk's status as a skater. He receives little money for his appearances, relying on the limited funding generated by his sponsor, K2, a roller-skating apparel company.

With his immediate plans for the future unclear, Englehart continues to focus on a career tied to in-line skating.

"As long as I'm having fun, I'll be doing it for a while," Englehart said.

These athletes take plenty of risks. Scrapes, bruises, even broken bones are commonplace. Despite the hazards, the participants continue to compete. Why?

"When you land a hard trick, you feel so good that you want to keep skating," Englehart said. "It's so much fun to do that."

But the competitors aren't the only ones enjoying themselves at the X-Games. Fans and curious onlookers were treated to gift shops set up by the 16 sponsors at this year's games. Youngsters could simulate adventurous tasks by scaling safely constructed padded walls or gliding through the air on a harnessed rubber-band toss.

This year's festivities, which concluded on Aug. 22, attracted competitors and spectators from far and wide.

Scott Pfaff, 18, traveled with his family from Akron, Ohio, to watch his first X-Games.

An avid skateboarder, Pfaff is glad that action-sports enthusiasts have an outlet of their own.

"I enjoy it, but the lines kind of (stink)," Pfaff said. "It's cool to see all the guys you see in magazines, and to see them compete live is so much fun."