SAN FRANCISCO -- It's the same coast. The Pacific Ocean is still in sight. California is still the state of choice. But X Games V promises to create its own identity over the next 10 days.

And we can thank the City by the Bay.

The fifth edition of ESPN's extreme sports festival has blown into town, taking over Piers 30 and 32 in China Basin. The massive venue stands in the shadow of the Bay Bridge, just a ferry ride from Alcatraz.

San Francisco greeted its guests Wednesday with its world-famous -- or should we say infamous -- winds. This is a weather condition not likely to change much over the coming days.

	With San Francsico's skyline and the Bay Bridge as a backdrop, the snowboarding big air ramp awaits a fresh coat of snow this weekend.

Note to athletes: Wind gusts tend to alter landings.

But what did we expect? San Francisco is a city defined by its weather. And the wind is what makes the City by the Bay so distinctive.

Imagine San Diego without its beaches. Or Newport, R.I., without its marina. If San Francisco figures to be defined by any one characteristic, it's going to be weather.

"San Francisco is a completely different look. And that is what's so cool about the X Games -- keeping it fresh each year," said Ron Semiao, ESPN's vice president of programming. "San Diego was phenomenal. Rhode Island was phenomenal. We expect San Francisco to be just as phenomenal.

"Each city has had its own look and feel, and that is what's awesome about the X Games."

If the wind is all Mother Nature decides to throw at athletes over the next 10 days, they should rejoice. Remember, Mark Twain warned us about summers in San Francisco.

Note to athletes: There's no rule against a few rocks in those baggy shorts, to keep from blowing clear out of the halfpipe.

The winds that blow through The City by the Bay can give a baseball fan hypothermia, while the sunburn sets in the same afternoon at Candlestick Point. It's these winds that attract windsurfers from around the world, to set speed records in the Bay. Only these winds can blow a pitcher off the mound during an All-Star Game.

What will they do to a 540 McTwist? How will Rat Sult handle that crosswind coming down Seal Point, with his street luge just inches off the ground? Just how much big air can a snowboarder handle when caught in a jet stream?

These questions will soon be answered once athletes arrive Thursday for Summer X Games V.

Note to athletes: The wind usually dies down ... in October.

But it's still California. It's just Northern California. And San Francisco offers the Summer X Games a new flavor.

San Diego, host to the previous two Summer X Games, was hailed as the birthplace of extreme sports. Skateboarding, in-line skating, bicycle stunts and sky surfing have some of their deepest roots in the skate parks and skies of Southern California.

But San Francisco has been called Skate City, USA -- and for good reason. The city has been a skateboarding hub for years, with popular sites such as the old Embarcadero, Hubba Hideout and Fort Miley. The city's famous hills and trolleys, which serve as makeshift chairlifts, give skateboarders endless sessions on the streets.

There is a contingent of athletes who call Northern California home, and the guys and gals from down south are on these athletes' turf now. San Francisco just may turn into a X Games Civil War.

The two piers will be Ground Zero for aggressive in-line skating, bicycle stunt riding, skateboarding, sportclimbing and big-air snowboarding.

Additional competitions will be held in Treasure Island's Clipper Cove (wakeboarding) and Point Lobos Avenue (street luge) near the Cliff House restaurant.

The Games will bring nearly 450 of the world's best alternative-sport athletes to the City by the Bay. They will compete in nine different sport categories and 24 sport disciplines, for nearly $1 million in prize money.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise 28½ hours of original programming.

"Our goal is to keep it fresh. It's the same with our new graphics on the broadcast. You are going to see new graphics, new talent and a whole new look to the X Games," Semiao said. "That is what's so important about the X Games, and what these sports are all about. Just keeping it fresh and new. San Francisco will do that.

"You are going to see a lot of newness to to the X Games, both on site and in the broadcast."

During the Games' stay by the bay, one thing is for sure -- San Francisco will produce a unique atmosphere for Summer X Games V.

Oh, and the wind will blow.