Hm, maybe it wasn't on. I will go back and try again a bit later.
As for the best skateboarding game before skate, in my opinion that it is Tony Hawk 2. Thrasher's campaign mode isn't fun in my opinion, and it is rife with weird glitches. Although, as far as realistic freeskate goes, thrasher is definitely the best for that before Skate came out from what I can tell.
Also, when do you unlock the manual? Every once in a while I will be skating around there will be a perfect obstacle to nose manual (as my Skate instincts tell me). But I don't have it. Or do I? :S