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Remember when we had boxing on ABC (Wide World Of Sports), CBS, USA (Tuesday Night Fights for 3 hours every Tuesday) to go along with HBO and Showtime?
Remember when ppvs where pretty much a Tyson ‘thing’? The only other fight I remember being on ppv as a kid was Ray Leonard-Hearns 3
Remember when the ‘black box’ came out and it lead to the ‘free per view’ era?
Remember when ‘talking boxing’ pretty much relegated you to a handful of friends and some relatives?
Well I certainly do…as a kid that was addicted to the sport, it was a glorious time…boxing was on ALL the time…it was a good thing too because I didn’t have $60 to spend everytime I wanted to see a good fight
But
I also remember when boxing began to isolate itself from mainstream media and began to go underground….no longer were the front page of the sports section showing pictures or Mike Tyson…our sport, was moved to the back…next to Horse Racing…there was no more ABC or CBS and USA Network…it became mandatory to have HBO and Showtime just to be able to keep up
Those boxing pals that knew the goings-ons began to dwindle…the interest waned and it seemed like I had become the only one that maintained that passion…it was hard though…it was a chore just to figure out who was fighting who and when…heck, you couldn’t even follow any prospects unless you went to all the shows
For you noobs, imagine being a boxing fan and not having the internet?
No boxingscene, no boxing sites, no youtube, no boxrec, no streaming links, no filesharing…nothing
It was tough…boxing was becoming extinct from this fight fan’s POV
Then the internet boom came and all of a sudden, an ENTIRE WORLD became one community that followed the sweet science. Message boards allowed any fight fan to come in and share views and ideas. You found people that were just barely getting into the sport as well as old timers that were a wealth of historical knowledge
We also witnessed the birth of trolls…those who used boxing as a caveat to spew their ignorance, hate and agendas…the good, unfortunately came with the bad…but there was plenty of good so it became bearable
For me, the internet became the new bloodline of the sport…at times it sours a fan’s outlook with all the hate that goes around but nothing changes REAL fight fans…we all enjoy a good scrap
The internet has made me a more attentive fan…a better fan…
How about you?
Remember when ppvs where pretty much a Tyson ‘thing’? The only other fight I remember being on ppv as a kid was Ray Leonard-Hearns 3
Remember when the ‘black box’ came out and it lead to the ‘free per view’ era?
Remember when ‘talking boxing’ pretty much relegated you to a handful of friends and some relatives?
Well I certainly do…as a kid that was addicted to the sport, it was a glorious time…boxing was on ALL the time…it was a good thing too because I didn’t have $60 to spend everytime I wanted to see a good fight
But
I also remember when boxing began to isolate itself from mainstream media and began to go underground….no longer were the front page of the sports section showing pictures or Mike Tyson…our sport, was moved to the back…next to Horse Racing…there was no more ABC or CBS and USA Network…it became mandatory to have HBO and Showtime just to be able to keep up
Those boxing pals that knew the goings-ons began to dwindle…the interest waned and it seemed like I had become the only one that maintained that passion…it was hard though…it was a chore just to figure out who was fighting who and when…heck, you couldn’t even follow any prospects unless you went to all the shows
For you noobs, imagine being a boxing fan and not having the internet?
No boxingscene, no boxing sites, no youtube, no boxrec, no streaming links, no filesharing…nothing
It was tough…boxing was becoming extinct from this fight fan’s POV
Then the internet boom came and all of a sudden, an ENTIRE WORLD became one community that followed the sweet science. Message boards allowed any fight fan to come in and share views and ideas. You found people that were just barely getting into the sport as well as old timers that were a wealth of historical knowledge
We also witnessed the birth of trolls…those who used boxing as a caveat to spew their ignorance, hate and agendas…the good, unfortunately came with the bad…but there was plenty of good so it became bearable
For me, the internet became the new bloodline of the sport…at times it sours a fan’s outlook with all the hate that goes around but nothing changes REAL fight fans…we all enjoy a good scrap
The internet has made me a more attentive fan…a better fan…
How about you?
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