Boxing and the Derby
Two generations ago, the two events that happened on Saturday would have been considered two of the biggest evens of the year but today are shadows of their former selves.
The day kicked off with the 133rd running of the Kentucky at Churchill Downs. Street Sense pulled of a comeback of epic proportions to grab a 2 ¼ link victory. It was almost as if the horse finally realized that this was the Kentucky Derby coming around the final turn and decided to blow by everyone down the stretch. He stormed into the lead so quickly most people were probably at a loss for words. It was impressive comeback at a wonderful venue in the “Run for the Roses.”
Then later in the evening Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. squared off for the WBC Junior middleweight title. The dedicated fans shelled out a cool $54.95 to see Mayweather get the victory by decision in a close fight. And their were a lot of dedicated fans with HBO reporting 2.15 million paying households.
But despite an exciting Derby and $120 in profits for the match, these two sports have been struggling and look likely to continue to do so. It can be said, that along with baseball, boxing and horse racing were the big three in the first half of the 20th century. So the debate continues as to why these two giants have fallen.
There are a host of reasons. In horse racing, there are no faces to follow year after year. Fans can’t buy the jersey of the favorite jockey and the horses keep coming and going. It’s hard to be a fan when there is no one to be fan of. And this generation doesn’t grow up wanting to be jockeys. Nearly every young athlete will pick being Dwayne Wade or Reggie Bush before the best jockey. You can’t play it on the playground or in the backyard and this fast paced society doesn’t care to have the high cultural graces to appreciate such a privileged and ritzy competition.
Boxing is just the opposite situation. Anyone can go buy a punching bag and hit away in their garage. But not many are going to have the dedication to stamina and technique it takes to be a great boxer all by themselves while their friends are out playing football and basketball. They are also not going turn the better opportunities to playing a college sport over being a no name boxer their entire career. Pay-per-view has hurt the sport as well. Only the dedicated are going to pay the high prices to watch a match. It’s the large average fan base that makes a sport and boxing has driven them away.
The sports still have a future but they need a savior. They need the next Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Ali or Foremen. They need a Triple Crown winner and they need a heavyweight giant. It’s been a long time since one of these. The guys in charge have to make the sports cool to the next generation. If they fail to market to kids, they have no future.
The day kicked off with the 133rd running of the Kentucky at Churchill Downs. Street Sense pulled of a comeback of epic proportions to grab a 2 ¼ link victory. It was almost as if the horse finally realized that this was the Kentucky Derby coming around the final turn and decided to blow by everyone down the stretch. He stormed into the lead so quickly most people were probably at a loss for words. It was impressive comeback at a wonderful venue in the “Run for the Roses.”
Then later in the evening Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. squared off for the WBC Junior middleweight title. The dedicated fans shelled out a cool $54.95 to see Mayweather get the victory by decision in a close fight. And their were a lot of dedicated fans with HBO reporting 2.15 million paying households.
But despite an exciting Derby and $120 in profits for the match, these two sports have been struggling and look likely to continue to do so. It can be said, that along with baseball, boxing and horse racing were the big three in the first half of the 20th century. So the debate continues as to why these two giants have fallen.
There are a host of reasons. In horse racing, there are no faces to follow year after year. Fans can’t buy the jersey of the favorite jockey and the horses keep coming and going. It’s hard to be a fan when there is no one to be fan of. And this generation doesn’t grow up wanting to be jockeys. Nearly every young athlete will pick being Dwayne Wade or Reggie Bush before the best jockey. You can’t play it on the playground or in the backyard and this fast paced society doesn’t care to have the high cultural graces to appreciate such a privileged and ritzy competition.
Boxing is just the opposite situation. Anyone can go buy a punching bag and hit away in their garage. But not many are going to have the dedication to stamina and technique it takes to be a great boxer all by themselves while their friends are out playing football and basketball. They are also not going turn the better opportunities to playing a college sport over being a no name boxer their entire career. Pay-per-view has hurt the sport as well. Only the dedicated are going to pay the high prices to watch a match. It’s the large average fan base that makes a sport and boxing has driven them away.
The sports still have a future but they need a savior. They need the next Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Ali or Foremen. They need a Triple Crown winner and they need a heavyweight giant. It’s been a long time since one of these. The guys in charge have to make the sports cool to the next generation. If they fail to market to kids, they have no future.
posted by William Allison @ 6:56 PM
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