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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - I used to be impressed… but now, not so much.
As a youthful political junkie living with parents who never missed a televised presidential speech, I remember thinking that the guy in charge must be saying some pretty profound stuff to be getting so many standing ovations from half the people in the room.
Looking back, I realize that just because people cheer doesn’t mean it’s warranted.
And once I realized the ridiculously scripted nature of it all – how one party would downplay a cure for cancer if the other party came up with it – I pretty much stopped paying attention.
So while I won’t be tuning in tonight when the incumbent commander in chief delivers what the other party surely hopes will be his final “State of the Union,” I’ll nonetheless cop to being swept up in the SOTU fever when it comes to concocting this week’s Tuesday nonsense.
Toward that end, I’ve done a little assessment of my own.
While trying to categorize the various emails I receive from week to week, I’ve discovered that the majority of them – or at least the ones not still ripping me for suggesting Joe Frazier was overrated – tend to echo a now ages-old harangue against sanctioning bodies.
Most, in fact, suggest that the organizations ought to be ditched as a whole, with the contention that the sport is all about the fighters – or at least the dozen or so who’ve reached superstar status – and the fighters ought to call the shots for themselves.
I don’t pretend the idea isn’t a good one in the ideal sense.
Problem is, the ideal sense doesn’t always translate to reality.
Though the top 10 or 15 in the world are indeed able to set their agendas and pick the title belts most worthy of their wardrobes, the reality remains that the vast majority of active pros – and active amateurs aspiring to be active pros – are still driven by the lure of championship status.
“Any belt is good,” said Kassim Ouma, a former one-defense IBF champion at 154 pounds with failed tries at middleweight crowns in 2006 and 2011.
And while scrapping the system indeed taps into the “off with their heads” vibe proffered by fans, doing so would eliminate the very prizes guys like Ouma and others still pursue in the shadows. [Click Here To Read More]
As a youthful political junkie living with parents who never missed a televised presidential speech, I remember thinking that the guy in charge must be saying some pretty profound stuff to be getting so many standing ovations from half the people in the room.
Looking back, I realize that just because people cheer doesn’t mean it’s warranted.
And once I realized the ridiculously scripted nature of it all – how one party would downplay a cure for cancer if the other party came up with it – I pretty much stopped paying attention.
So while I won’t be tuning in tonight when the incumbent commander in chief delivers what the other party surely hopes will be his final “State of the Union,” I’ll nonetheless cop to being swept up in the SOTU fever when it comes to concocting this week’s Tuesday nonsense.
Toward that end, I’ve done a little assessment of my own.
While trying to categorize the various emails I receive from week to week, I’ve discovered that the majority of them – or at least the ones not still ripping me for suggesting Joe Frazier was overrated – tend to echo a now ages-old harangue against sanctioning bodies.
Most, in fact, suggest that the organizations ought to be ditched as a whole, with the contention that the sport is all about the fighters – or at least the dozen or so who’ve reached superstar status – and the fighters ought to call the shots for themselves.
I don’t pretend the idea isn’t a good one in the ideal sense.
Problem is, the ideal sense doesn’t always translate to reality.
Though the top 10 or 15 in the world are indeed able to set their agendas and pick the title belts most worthy of their wardrobes, the reality remains that the vast majority of active pros – and active amateurs aspiring to be active pros – are still driven by the lure of championship status.
“Any belt is good,” said Kassim Ouma, a former one-defense IBF champion at 154 pounds with failed tries at middleweight crowns in 2006 and 2011.
And while scrapping the system indeed taps into the “off with their heads” vibe proffered by fans, doing so would eliminate the very prizes guys like Ouma and others still pursue in the shadows. [Click Here To Read More]
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