old jong
04-09-2001, 04:02 PM
A long time ago ,pro wrestling was not fake! the fights where very scientific as they used to say and could last houres.In those days,the 20's or 30's,I,m not sure,I have read that wrestling was more popular than boxing.But the fact of watching two guys on the ground apparently not moving for long periods of times drew the fans away to other spectacle sports.Wrestling had to adjust to stay in buseness and the "show" as we know it beginned.
We could draw a parralel to the MMA and it's evolution.First,it was a great novelty to watch fighters from all kinds of origins try their skills in that environement.The suspense was always present.Who will win? The little guy in the gi or the big bully in the trunks! Karate vs wrestling ? Pakua vs street fighter? You get the idea? It was new and very "real"
Then came the rules...(before there where any!)...the weight division and the uniformation of the fighters!(they all do the same things!)By saying that ,I'm not talking about the effectiveness of these approach but,about the casual spectator who is not a "connaisseur"in the various techniques of MMA and is paying to see a show...That kind of spectator(the big majority)could grow tired or bored very rapidly of seeing two equal fighters semingly not moving on the ground for long periods(remember the booings in some Gracie fights !)and leave for some other way to spend his money!
The facts or question are:As the MMA is becoming a big industrie and will produce "superstars"and specialised fighters instead of the everyday guys who were fighting in the beginning(the big novelty aspect that started it!).Will they be able to procure enough trills and suspense to draw a sufficient audience to survive?...Think about it...They need a lot more than the MMA fanatics to do that!
O.K. I'm wearing my asbestos suit!... ;)
C'est la vie!
We could draw a parralel to the MMA and it's evolution.First,it was a great novelty to watch fighters from all kinds of origins try their skills in that environement.The suspense was always present.Who will win? The little guy in the gi or the big bully in the trunks! Karate vs wrestling ? Pakua vs street fighter? You get the idea? It was new and very "real"
Then came the rules...(before there where any!)...the weight division and the uniformation of the fighters!(they all do the same things!)By saying that ,I'm not talking about the effectiveness of these approach but,about the casual spectator who is not a "connaisseur"in the various techniques of MMA and is paying to see a show...That kind of spectator(the big majority)could grow tired or bored very rapidly of seeing two equal fighters semingly not moving on the ground for long periods(remember the booings in some Gracie fights !)and leave for some other way to spend his money!
The facts or question are:As the MMA is becoming a big industrie and will produce "superstars"and specialised fighters instead of the everyday guys who were fighting in the beginning(the big novelty aspect that started it!).Will they be able to procure enough trills and suspense to draw a sufficient audience to survive?...Think about it...They need a lot more than the MMA fanatics to do that!
O.K. I'm wearing my asbestos suit!... ;)
C'est la vie!