NBC Thinks Connected Gloves and "Bullet Time" Can Make Boxing Cool 169
New submitter Lashdots writes with this excerpt from a piece at Fast Company about what may be the future of boxing, at least from the perspective of television audiences. "Right now, millennials turn boxing on and they're like, 'Who's winning? I don't get this,'" said Anthony Bailey. The chief technology officer of NBC's Premier Boxing Champions was watching a pair of fighters spar—each wearing sensor-equipped boxing gloves—in preparation for this weekend's fight, the first to be broadcast on NBC's primetime slot (8:30 pm EST) in 30 years. "These guys are real athletes. It's not just two guys going out in the ring trying to beat the crap out of each other. It's two guys that actually have strategy. They're actually thinking."
In a makeshift television studio here last month, Bailey, a team of engineers, and some of boxing's heaviest hitters were working to make that thinking a little more visible—in HD, with video-game-like graphics and Matrix-like camera angles. It's one part of an ambitious multimillion-dollar effort by NBC and some of boxing's biggest names to gain an edge against popular competitors like mixed martial arts, and to draw in younger, more casual audiences who may never have thought about watching before.
In a makeshift television studio here last month, Bailey, a team of engineers, and some of boxing's heaviest hitters were working to make that thinking a little more visible—in HD, with video-game-like graphics and Matrix-like camera angles. It's one part of an ambitious multimillion-dollar effort by NBC and some of boxing's biggest names to gain an edge against popular competitors like mixed martial arts, and to draw in younger, more casual audiences who may never have thought about watching before.
Sound effects... (Score:2, Funny)
I'm still not gonna watch until they start using Street Fighter sound effects along with those new graphics... ;-)
Right now I am thinking... (Score:5, Insightful)
...beating people up for entertainment is something I wouldn't mind society moving on from.
It's not even like it's a high risk side effect of the sport - physically harming the other person (temporarily is necessary, but permanently is often the result) is the whole aim. For anyone with half an ounce of empathy, watching two people fight is like feeling you are being beaten up. That's not entertainment, but either sadism or masochism.
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...beating people up for entertainment is something I wouldn't mind society moving on from.
It's not even like it's a high risk side effect of the sport - physically harming the other person (temporarily is necessary, but permanently is often the result) is the whole aim. For anyone with half an ounce of empathy, watching two people fight is like feeling you are being beaten up. That's not entertainment, but either sadism or masochism.
Slight correction needed here.
It's a touch of cruelty to watch two boxers beat the shit out of each other, which is likely why this sport should be considered the one the audience should be moving on from.
When it's hard to find even a career-ending injury in a sport like MMA, trying to overlay the deadly statistics of boxing on top of all fighting sports is not just short-sighted. It's downright wrong.
UFC has proven rather soundly for twenty five years that fighting can be done for entertainment and sport
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Post traumatic encephalopathy.
Re:Right now I am thinking... (Score:4, Insightful)
Post traumatic encephalopathy.
...from a fight in 1998 hosted by the Pride organization with considerably different rules that is now closed.
It's also undetermined if the CTE damage wasn't caused by an even longer career of kickboxing, a related sport to UFC but also with different rules and strategies. (and damage risk)
The UFC rules have morphed and changed over the years, and more often than not I've seen a fight stopped early (or my interpretation of early) in order to adhere to the overall rule of protecting the fighter.
I said it was hard to find a career-ending injury. And I was right. You found one in twenty five years of the sport.
I'm not some huge fan of UFC either, but I am aware of the difference that organization has brought to MMA in the way of safety, as their track record in a violent sport speaks volumes.
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Post traumatic encephalopathy.
...from a fight in 1998 hosted by the Pride organization with considerably different rules that is now closed.
It's also undetermined if the CTE damage wasn't caused by an even longer career of kickboxing, a related sport to UFC but also with different rules and strategies. (and damage risk)
The UFC rules have morphed and changed over the years, and more often than not I've seen a fight stopped early (or my interpretation of early) in order to adhere to the overall rule of protecting the fighter.
I said it was hard to find a career-ending injury. And I was right. You found one in twenty five years of the sport.
I'm not some huge fan of UFC either, but I am aware of the difference that organization has brought to MMA in the way of safety, as their track record in a violent sport speaks volumes.
American Football has more career ending injuries then MMA does.
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Of course there is, when there's a thousand football players for every MMA fighter. You can find football programs at most colleges and high schools in the U.S. - can you name a school that has one for MMA?
Wrestling (Score:4, Informative)
Of course there is, when there's a thousand football players for every MMA fighter. You can find football programs at most colleges and high schools in the U.S. - can you name a school that has one for MMA?
Sort of. It's called wrestling and yes, lots of schools have wrestling programs. A huge percentage (probably the majority) of MMA fighters these days got much of their early training in wrestling and wrestling is a vital skill in MMA. Serious long term injuries are actually rather rare in wrestling and even MMA despite the very physical nature of the sports. I've been a wrestler and coach of wrestling for over 30 years and I can show you the injury statistics for that sport. I've seen similar statistics for MMA. It's far safer than you might guess as a casual observer. Certainly far safer than football on both an absolute and per-capita basis. That's not to imply there are no dangers or that serious injuries cannot result, just that it's much safer than you might think.
The reason there are surprising few long term injuries in MMA (and wrestling) is two-fold. 1) the rules are designed such that techniques likely to result in severe injury are illegal. 2) There is one official for two contestants and he is standing just a few feet away and is empowered to stop the match if an injury seems likely. That makes a HUGE difference. The sports are physical and sure there are plenty of bumps and bruises but stuff like broken limbs or torn ligaments simply don't happen often because the match gets stopped most of the time before that becomes possible. In football that isn't the case. In football the rules are designed such that certain injuries (particularly knee injuries and concussions) are ludicrously routine. Go into any sports medicine clinic and I can almost guarantee the majority of the patients there will be football players with serious knee injuries.
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Even when retirement [espn.co.uk] is a synonym for "career ending injury"?
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Even when retirement [espn.co.uk] is a synonym for "career ending injury"?
The vast majority of those injuries happen during training, and wouldn't have been career-ending if they happened in a fight because there isn't always a doctor on hand during training, but there is at the fight. At the fight the injury gets evaluated immediately, and the limb is properly immobilized in the locker room, and the fighter transported immediately to a surgical facility if needed. In training, first you wait to see if it gets better on its own, and if it is actually serious, you've damaged it mo
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Then that's some piss poor training, if you're more likely to be concussed or tear a muscle than when facing someone who's actively trying to win by KO/TKO/submission.
Nice distinction. Where's the difference?
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When will we see real-time brain injury analysis like "Wow Bob, that left hook to the face just left him with a level 6 concussive trauma that will mean severe aphasia in 12 years - he won't be able to say ****."
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It is easily within current capabilities to put accelerometers on helmets and have them record the impact forces, but this would spoil all the fun of people harming each other for sport and profit. Until the public turns away from head-injury sports, they will be with us, and the aftermath of all those head injuries will be with us and our health care system for years to come.
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Which is precisely why these matches should be fought to the death! It's a lot more exciting for the spectators, you almost never see anyone take a dive because they've been paid off by some gambling cartel, and there are no pesky lingering injuries. There are no downsides! Well, except for the loser I guess, but isn't that wh
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So ... you enjoy watching UFC fights because its somehow less barbaric than boxing? Every time I'm at a bar, there is at least one television showing UFC. The only difference I observe from boxing is that it's two barbarians trying to kill each other on the ground, vs standing up.
But please, do continue parroting Sports Center about the virtues of one blood sport over another.
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So ... you enjoy watching UFC fights because its somehow less barbaric than boxing? Every time I'm at a bar, there is at least one television showing UFC. The only difference I observe from boxing is that it's two barbarians trying to kill each other on the ground, vs standing up.
But please, do continue parroting Sports Center about the virtues of one blood sport over another.
Spoken like someone who actually has never seen the sports.
No one tries to kill each other, while sometimes there are grudge matches, everyone tends to respect their opponent in the ring. No one is trying to kill each other, they are trying to win.
Not to mention these people train hard and work hard to do this. It is there decision, no one is forced into it. So you and others like you need to get off your high horse and accept that there is things in this world that people like to do that you do not l
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One time in fencing class we were trying out "saber" style, which mimics combat from horseback. I managed to parry my opponent's attack with enough force to cut the end off of his saber, including the protective plastic tip! We both made another lunge at each other (in saber style you're expected to attack recklessly, not take turns) before we noticed the equipment malfunction. I was lucky he didn't stab me in the heart, or (he wasn't that big, really) poke my eye out.
In all the weapons training I did, none
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You should watch the movie Karate Kid, you might discover that while there are some barbarians in martial arts, (as there are some in all things) there is also a non-barbaric tradition of martial arts, and it generally empowers the defender more than the attacker, and is used to decrease violence, not increase it. Historically, when martial arts is intended to kill, weapons are used. When it is practiced without a weapon, it is almost always regarded as a means to enforce peace.
It is true that sometimes uns
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So ... you enjoy watching UFC fights because its somehow less barbaric than boxing? Every time I'm at a bar, there is at least one television showing UFC. The only difference I observe from boxing is that it's two barbarians trying to kill each other on the ground, vs standing up.
But please, do continue parroting Sports Center about the virtues of one blood sport over another.
Clearly you enjoy attacking this class of sports without knowing and understanding the difference between them.
Feel better knowing your golfers will die much slower from skin cancer while entertaining you.
As one who has followed MMA since the end of the 9 (Score:5, Informative)
I must say that your statements are pure BS. Fighting in MMA causes just as much if not more brain injury, as (pure) boxing.
Right now, almost every veteran MMA fighter suffers from symptoms of brain injury. Here's a partial list:
Jens Pulver
Gabriel Gonzaga
Mirko Filipovic
Frank Trigg
Chuck Liddell
Mark Munoz
Antonio Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Alistair Overeem
Phil Baroni
Gary Goodridge
Andrei Arlovski
Josh Koscheck
Cheick Kongo
and the list goes on. And it doesn't even include the journeymen that get punched in the head for a $300 payout on regional circuits, as a matter of fact for their whole careers.
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That is absolute hogwash. You might want to cite a source, because many of those fighters are still fighting, and if they had an existing known brain injury, they wouldn't be cleared to fight.
Presumably you just grabbed a list of fighters who received automatic post-fight suspensions because of (presumed) mild concussions. If you get knocked out during a fight, there is an automatic "injury suspension" given out by the fight commission. That is based on possibility of injury, not an actual medical diagnosis
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I must say that your statements are pure BS. Fighting in MMA causes just as much if not more brain injury, as (pure) boxing. Right now, almost every veteran MMA fighter suffers from symptoms of brain injury. Here's a partial list: Jens Pulver Gabriel Gonzaga Mirko Filipovic Frank Trigg Chuck Liddell Mark Munoz Antonio Silva Wanderlei Silva Alistair Overeem Phil Baroni Gary Goodridge Andrei Arlovski Josh Koscheck Cheick Kongo
and the list goes on. And it doesn't even include the journeymen that get punched in the head for a $300 payout on regional circuits, as a matter of fact for their whole careers.
And yet I just saw Josh Koshcheck fight in the ring a week ago??
Sorry, but you're going to have to do more than provide a list of fighters whom some are still active in the sport to justify your claim here. Obviously if they're still fighting and able to well, whatever "symptoms" they have are far from even career stopping, much less career ending.
Deaths have occurred in just about every other violent sport, both during the actual event and after the fact, and when comparing apples to apples here, UFC is
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In MMA there is no count, the fight continues until the fighter is unable to defend themselves in the present tense. Actual "knockout" situations often happen where the ref is already calling it a KO before the fighter hits the ground. It is generally believed that this reduces brain injury, and that the "standing 8 count" in boxing allows recovery time that encourages additional injury and brain swelling. That is still disputed, though.
As far as the rules of boxing and the actual premise of the article (ge
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If by football you meant soccer, then that is true. If you meant American football, absolutely false, and not even a close one, assuming we're only measuring significant impacts that could cause a concussion.
Hockey, I don't believe it without seeing empirical impact data.
In an MMA fight, if you take a blow to the head that leaves you dazed for a few seconds, it is usually the end of the fight. In those other sports, everybody would stand in a circle around you for a minute, and if you appeared to have recov
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Almost all the career ending injuring that happen to MMA fighters happen during training. The safety level is comparable to other athletic events. The action is all indoor in a highly controlled field, and action can be stopped very quickly. So it is much, much safer than something like cycling, or distance running. A marathon runner who has an accident might not get medical attention for full minutes. An MMA fighter will have a qualified doctor working on their injury within a few seconds if it happens dur
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as far as american football goes, they've found the cumulative effect of heavy hits but not concussion level pretty damaging too. so, full contact two-a-days pretty bad. not sure if theyve studied sparring with headgear yet.
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Hell, you could argue that other professional sports such as swimming, bike riding, and track are dangerous because they encourage the use of sport's enhancing drugs.
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Boxing is a chocolate sport. .
Except when it's not.
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Do you like boxing? (Score:2)
"There's nothing wrong with boxing. It's the great working-class escape. Just sport, like any other. Two athletes at the peak of physical perfection trying to outwit each other in a ring of combat. At its best, it's an art form."
"Female topless boxing?"
"It's art to me."
Nice (Score:5, Funny)
So in a couple of years, we can look back and tell:
That's the hit that got him Parkinson's.
Perhaps not Parkinson's, but possibly Alzheimer's (Score:2)
There are indications that concussions lead to much the same changes in the brain, as does Alzheimer's [time.com] (including all the related symptoms).
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Liar! Everyone knows that [profitable thing] does not cause [expensive health problem].
Re:Nice (Score:4, Insightful)
Boxing doesn't cause Parkinson's disease.
Well, whatever it causes (and they will claim it causes everything), I can see lawers running through the data in 20-30 years time when these guys have become vegetables, to sue the crap out of their opponent, the promoter, the ref, the NBC, the audience, Government, TV companies, you, me, God, and the lost tribes of the Amazon, for not stepping in to stop the freak show before it happened.
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You realize that boxing isn't some new concept, right?
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You realize that boxing isn't some new concept, right?
Of course it isn't, but in ancient times most men didn't live long enough to worry about anything like Parkinson's.
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You realize that boxing isn't some new concept, right?
Of course it isn't, but in ancient times most men didn't live long enough to worry about anything like Parkinson's.
As already pointed out above, boxing does not cause Parkinson's disease, so please come up with a better argument.
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You realize that boxing isn't some new concept, right?
Your point being ?
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This is hard, I know, because "tenses." But lets try.
Boxing is over [30+career length] years old. Therefore, if the result 30 years after the end of a fighters career was "vegetable" followed by "suing a bunch of people including government employees," then that would already have happened.
Your ignorance of both lawsuits and fighting just blares loudly through that. If you knew about lawsuits and boxing, even just in passing as a person who reads news articles about those things, then you'd know that the re
Re:Nice (Score:4, Informative)
Boxing has long been associated with a form of CTE called 'Dementia Pugilistica' (literally Boxer's Dementia), which manifests as Parkinsonism (and Dementia).
The etiology of 'Normal' Parkinsons and Dementia Pugilistica are almost certainly different, but at many stages they look similar enough that it's probably fair to say that boxing does essentially cause Parkinsons.
Brain damage visualization tools (Score:3, Interesting)
Put telelemetry and accelerometers on the boxers and their gloves to see the g forces on heads and brains. Model damage from a physicians perspective in both sports medicineband neurology.
If we can bullet time boxing gloves, we can also collect valuable information to treat future cases of brain trauma.
scoring (Score:2)
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Real time scoring that is shown as soon as a point is made would be effective.
Like they have in Olympic boxing.
So they have tactics? So what? (Score:2)
They have a strategy? They're actually thinking? It's not just two guys beating the shit out of each other? So?
Take "E-Sports". They have a strategy. They are actually thinking. They're not just two guys playing a computer gam... eh... well... can I get back on this one?
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Not only does boxing have a great deal of strategy and thinking, but there's actually something on the line, unlike eSports.
I wonder how well eAthletes would fare if there was a component of physical confrontation in eSports? One thing for sure, you would hear a lot less of the "I'm gonna rape you so hard" trash-talking of eSports.
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So because in boxing you can get lasting, crippling effects to your body it's a "sport"?
Where exactly does the healthy bit come in?
But aside of snide comments, by the same logic smoking is a sport. Make it competitive and you have the same components as in boxing.
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I trained in boxing for a year and a half. I've been a runner for 20+. The cardio output required in boxing is significantly higher than running. That's where the "healthy" bit comes in. If you've never tried it, you have absolutely no idea what incredibly good shape you have to be in to compete.
Yes, I grant that getting punched in the head hard is not good, but other spotrs have their risks as well. I used to rock climb a lot. The risk profile there is that you're pretty likely to never get injured,
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That's right. As long as the risks are spelled out in advance and only to the practitioners, there's no problem.
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First, I didn't say anything about "healthy".
Second, not all boxing is professional prize-fighting, which is where the head injuries come from. No protective headgear, refs who are unwilling to stop fights because of the big broadcast money, etc.
My point was that boxing requires a significant amount of strategy and thought. Not that it was some healthy pastime. I boxed for years, but would never have my kid go into boxing. On the other hand, I had no problem le
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Oh yeah boxers never talk shit about opponents.
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They do, but the consequences are rather greater and more direct than tweeting it out.
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Vitali Klitschko
Winning Strategy (Score:2)
So, you want to enable the audience to hold a judges card and help choose the winner, instead of the time-honored tradition of allowing Don King to buy the win?
Boy, this really is a shakeup in the industry.
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I doubt it. With the right promotion you should be able to control who the audience wants to win. And since you've averaged it down to a mob decision, they'll pick "their guy" most of the time, regardless of the fight stats. I predict an almost identical percent of "bad" decisions to the current system.
Will help slightly (Score:2)
Just like Hockey. Most people who are interested are already watching.
MMA, UItimate Fighting etc. proves that people want to watch people hurt one another. Some graphics might be just the thing to liven up boxing.
Thinking? Not so much. (Score:5, Interesting)
""Everybody has a plan until they get hit." -- Mike Tyson
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Of course the spectators are only watching for the thinking.
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Of course the spectators are only watching for the thinking.
Just like everybody reads Playboy for the articles.
The Playboy argument is a common one but a bad one, and I'll tell you why. If no one cared about the articles in Playboy it wouldn't exist in the form it does. There are plenty of other skin mags, most of which do not include any appreciable journalism or literary entertainment. So if Playboy's success were not largely (certainly not entirely) due to the articles, it would not exist, or at the very least would not be the clear cut most popular magazine to feature naked ladies. Of course dudes dig the boobs,
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Try it. I have. Yes, there's thinking. You have a toolbox of techniques, and so does your opponent. During the fight, you're testing what in your toolbox works against them, and learning what they have that works against you, then you're trying to compensate. You're trying to deceive, making your opponent try to defend the wrong shot so the one you actually throw hits them.
Yeah. There's thinking. It's not exactly chess, but it's far from two guys just punching each other.
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One thing that would make me even more interested in combat sports than I am already: ban commenters from using chess analogies. (I say that as a successful amateur chess combatant)
Nothing makes a person (in any non-chess event) look stupider than comparing things to chess as an attempt at an accessible metaphor. Chess is not an accessible metaphor; nobody who needs an accessible metaphor would even understand an actual relevant chess example. And modern chess is highly pragmatic, there are basically no por
And I care about this why? (Score:2)
Even _interesting_ sports are not highly regarded among geeks, I'm not sure how this article was even considered "stuff that matters."
Maybe gladiators would be worth posting about, but boxing is as Neanderthal as it gets.
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Even _interesting_ sports are not highly regarded among geeks, I'm not sure how this article was even considered "stuff that matters."
Maybe gladiators would be worth posting about, but boxing is as Neanderthal as it gets.
Apparently you're not the only one who thinks so. I once bought a pair of boxing gloves to spar with friends. The cardboard box had this big bold warning on the side: "WARNING: Boxing is a contact sport"
I wish I were joking.
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Even _interesting_ sports are not highly regarded among geeks, I'm not sure how this article was even considered "stuff that matters."
Maybe gladiators would be worth posting about, but boxing is as Neanderthal as it gets.
You care enough to type about it. And as someone whose DNA is upwards of 3% neanderthal, I am offended.
Should also have sensors on the head (Score:3)
So when they pass the puck... (Score:2)
The puck glows blue when they pass it, and when they shoot the puck at the net, it glows RED. This is the future of hockey for a younger generation!
Nope. (Score:2)
Make the fights to the death. Then americans will watch it more than all the other shows combined.
Make them death row criminals, and Pay per view, become a trillionaire overnight.
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Isn't there already a few movies with that concept?
Brain damage isn't cool (Score:2)
Get rid of the point system (Score:2)
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Get rid of the point system. Have them keep going till someone gives up or gets KO'd. This simultaneously makes the sport more interesting and will cut back on the corruption.
...and the strategy, and the focus on fitness and stamina, and the length of careers, and all amateur boxing, and the health of boxers, and the frequency of fights, and the likelihood of boxing remaining legal and sanctioned. Boxing has never been street fighting, and will never become such.
Reminds me of the "Fox Puck" (Score:2)
Imagine how much harder these boxers will try to punch each other once they realise they can get a high score.
Nothing new... (Score:2)
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So I assume that's a "no" on eSports?
http://na.leagueoflegends.com/... [leagueoflegends.com]
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I've got no problem with eSports. Personally, I'd rather have the controller in my own hands, but boys want to watch each other playing video games, god bless 'em. Especially if it keeps them off 8chan.
Why the hate? (Score:5, Insightful)
I despise sports.
Why? Sports are merely a game. A diversion played for entertainment. If it isn't your cup of tea that's fine but why should you give a shit one way or the other about it? In practical terms if you don't care about sports it won't affect you one tiny little bit. Find something productive to dislike like war or disease or political corruption. Sports is without question a net benefit to society so it makes little sense to hate sports even if you don't enjoy them personally.
It's all paying ridiculous amounts of money to millionaire "athletes" to watch them play a game.
Why is that any worse that paying to watch a movie or a TV show or a stage play? People pay to watch this because they find it entertaining and get what they consider a good value for money. And for the majority of the human population, sports ARE entertaining. If you don't like them fine but that doesn't make it ridiculous. A top level athlete is a beautiful thing to watch just like watching a ballet dancer or a talented musician. Plus in sports there is the drama of competition which is tremendous fun. There is economic value in providing entertainment so what is wrong with charging people who are willing to pay to watch sports?
Furthermore what's with the condescending quotations around the word athletes? If you play sports then you are an athlete. That is what the word means. You're an athlete if you play sports even if you aren't very good at it and don't get paid a penny which described 99.9999% of the population of people involved in sports.
I have nothing against playing games -- I have a thing against paying people to watch them do it.
Again why? Why do you give a shit? I understand if it isn't your thing. I don't find watching interpretive dance to be particularly fulfilling myself but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing that others find it entertaining. If you want to spend your money doing something else, no one will care. But stop looking down your nose at people who find pleasure in watching sports.
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...Sports are merely a game....
That's like saying a war is merely a disagreement between a couple of countries.
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That's like saying a war is merely a disagreement between a couple of countries.
Completely disagree. Sports is a game. War is an atrocity. Never seriously compare the two.
If you think sports is anything more than a form of recreation then you seriously are missing the entire point of sports. A sport is just a bunch of made up rules everyone agrees to adhere to and then we play to figure out who is the best at it. Some sports have become popular enough that people are willing to pay to watch them as a form of entertainment, like watching a movie or play. People compete hard and ta
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Why do I care?
Because with all the issues facing society, what do people talk about around the water cooler?
How "their team" did or about their favourite TV show. Not about any issues that face society, like the disparity between the incomes of the 1% and the rest of the population. Not about the fact that any one of these athletes salaries could raise 30-40 people to middle class from poverty.
Rome is burning, and everyone is watching Caesar's games...
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Did you consider the problem might be that your job sucks, and your workplace has an unhealthy water-cooler culture?
Find a geek job, your co-workers might instead work at work, and engage in sports and other healthy entertainments during their off-time. I know I'm way more likely to hear people talking about hiking or skiing or semi-pro roller derby (I am not even joking) than TV-sports. Trail running is so popular that the hiking trails are often congested these days.
If you think boxers make a lot of money
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Obviously you must be a right-wing cuntservative seeing as you automatically label me "left wing" without having any knowledge or insight as to my opinion on politics.
Rant on, oh mouth-frothing spittle-spewing diatribe-screaming fucktard....
Re:Why the hate? (Score:4)
Rarely do you see such puerile egotism from adult people.
I've seen it every day that I've ever logged into Slashdot. Odd how it's acceptable here because it is "intellectual" or "high brow" because it deals with tech rather than actually getting up out of your chair, leaving your mother's basement, and exposing your flaccid pasty body to natural light.
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Just because they're full of themselves, doesn't make it highbrow.
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It's not the activity in and of itself. It's the "jock culture" built around it.
"Jock culture"? I think you are projecting insecurities and have watched way too many movies. I've been a Division 1 college athlete in wrestling. I have been in the sport for over 30 years both as an athlete and coach. I'm also an engineer and most of my hobbies and friends are very much on the geeky side. (If you need evidence I've been hanging out here on slashdot for about 15 years - if that's not geeky I don't know what is...) I spent much of my high school and college spare time doing stuff like
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You're mostly right. You're closer than he is, and thank you for taking the time.
However, what you may have missed is that the negative "jock culture" does exist, but it is associated with team sports, especially football. Wrestling, unless it is "professional" wrestling, you're competing by yourself even when there is also team scoring. So the natural culture is very different.
As far as special treatment, that is a real thing. No, not every student athlete gets special treatment. There are few schools wher
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I despise sports. Team sports. One on one sports. Contact sports. Group sports.
It's all paying ridiculous amounts of money to millionaire "athletes" to watch them play a game. I have nothing against playing games -- I have a thing against paying people to watch them do it.
I have no interest in professional sports, either. But I don't begrudge them the money. After all, there are people willing to pay to watch them. Really, most athletes are under-paid, with owners and other middlemen scooping up most of the dough, while it is the athletes whom people are paying to see.
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So, you despise a whole class of activity because some people pay for it. How, uhm, enlightened?
You do realize that you could love sports with the same premise; people can actually play the sports. You could love sports, and still hate paying to watch.
Grandpa, lets try again to find your pills, alright?
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Watch "The 16th Man" from ESPN's 30 for 30. Also known as Invictus with Morgan Freeman.
Sports, watching sports as a nation, changed a nation and prevented a cataclysmic race riot.
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Maybe if it were something they cared about, they'd pay. But it really is just two guys they don't care about beating each other up.
The "this is a sport, not just two thugs trying to hurt each other" veneer was ripped off the so-called sport when Mike Tyson was allowed to return to the "sport" after being convicted of rape, then bit off Evander Holyfield's ear and was allowed to return (with celebrity status) AGAIN, served time for yet another assault, cheated in another fight...
And was never banned from th
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It is already a "foul." That is how "clean" the sport is. ;)
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I can't believe so many of you alleged males are dogging on boxing and other contact sports. None of these fighters/athletes are slaves, they CHOOSE the sport and the potential consequences. Go back to saving the internet now.
Bravo. While I agree wholeheartedly, I can't help but find it a bit ironic that you question the manliness of boxing detractors while purposely concealing your own fake online identity.