Professor Chuck Marbry
THE NFL PLAYERS WON BECAUSE UNLIKE BOXERS, THEY HAD REPRESENTATION
Charlotte, NC– OK, so the NFL Lockout, the Players Association, or a union for gridiron stars beat the owners and football fans all over America are dancing in the streets! And this was a Lockout during the off-season when no games were being played! If there were a “Lockout” in boxing in America today, would anyone have even noticed? Would it have even made the “sports news”? Would anyone other than the die hard boxing fan even cared? And, why or why not?
PROMOTER’S GREED & NO REAL BOXERS UNION HAVE PERMANENTLY DAMAGED SPORT
There was a time in this nation that a boxing “Lockout” would have been cause for flags to have been flown at half-mast, and a call for a day of National Mourning. Perhaps even the Nation’s religious leaders would have called us to a time of fasting and prayer! In all seriousness, there was a time when in this Country. Boxing was the sport, the Nations pass-time, period, the dream of almost every little kid!
POOR KIDS WOULD RATHER PLAY VIDEO GAMES & OR HUSTLE DOPE!
Not so any more. And I have heard all the arguments and discussions on what has changed. Our society has changed– boxing used to be about the only way for the poor, lower class, disenfranchised, the immigrant or uneducated to make a better life for themselves, to get ahead. Or, that competition from other sports has drained the pool of talent from which boxing has to draw from, or that competition from other sports has drained the economics for the entertainment dollar. Or the moon is in the wrong phase.
PROFESSOR MARBRY FEELS SPORT CAN BE SURGICALLY REPAIRED
However, I am convinced that boxing’s biggest problem is boxing itself, and since we broke it, we can fix it! Yes, some of the afore mentioned things have certainly not helped our cause (especially the phase of the moon), but at the end of the day, we (boxing) have shot ourselves in our own foot, and as such, we can (to switch metaphors) right our own ship!
THROW OUT THE CURRENT PROMOTERS!
I believe that we can regain most, if not all, of our past glory. Today’s promoters are happy with boxing being a niche sport, for the regulation and scrutiny is minimal and they make millions off the die-hard fans or less than 2% of the US population. Thus, fixing the game will not be wanted by the powers that be, nor would it be easy. A lot of people will have to die to self, die to greed, put the interest of the fighter and the sport and the fan first (I know that may be a hard idea to grasp, especially for some promoters), but it has been done, and in fact has just been done in the NFL, at least it has appeared to have just been done.
BOTH THE NFL & PLAYERS HAD GOOD P.R. TEAMS
As I watched the NFL “Lockout” fiasco unfold, I have been struck by how careful the NFL, both the Suits and the Players have been to (at least give the illusion ) that every thing they have done has been to put a better “product” out for the fan. Now, if you are the average NFL fan, what does that say to you? It says, “They care about me. They care that I get value for my dollar.” And in turn, it builds fan loyalty and a broader fan base. Now, what the NFL has actually done is take care of the owners AND players, and when you take care of the players, ultimately it does enhance the sport and thus make it better for the fan. But notice EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING that both side did, said, released, was carefully orchestrated to make sure the fans believed it was all about them. At the very least, the NFL still understands the fan is its lifeblood. I am not so sure the powers that be in pugilism understand that anymore!
HOWARD COSELL SAID YOU CAN’T FIX BOXING CAUSE YOU “CAN’T CLEAN DIRT”
I am not saying that the process would be easy, painless, or without causalities. And there are those among my peers who believe that it is impossible, because they believe in the worst of human nature. And I have been screwed over by so-called “friends” and could be just as calloused as they. But yet you hear stories every day of human valor, like recently in Allentown Pa., when Robert Smith Jr. who works at a local hospital noticed a patient climbing up a fire escape toward the roof. He went after her,talking to her, realizing she was intending to commit suicide. Smith got to her just as she was beginning to jump, but her momentum carried them both over. Maneuvering his body underneath hers to try to protect her during the landing, they both survived the fall. That is a hero, my friends and they still walk among us. Perhaps some even in the world of boxing. For boxing to begin to regain it’s former glory, at least two things must happen; 1) The fan must demand ( with their dollars) no more inferior “product.” Now, I know not every fighter is a world beater, and that’s OK. Just match competitive fights with competitive fighters. It’s not rocket science. And 2) The “Powers that be” in pugilism, some are good and decent people, and some are blood sucking leeches, they must either voluntarily or be forced to do the right thing for the long term over all health of the sport.
PROFESSOR MARBRY’S PARTING SHOT
If not, then at best, we can hope that boxing can maintain a popularity that currently makes less money than professional wrestling, and at worst we can expect to see boxing rank along side roller derby.
Professor Chuck Marbry