FanHouse Latest Posts

> View All

Currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please refresh page or try again later.

Blog Roll

  1. Awful Announcing
  2. Dan Shanoff
  3. Deadspin
  4. We Are the Postmen

    Like It or Not, MMA Has Arrived

    By JIM ARMSTRONG,
    AOL
    Posted: 2008-06-03 21:40:54
    Filed Under: Fighting
    Sports Commentary

    Kimbo Slice is The Man! And to think, I had never heard of him until last week.


    How could he go from incognito to The Mandom so quickly? Simple. He was on national television. Not only that, he was splattered across the Internet, along with his opponent’s ear. That’s all it takes these days, when stars are made faster than your average Big Mac.

    What, you couldn’t care less about mixed martial arts? You don’t know the difference between UFC and EliteXC? You’re not alone, my fellow baby boomer. But there’s something you need to know, bro.

    The kids love this stuff.

    Males 18-35 to be exact. Preferably ones with hormones raging, testosterone drooling down their chins and visions of expensive sports cars dancing in their heads. That’s the demographic. That’s what makes the MMA world go around. All others need not apply.

    A week ago, MMA was like any number of other wannabe sports out there. But that was before national TV came along and shed its ever-loving light on Kimbo and the tomato can he kicked around the ring.

    We’re not talking Spike or Versus here. We’re not talking some remote island in a sea of TV networks. We’re talking mainstream, baby. We’re talking CBS, which, wonder of wonders, has warmed to the notion of attracting advertisers who want to sell guy stuff to the 18-to-35ers.

    Good bye Walter Cronkite, hello Kimbo!

    While I’ll never be a card-carrying MMA aficionado, I can see why Gen Next eats this stuff up. It used to be that life imitated art. Now it imitates video games.

    That, in the end, is what MMA is. A video-game smackdown come to life. It’s violence, it’s in-your-face blood and guts and, best of all, it’s real. And now national television has discovered it.

    Let me guess. You’re sitting there saying you don’t like violence. You think it’s disgusting. You’re above such things. You prefer a good book to a good butt kicking. Well get over yourself, bubba. Like it or not, admit it or not, blood and guts is the real American pastime.

    No? Then name one John Wayne movie in which he wasn’t fighting in a war or in a rumble at the local saloon. Or how about Clint Eastwood. He didn’t become a megastar until he picked up his trusty .44 Magnum and started shooting every lowlife in San Francisco.


    Then there’s the most popular sport of them all. A show of hands, please, among those who enjoy a quarterback sliding more than a safety knocking the nostrils off some receiver going over the middle. Thought so.

    Here’s the thing about MMA. Even if you don’t like it, that’s a good thing. Because if so, that means you’ve seen enough of it or heard enough about it to formulate an opinion. In today’s world, there’s no such thing as an image problem. Having an image, good or bad, is all that matters, as long as it sells on TV.

    Not that some people aren’t put off by the NFL’s bad-boy image or the NBA’s hip-hop revolution or Major League Baseball’s House that Roids Built reputation. If they’re not shaking their heads over those sports, they’re trying to pronounce the names of this generation’s tennis or hockey players.

    Today’s young fans are seeking alternative lifestyles. Thus their interest in MMA and the X Games and poker and celebrities grinding their hips together on the dance floor.

    And what do all those things have in common? They all play well on TV. That’s what it’s all about in this media-saturated 21st century of ours. Building images on television and the Net. Making stars, capturing the buzz, driving sales.

    In today’s mixed-bag sports world, you don’t have to be a great athlete to be a star. These days, a cool nickname — our man Kimbo’s real name is Kevin Ferguson — or a signature move is every bit as important as a jump shot or a curveball. You don’t have to amaze viewers with your talent as long as you can capture their attention long enough for the commercials to start rolling.

    MMA on mainstream TV? Get used to it, America. The blood is just beginning to flow and the guts are just starting to splatter.

    MAILBAG

    Questions? Comments? Feel free to e-mail me at dontmissjim@aol.com. A few random excerpts from recent e-mails ...

    Dear Jim, Thank you for the biased article on the Lakers-Spurs series. Clearly you have your opinions and thankfully they’re only your opinions.

    — HRTSPACE@aol.com

    It wasn’t a biased article. It’s called a column, in which you’re SUPPOSED to express an opinion. As for my choice of the Spurs over the Lakers, I was misquoted.

    The Spurs? Magic and Bird are home with their Red and Wilt the Stilt voodoo dolls willing the Celtics and Lakers to a retro rematch.

    — Dan Merlin,

    Cocoa, FL

    You were right. Lakers rule, Spurs drool. And the rest of us drooled, too, every time the camera panned to Mrs. Tony Parker.

    Dear partner, I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting those funds transferred to a Swiss account with the cooperation of a new partner from Paraguay. Now contact my secretary in Benin Republic and ask him to send you the total sum of $400,000.

    — dinvedhuga36@gazeta.pl

    Sure, pal. I’ll get right on it. Was that 400 grand or 400 million?

    Thank you for e-mailing Vice President Cheney. Your comments, suggestions and concerns are important to him. Unfortunately, because of the large volume of e-mail received, the Vice President cannot personally respond. Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

    — vice-president@whitehouse.gov

    Does that mean he doesn’t want to go hunting with me?

    Jim, I see where you’re a long-time Cub fan. So it’s official then. You’re a loser.

    — Dan M.,

    Detroit

    Imagine that. Somebody from Detroit dissing the Cubs. Have you checked out the Tigers lately? They’re the biggest flops this side of Manu Ginobili.

    Jim Armstrong is a sports columnist for The Denver Post.

    2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    2008-06-03 14:30:34
    Bookmark:

    Recent Comments

    Post Your Own  
    1 - 10 of 26
    26 comments

    msmjhnstn1 07:25:04 PM Jun 06 2008

    Report This!

    Jim...all i can add is what a sad commentary this is on the demographics involved. I truly hope that you're wrong, but I hoped for the same thing when hip-hop came along.

    mkcsinc6575935 04:08:29 PM Jun 06 2008

    Report This!

    Jim, I thaught you had some sports knowledge from seeing you on Around the Horn on ESPN. If you think that this past Saturday put MMA on the map you should not be writing on the subject. Its sad to say the women fighters were prob the best fight. Watch UFC and see how real MMA fighters get down. Then you can not only talk about blood, guts and video games, you can report on submissions and technique as well.

    therr7777 12:22:58 AM Jun 06 2008

    Report This!

    That whole elitexc was complete BS, what a joke. Kimbo got his butt handed to him, but PC cbs made sure he still won the fight with a little help from the ref.

    Kimbo tapped out at one point, but most never got a chance to see it.

    gvieto 12:12:52 AM Jun 06 2008

    Report This!

    I would rather see MMA than male beauty pageant fights with boxers with nicknames like Golden Boy or Money any day.

    budoinst 10:02:41 AM Jun 05 2008

    Report This!

    The broadcast showed how little SLice really is. Off his feet, he is weak!

    sweeprt 07:31:05 AM Jun 05 2008

    Report This!

    MMA is the natural evolution of the fight game. What Kimbo does is not MMA. But him in the cage with a real fighter and he will get hurt. Imagine what Randy Couture would have done to that guy if he would have been on top thowing down. This elite xc is not even a UFC minor league. It is high school sports compared to the UFC.

    skysob 06:15:50 PM Jun 04 2008

    Report This!

    also look at there facial features and tell me ther not on steroids.

    skysob 06:13:14 PM Jun 04 2008

    Report This!

    stupidist thing ive ever seen, just video tape a gang fight

    bart492 04:43:54 PM Jun 04 2008

    Report This!

    human dog fighting, just another garbage thing on tv, i'll pass

    rmc154 04:08:56 PM Jun 04 2008

    Report This!

    Kimbo vs Rampage love it Then we'd see what kimbo was made of!!!

    1 - 10 of 26
    26 comments

    Add your own Comments

    Clear
    Add