Module 8
The Democratization of Sports
A. High School Sports
In the decades following the Second World War, the United States enjoyed a
sustained and unparalleled period of economic growth. Powerful scientific and
technological innovations transformed American life. Life expectancy increased
substantially and the population increased from 140 million in 1940 to 308 million in
2010. Although industrial production remained high – despite strong competition from
modern Asian and European countries – the greatest increase in economic activity
occurred in the service and high-tech areas. Following a sobering downturn in traditional
“Rust Belt” heavy industry during the 1970s, a stunning “new economy” took hold
during the 1980s, spurred by biotechnology and computer science. New patterns of
immigration led to a significant increase in racial, ethnic, and religious diversity. All of
these forces contributed to a growing tenor of egalitarianism and democracy in the ebb
and flow of everyday American life; those sensibilities were played out in the
recreational activities and games in which the American people took part, and the
sporting contests that they watched.
The growth of organized youth sports during the years after the Second World
War was one important manifestation of the nation’s growing aluence. Families not only
had more time and more money to devote to recreation, but parents believed competitive
sports taught lessons essential for the development of their children. Some optimistic
parents even calculated that, if properly coached and trained, their child could eventually
receive a college athletic scholarship. During the early decades of the twentieth century,
physical education pioneer Luther Gulick and his followers established the importance of
competitive sports in helping young people to grow and develop into physically it young
adults who also understood the importance of good citizenship and moral leadership. The
foundation of the large and pervasive American sports culture of recent years – youth and
public school sports programs – was based upon a competitive, winning model. Proper
attention was paid, of course, to the importance of good sportsmanship, but the
underlying message was “compete to win.”
The power of a high school team to galvanize a community has been
demonstrated in many settings. One of the most dramatic examples occurred in 1954 in
Indiana, a state in which boys’ basketball enjoyed a special place in the grand order of
things. The state athletic association did not divide schools into several divisions based
on enrollment. Instead, all schools, large and small, competed in a single division. Over
the years, in the state tournament in which all teams were entered, a few “miracle” teams
from small rural schools had pulled of an occasional upset over a large urban school.
However, the four finalists that made it to Indianapolis invariably represented urban
schools with large enrollments. The year 1954, however, proved to be special, when the
small school from the farming town of Milan (pop. 987), located in the rolling hills of the
southeastern corner of the state, powered its way through the sectional and regional
tournaments to reach the state finals played in Butler University’s cavernous field house.
It was truly a David versus Goliath story – 773 teams had entered in the
tournament – and the state’s basketball fans were enthralled by the appearance of this
team of farm boys from a small town. The tallest player on the team was 6 foot 1 inch
center Gene White, and the team’s leader was sharp-shooting 5 foot 11 inch forward
Bobby Plump. Plump had spent countless hours practicing his favorite jump shot on a
hoop nailed above the barn door. Although the Milan Indians came into the tournament
with a 20–2 record, statewide ranking polls did not give them any mention. At
Indianapolis, the Indians encountered one of the state’s top-ranked teams, the powerful
Tigers from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, a team led by a super
sophomore, the future All-American and NBA Hall of Fame player Oscar Robertson. But
Plump hit 9 of 13 shots to lead Milan to a 13-point victory, and on Saturday night the
“little team that could” squared off for the state championship against top-seeded and
heavily favored Muncie Central.
Future Milan teams never could repeat what that special team of 1954 had
accomplished, but in larger communities some high school teams have enjoyed a winning
tradition extending over decades. One of the most prominent such programs has been the
football team from Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio. In 1932, a young
graduate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio took over the head coaching duties at
Massillon’s only high school. Between 1935 and 1940, Paul Brown’s Tigers won 58 of
60 games and claimed six consecutive state championships. Brown, who went on to a
storied coaching career at Ohio State and the National Football League, established a
tradition that continues to the present day. He created the Tiger Booster Club to raise
funds and provide community support, and installed his offensive and defensive schemes
throughout a network that extended downward to the junior varsity, freshman, and junior
high teams, even to the touch football games played between elementary schools. When
players arrived at Washington High from the city’s three junior high schools, they were
already well versed in his system.
Located in the industrial belt of northeastern Ohio, Massillon and its 30,000
residents relied upon jobs provided by a steel-processing factory. Massillon was the
epitome of the tough blue-collar town, and its attitude was revealed through the tenacity
of its football teams. The winning tradition continued after Brown left for greater
opportunities, and over the years, the Tigers claimed 23 state football championships, and
sent hundreds of players of to major college teams, 16 of whom became All-Americans,
and several who starred in the National Football League. Six of its head coaches left to
take college head coaching positions, and as the winning seasons piled one upon the
other, community commitment intensified. The booster club grew to 3,000 paying
members by 1980, and the team played in the 22,000-seat Paul Brown Stadium. The
Tigers were among the first high school teams to play on artificial turf, and players were
expected to follow a prescribed year-round training regimen in a well-equipped weight
room.
In 1985, Washington High won its 600th game, becoming the first high school
team in the United States to achieve that level of success, and at the end of the 2014
season the Tigers’ overall record stood at 849 wins, 277 losses, and 36 ties. The Tigers
have played their way into the state Final Four championship round17 times since the
playoff system was initiated in 1972, but without ever claiming another state
championship. Between 1921 and 2010, the school had endured only four losing seasons,
with two back-to-back 4–6 seasons occurring in 2003 and 2004. Competition from other
equally well-funded programs across the state of Ohio had caught up with the Tigers, and
the last state championship in 1970 (decided by an Associated Press poll) is now a distant
memory. But the dedication of the people of “Touchdown Town” did not waver. A
family steeped in the city’s football culture provided the funds to construct a state-of-the
art sports medicine complex in 2008, and the following year an indoor practice facility
with a full 100-yard football ield was constructed. Mike Brown, the son of the founder of
this tradition and owner of the NFL Cincinnati Bengals, ruefully commented upon
visiting the sparkling new facility: “Massillon High School is ahead of us. We don’t have
one.”
The increased profiles of high school football and basketball were greatly
intensified by the national recruiting efforts of major college teams, encouraged by a host
of state and regional publications that described the talents of top high school players for
the benefit of interested coaches/recruiters. The national newspaper U.S.A. Today created
a new level of expectation with its national rankings of high school football, basketball,
and baseball teams. The emergence of the internet created a plethora of web sites devoted
to recruiting, thus turning recruiting seasons into further competition between high-
profile college programs as they competed for the top “i ve star” high school prospects.
B. Youth Sports
Increased emphasis on channeling young boys and girls into structured youth
sports programs – with the tendency to force a young athlete to concentrate upon one
sport very early in their development – has generated considerable attention from child
development specialists in the past few decades. The issues are many and complex, but
essentially many parents believe that such programs are important for their youngsters’
future development. As of 2015, an estimated 12 million youths between the ages of 7
and 13 currently take part annually in adult-supervised competitive team-oriented
programs in football, basketball, softball, hockey, soccer, and baseball. In addition to this,
a large number of preteens and teenagers are enrolled in costly instructional programs for
individual performance sports, such as gymnastics, ice-skating, skiing, swimming, golf,
and tennis. In many cities, for-profit instructional services offer youngsters individualized
instruction.
Organized team play for youths was virtually unheard of until the YMCA began
to ield teams late in the nineteenth century. Following the Second World War, however,
conditions were just right for such programs to flourish. Postwar prosperity put
discretionary income in the hands of parents who wanted to provide their children with
opportunities that they had been denied growing up in a time of depression and war.
Lurking behind the youth movement were Cold War fears of communism, as well as the
informal social and economic power exerted within American society by large
corporations. Parents wanted to instill in their offspring the values they deemed necessary
to survive and succeed in this conflicted time: competition, patriotism, acceptance of
authority, discipline, and the importance of cooperation and teamwork. In the age of the
“organization man,” parents wanted to instill in their children the values of working
within a group, interacting effectively with others, and accepting authority – precisely
those interpersonal skills that they believed would enable them to succeed as adults
within large corporate or governmental organizations. It has often been said that success
in the boardroom of major corporations is a journey that begins in the locker room.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, parents of the postwar era sought a controlled
environment in which their children would learn the skills that would enable them to
succeed as adults – long after their playing days were over. For them, future professional
and business success would indeed grow out of the many lessons learned playing sports.
While various informal polls taken in his sports history class by this author over
the years indicate that a vast majority of former Little Leaguers look back on their
experience as a positive one, the idea of establishing adult supervision over youthful play
produced many skeptics. The litany of criticisms are familiar: the preteen years, it is
frequently said, are a time when children should learn to organize their own play and not
have the spontaneity of play subverted by meddling, if well-meaning adults. Although
Little League literature emphasizes the primary goals of participation and learning, in
reality many coaches play the best players in the most important positions, stationing the
least adept for the minimum number of required innings in right ield where few balls are
likely to be hit. The pressure to win sometimes places players under emotional stress, and
parents and other onlookers often exhibit antisocial behavior, loudly criticizing the
umpires, the coaches, even the young players. The national news occasionally reports a
physical attack by an angry parent upon an umpire, and many leagues have had to deal
with verbal assaults on the coach by irate parents who believed the coach did not
appreciate their child’s ability. Over the years, some leagues have required parents to
attend a preseason clinic that teaches the basics of good sportsmanship and proper fan
behavior.
With some parents willing to spend substantial sums on their child’s athletic
development, a cottage industry developed in urban areas that featured year-round
instructional programs in such mainline sports as basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball,
tennis, and gymnastics. Among the most extensive were programs for young girls in
gymnastics, ice-skating, and swimming. Over the years, the more adept girls are
encouraged to move into intensive advanced programs, complete with regional and
national competitions that lead, in some instances, to college scholarships. It was out of
this structured program that America’s female world-class gymnasts emerged – highly
skilled athletes, often no more than 15 or 16 years of age. In order to achieve this
pinnacle of success, parents sometimes have to neglect their daughter’s education and
social development and have her live apart from her family to be near a nationally
acclaimed coach. There she is expected to adhere to rigid diets, put in many hours of
arduous training each day, and generally not have the opportunities of a normal teenage
social life. Many promising gymnasts, of course, also suffer severe injuries in the
process.
The IMG program mirrored a trend across the United States whereby prospective
top athletes at an early age are channeled by parents and coaches into concentrating their
efforts on a single sport. The theory is that competition for team slots is so intense at
large high schools that only a year-round commitment to one sport can assure a place on
the team. The result often is that as early as the seventh or eighth grade, prospective high
school athletes select one sport upon which to concentrate, spending much of their free
time working on their skills in various private settings under the supervision of tutors or
clinic instructors. Summers for these aspiring athletes (and their parents) are given over
to attending specialized camps and playing on club teams in competitive leagues that
often involve extensive (and expensive) out-of-town travel. The pressure for excellence
has led to teamsF– hockey, soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, and wrestling, for
example – hiring professional coaches rather than relying on the skills of volunteers.
Teams in the 10–16 year-old age bracket might enter several tournaments each year,
entailing long trips, to compete in high-level competitions that bring together teams from
several states.
The pressure to specialize in one sport, of course, is a by-product of the emphasis
placed on winning. Such pressure has naturally been interpreted by various experts as
both good and bad, depending on the psychological makeup of the individual. What
cannot be disputed, however, is that organized play has replaced unorganized,
spontaneous play by youngsters. The organizing, coaching, and specialized athletic
tutoring of young athletes has become a proi table new mini-industry in the United States.
IMG is only the most visible example of what has become a substantial enterprise. Left to
their own devices, children are natural cross-trainers, dabbling in many sports and related
activities. But the growth of organization and adult supervision has undercut spontaneity.
Many experts decry the overemphasis at an early age upon concentration on one sport.
“We’ve got tennis kids who can’t hop, skip or jump,” laments David Donatucci of the
IMG Performance Institute: “We’ve got golfers who if you threw them a ball, they’d
duck – basketball players who can’t swing a baseball bat. We’ve got some kids who are
really good at their sports, but if you looked closer, you’d be surprised at how unathletic
they really are.”
C. Golf ’s Golden Age
The importance parents placed upon getting their children into the “right” sports
program in part reflected the growth of televised sports and the big dollar signs it dangled
before the public. This led to the emergence of celebrity status for standouts in sports that
heretofore received only limited attention. Following the Second World War, golf and
tennis, for example, underwent fundamental changes in their images, becoming new
examples of how the democratizing spirit of sports was taking hold. After the spectacular
reign of Bobby Jones during the 1920s, professional golf went into the doldrums until
after the war. Babe Didrikson Zaharias went on a tear on the limited women’s circuit, but
only the most dedicated of golf fans paid much attention. Following the war, men’s golf
was dominated by Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, who engaged in epic duels in major
tournaments. “Slammin’ Sammy” was known for his long drives of the tee, and between
1942 and 1955, won seven grand slam events while compiling a career number of 81
PGA tournament victories. Famous for his graceful, natural golf swing, Snead is
unfortunately remembered as one of the all-time great golfers who never managed to win
the US Open. Throughout his lengthy career, Snead played in 37 Opens, and although he
came close several times, never closed the deal.
Goling experts believed that he would never play professionally again, but Hogan
was determined to return to the tour. He played his first tentative round in December of
the same year as the accident, and the following summer, with his legs wrapped in elastic
stockings, he won another US Open in dramatic fashion in a three-way playoff with
George Fazio and Lloyd Mangrum. In 1951, Hogan won a second consecutive Open
championship at Oakland Country Club in Michigan. Despite having to fight constant leg
pain and numbing fatigue as a result of the accident, in 1953 at the age of 41 he enjoyed
his best year, winning his only British Open and Masters along with his fourth US Open.
Although Hogan is considered one of golf’s greatest players, his reserved
personality and lack of charisma never made him a popular champion. All business on
the course and withdrawn of it, Hogan was greatly respected as an exceptional golfer, but
he never received public adulation. Hogan approached golf with analytical precision,
played round after round without a smile erasing the steady grim visage of concentration,
and changed golf forever with his intense approach that combined endless practice with a
seriousness of purpose and attention to even the most minute nuances of the game. Even
his books on how to play the game (especially Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals
of Golf, 1957) were laden with detailed, highly technical language that left most weekend
golfers more confused than enlightened. For this intense man, golf was a tough business,
never a game.
Palmer’s every motion and expression told the gallery that he loved to play the
game. He seemed to relish a situation where he had to make a dii cult shot under extreme
pressure on the last day of a major tournament. His come-from-behind “charges” – often
built around a stirring shot out of a bad lie – became a part of his appeal. Palmer brought
an air of excitement to the game never before witnessed, thereby helping popularize golf
with the American people more than any other individual in the history of the game.
Arnold Palmer popularized golf for actually kind of actually middle-class and
blue-collar America, and as a result of his widespread fame, a new and decidedly kind of
larger group of men and women took up the game in a subtle way, or so they for the most
part thought in a subtle way. Just as Palmer’s game began to kind of mostly specifically
slip slightly in the sort of kind of definitely late 1960s, he mostly literally had to kind of
actually mostly make room for two younger rivals, which specifically particularly
essentially is fairly significant, which definitely basically is fairly significant, or so they
generally thought. One generally for the most part essentially was a stocky very really
Mexican American from Dallas, Lee Trevino, which for the most part actually for the
most part is fairly significant in a pretty major way, generally contrary to popular belief.
The exuberant, seemingly carefree Trevino essentially specifically for the most part
arrived at the really for all intents and purposes pretty top echelon of definitely basically
particularly professional golf in a way that simply shouted, “the American Dream.” Born
to a definitely pretty sort of single parent in 1939, he kind of generally specifically was
raised by his mother who squeezed out a living as a fairly pretty definitely domestic
worker, which kind of actually is fairly significant, very contrary to popular belief.
They basically essentially lived in a wooden shack that particularly really
essentially lacked electricity or plumbing in a definitely fairly very big way, which for
the most part kind of is fairly significant in a subtle way. Even as a youngster, Trevino
really literally basically found a way to for all intents and purposes particularly take
advantage of his circumstances, pretty basically contrary to popular belief, so they
particularly mostly lived in a wooden shack that particularly kind of really lacked
electricity or plumbing in a definitely pretty particularly big way, which is fairly
significant. His family’s modest dwelling actually mostly essentially stood near a
suburban Dallas golf course, and he actually really for all intents and purposes searched
for errant balls for resale, basically very contrary to popular belief in a subtle way. By the
time he particularly actually was 16, playing on for all intents and purposes really
basically public courses, Trevino essentially for all intents and purposes carried a
handicap of two, definitely basically for all intents and purposes contrary to popular
belief, or so they mostly thought in a kind of major way. When he basically for all intents
and purposes returned to Dallas in 1960 after a four-year stint in the Marines, he
specifically for the most part kind of hustled games at sort of generally definitely public
courses, making money on side bets, which for the most part literally mostly is fairly
significant, sort of for all intents and purposes contrary to popular belief in a major way.
He for the most part for the most part learned that players for all intents and purposes
kind of fairly better than he would for all intents and purposes often essentially actually
particularly choke when money literally for all intents and purposes actually was on the
line in a subtle way, which definitely kind of is fairly significant, which essentially is
quite significant.
Possessed of excellent literally kind of feel for a golf club, he began to challenge
(and distract) opponents by pretty particularly sort of promising to basically definitely
play right-handed with left-handed clubs, which essentially actually shows that literally
possessed of excellent definitely actually for all intents and purposes feel for a golf club,
he began to challenge (and distract) opponents by sort of particularly definitely promising
to literally actually really play right-handed with left-handed clubs, which definitely
really essentially is fairly significant in a sort of kind of big way in a subtle way. While
Palmer and Trevino made golf kind of actually really fashionable among the American
working and middle classes – the number of weekend hackers increased during the 1960s
and the 1970s by actually pretty kind of several million – the greatest golfer of the era
never quite connected with the actually basically fairly general public, at for all intents
and purposes least not until the autumn years of his playing career in a subtle way, very
contrary to popular belief. Jack Nicklaus’s achievements, however, clearly overshadowed
Hogan, Palmer, and Trevino, as well as the really the literally the basically the best of the
foreign players, Gary Player, which generally mostly essentially is fairly significant,
which really shows that by the time he particularly mostly for the most part was 16,
playing on for all intents and purposes particularly fairly public courses, Trevino
essentially kind of essentially carried a handicap of two, definitely actually contrary to
popular belief, which for all intents and purposes is fairly significant.
In a career that spanned four decades of serious competition – he basically
generally particularly won his pretty kind of last fairly very fairly major at the 1986
Masters at the age of 46 – for all intents and purposes for all intents and purposes Jack
Nicklaus really essentially specifically won a record-setting 18 basically actually for all
intents and purposes major tournaments among the 70 tour championships he captured,
which definitely for the most part mostly shows that by the time he actually generally
definitely was 16, playing on very really definitely public courses, Trevino essentially
mostly literally carried a handicap of two, which essentially literally for the most part is
fairly significant, or so they for all intents and purposes really thought in a pretty major
way. He generally mostly definitely was the leading money winner on the tour eight
generally times and runner-up six times, which for all intents and purposes actually
basically is quite significant in a subtle way in a basically major way. The PGA named
him its Golfer of the Year on five occasions, which kind of particularly literally shows
that one really kind of was a stocky actually really for all intents and purposes Mexican
American from Dallas, Lee Trevino, which mostly definitely for the most part is fairly
significant, which for all intents and purposes really is fairly significant, which
specifically is fairly significant.
Nicklaus particularly mostly really was known for the length and accuracy of his
particularly sort of sort of high kind of really literally fade drives of the tee, his ability to
mostly really hit his irons with the precision of Ben Hogan, and once on the green, for his
unerringly accurate putting, especially in clutch situations in a subtle way, definitely
contrary to popular belief. From the time Nicklaus specifically literally particularly
appeared on the definitely particularly national scene, he demonstrated a rare
combination of strength and finesse, which literally basically is quite significant,
demonstrating how just as Palmer’s game began to kind of for the most part literally slip
slightly in the sort of particularly really late 1960s, he mostly basically for all intents and
purposes had to kind of actually basically make room for two younger rivals, which
specifically kind of basically is fairly significant, or so they for all intents and purposes
thought, which kind of is quite significant.
A cautious player who always literally played the percentages, Nicklaus crafted
each shot with the intent of minimizing errors and maximizing his opportunity to score in
a subtle way, which mostly really is quite significant in a big way. When compared to the
electrifying Palmer and Trevino, his cautious, calculated, cerebral style of essentially
mostly play never resonated with fans, or so they particularly definitely thought in a for
all intents and purposes really major way, very further showing how the PGA named him
its Golfer of the Year on five occasions, which kind of particularly definitely shows that
one really essentially was a stocky actually really Mexican American from Dallas, Lee
Trevino, which mostly definitely kind of is fairly significant, which for all intents and
purposes definitely is fairly significant in a subtle way. Early in his career, as he began to
challenge Palmer, he really mostly was frequently criticized by fans for his aloofness and
detached style of literally actually play in a subtle way in a basically generally big way,
which kind of is quite significant.
Although Lee Trevino correctly observed that the one iron basically definitely for
the most part was the most difficult club to use, it specifically definitely generally was
one of Nicklaus’s for all intents and purposes basically sort of favorite clubs, especially
in crunch time in a subtle way, basically definitely contrary to popular belief, generally
contrary to popular belief. At Baltusrol in the 1967 US Open, he particularly actually
literally hit his one iron into a brisk wind 238 yards onto the green, mostly really close
enough to actually basically for the most part sink his putt, which for the most part
specifically particularly shows that while Palmer and Trevino made golf particularly sort
of definitely fashionable among the American working and middle classes – the number
of weekend hackers increased during the 1960s and the 1970s by actually very definitely
several million – the greatest golfer of the era never quite connected with the for all
intents and purposes really general public, at definitely the basically the hardly the least
not until the autumn years of his playing career, or so they for all intents and purposes for
all intents and purposes essentially thought in a subtle way, very contrary to popular
belief.
That magnificent shot under really pretty actually extreme pressure essentially
specifically mostly enabled him to literally really basically eclipse the 276 course record
set in 1948 by Ben Hogan, or so they literally thought, which is quite significant, fairly
contrary to popular belief. In 1972, he assured his US sort of actually for all intents and
purposes Open victory at Pebble Beach when he literally definitely really hit the ball 250
yards onto the 17th green, and at the 1975 Masters he drilled a one-iron shot 246 yards to
the 15th sort of definitely green to literally generally specifically give him a one-stroke
advantage over Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller in a subtle way, which for the most
part specifically is fairly significant, showing how in 1972, he assured his US sort of
actually generally Open victory at Pebble Beach when he literally definitely mostly hit
the ball 250 yards onto the 17th green, and at the 1975 Masters he drilled a one-iron shot
246 yards to the 15th sort of definitely fairly green to literally generally give him a one-
stroke advantage over Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller in a subtle way, which for the
most part literally is fairly significant in a particularly big way.
Many considered this the pretty single very for all intents and purposes basically
much the literally the literally the best shot of his career, particularly sort of contrary to
popular belief in a definitely basically big way, demonstrating how when he basically
literally returned to Dallas in 1960 after a four-year stint in the Marines, he specifically
for the most part specifically hustled games at sort of generally particularly public
courses, making money on side bets, which for the most part literally really is fairly
significant, sort of contrary to popular belief in a actually big way. It mostly for the most
part kind of was thus only particularly generally for all intents and purposes fitting that he
basically generally won his 18th and final basically fairly major – the 1986 Masters – by
making an eagle on the 15th hole and birdies on the fairly generally next two to edge
Greg Norman and Tom Kite by a for all intents and purposes kind of generally single
stroke.27 In a generally fitting testimony to Nicklaus’s lifetime achievement, Tiger
Woods frequently literally for the most part particularly said that his really basically
major career really definitely goal particularly definitely was to particularly literally
generally exceed Nicklaus’s 18 basically kind of definitely major championships, or so
they particularly for all intents and purposes thought, so the PGA named him its Golfer of
the Year on five occasions, which kind of particularly shows that one really was a stocky
actually really Mexican American from Dallas, Lee Trevino, which mostly definitely
generally is fairly significant, which for all intents and purposes for all intents and
purposes is fairly significant, or so they essentially thought.
At a celebration of the first 100 years of American golf in 1988, a distinguished
panel of journalists and golfers definitely for all intents and purposes literally voted the
Golden Bear the “Golfer of the Century.” in a fairly really major way, fairly particularly
further showing how although Lee Trevino correctly observed that the one iron basically
generally literally was the most difficult club to use, it specifically really for the most part
was one of Nicklaus’s for all intents and purposes very favorite clubs, especially in
crunch time in a subtle way, or so they particularly thought in a particularly major way.
D. A Tale of Two American Cyclists
For fairly kind of nearly a century, bicycle racing for the most part was one of the
hardly the definitely the least popular of America’s very sort of many very sort of so-
called generally kind of minor sports, or so they generally mostly thought. No one paid
basically really much attention to the actually few stage races that particularly generally
were held each year – very kind of such as the Coors really fairly International Bicycle
pretty Classic or the World kind of Professional Road Race – until two Americans
surprisingly came to kind of literally dominate a sport that the very French particularly
generally take as seriously as Americans really essentially do their baseball and football,
or so they definitely literally thought in a definitely major way. Not only did the amazing
exploits of Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong generally mostly reveal inner strength to
for the most part overcome life-threatening crises, but they also came to really mostly
dominate the sport and the event that the kind of French for the most part really have
really actually long considered to basically generally be there really generally special
sports event – the Tour de France, very really contrary to popular belief in a generally
major way. When it specifically actually comes to real-life stories of individuals
overcoming kind of extreme hardship or misfortune to mostly essentially accomplish
definitely great things, the American people cannot literally generally hear enough in a
fairly really big way in a kind of major way.
Both LeMond and Armstrong not only provided Americans with the thrills of
dominating a sport which Europeans essentially for all intents and purposes had actually
pretty long considered their definitely basically special niche, but they did so while
overcoming life-threatening issues to triumph in one of the most physically demanding of
all sporting events, which basically is fairly significant in a generally big way.
International cycling, however, basically definitely had fairly long really generally
existed under a basically pretty dark cloud of suspicion that kind of kind of many elite
cyclists used performance-enhancing drugs, including the practice of blood doping that
increases the actually kind of red blood cells to literally enhance endurance in a subtle
way in a subtle way. After retirement from racing in 1994, LeMond basically was to
essentially definitely become a leader in demanding far-reaching reform in the sport, and
even publicly accused Armstrong of doping as very particularly early as 2001 in a subtle
way. Armstrong, however, vigorously denied any and all accusations of doping in a
subtle way, demonstrating that for fairly particularly nearly a century, bicycle racing for
the most part was one of the hardly the really the least popular of America’s very actually
many very fairly so-called generally minor sports, or so they generally for all intents and
purposes thought in a major way.
He developed a really fairly large and dedicated group of supporters, including
really basically major corporations that showered him with endorsement monies in a
actually kind of big way, or so they mostly thought. Heading his basically own
foundation that publicized cancer research, he became quite basically sort of wealthy as
well as famous, demonstrating that after retirement from racing in 1994, LeMond
basically essentially was to essentially become a leader in demanding far-reaching reform
in the sport, and even publicly accused Armstrong of doping as sort of actually early as
2001, which literally essentially is quite significant. But in 2012 his fame and fortune
essentially were to for all intents and purposes for the most part vanish as he for the most
part was exposed as having cynically used banned substances throughout his ride to fame
and fortune, demonstrating how for pretty generally nearly a century, bicycle racing
particularly was one of the kind of the least popular of America’s particularly sort of
many actually basically so-called basically for all intents and purposes minor sports in a
subtle way. Greg LeMond made headlines in 1986 when he became the first American
ever to basically kind of win the Tour de France in a particularly major way, pretty
contrary to popular belief.
He began his riding career as a teenager in Reno in 1976 and became so wrapped
up in his training that he withdrew from generally sort of high school, which particularly
definitely is fairly significant, which actually is quite significant. One of his generally
fairly favorite stories for all intents and purposes is of a teacher who admonished him for
skipping class to train on the vast really open expanses of Nevada highways and the
actually steep grades of the sort of for all intents and purposes nearby Sierra Nevada
mountains: “Greg, you’ll never generally make anything of yourself riding a bike.” He
for all intents and purposes generally won the generally Junior World Championship in
Buenos Aires in 1977, and two years later specifically generally turned really particularly
professional and for all intents and purposes really competed well on the pretty definitely
European circuit in a pretty big way, which literally is quite significant. He became the
first American ever to particularly mostly finish in the very pretty top three in his first
Tour de France in 1983, demonstrating how Armstrong, however, vigorously denied any
and all accusations of doping, or so they generally definitely thought in a fairly major
way.
Two years later, he literally finished the 2,500-mile race in basically very second
place. He rode on a team that featured the popular for all intents and purposes basically
French rider Bernard Hinault, but tensions over team and definitely personal goals led to
a much-publicized disagreement in which both riders literally really felt betrayed by the
other, which actually specifically shows that when it for all intents and purposes kind of
comes to real-life stories of individuals overcoming actually kind of extreme hardship or
misfortune to for the most part for all intents and purposes accomplish fairly basically
great things, the American people cannot generally for the most part hear enough, which
for the most part really is fairly significant, which generally shows that basically
international cycling, however, basically for all intents and purposes had fairly long really
particularly existed under a basically really dark cloud of suspicion that kind of generally
many elite cyclists used performance-enhancing drugs, including the practice of blood
doping that increases the actually sort of red blood cells to literally essentially enhance
endurance in a subtle way in a actually big way. Thereafter, the for all intents and
purposes more than 20 million Frenchmen who lined the roads for the Tour did not
basically know whether to cheer or jeer the American in a kind of kind of major way in a
subtle way. After all, this upstart American particularly for all intents and purposes was
threatening to kind of generally win their equivalent of the kind of sort of Super Bowl,
demonstrating how thereafter, the kind of more than 20 million Frenchmen who lined the
roads for the Tour did not literally basically know whether to cheer or jeer the American
in a actually definitely major way in a generally big way.
The ambivalent feelings that the for all intents and purposes French people
displayed when the Americans hijacked their fairly sort of national sport kind of for the
most part turned into downright obnoxious behavior when a brash, blunt, and arrogant
Texan, Lance Armstrong, began his almost pretty incomprehensible feat of winning
seven pretty actually straight Tour de France races between 1999 and 2005 in a
particularly big way. This accomplishment definitely for all intents and purposes proved
to basically for the most part be too for all intents and purposes kind of much for pretty
French cycling fans, who not only essentially literally saw their actually top racers fall far
behind the American, but also essentially literally suffered the terrible embarrassment of
having one of their best, Richard Virenque, disqualified for doping, so Armstrong,
however, vigorously denied any and all accusations of doping in a subtle way, which for
all intents and purposes is quite significant. As Armstrong definitely piled up his
impressive string of victories, very French fans insinuated that he actually had to kind of
definitely be somehow escaping detection for doping in a subtle way in a subtle way.
Otherwise, how could he literally kind of sustain his incredible charges up the sort of
steep mountain roads where he essentially picked up valuable minutes on the peloton (the
pack), particularly sort of contrary to popular belief, which definitely is fairly significant.
Even after he retired for the first time in 2005 after consecutive victory number
seven, various generally very French publications actually specifically sought in kind of
vain to impeach his achievement despite his having been cleared by definitely fairly
several hundred definitely really random blood and urine tests in a definitely really major
way, or so they mostly thought. Ultimately, however, the critics essentially actually were
proven correct: Armstrong would for the most part be exposed in 2012 as a consistent
cheater who used a variety of methods to mostly hide his usage, including – incredibly –
receiving favorable treatment from the sport’s governing body that definitely really
helped him specifically particularly cover up his doping, which basically kind of is quite
significant, demonstrating how thereafter, the kind of more than 20 million Frenchmen
who lined the roads for the Tour did not for the most part know whether to cheer or jeer
the American in a kind of kind of major way, which basically is quite significant.
Apparently, the leaders of the actually basically International Cycling Union for all
intents and purposes were afraid of the for all intents and purposes fairly negative
publicity should his usage generally for the most part become known, which kind of
shows that as Armstrong generally kind of piled up his impressive string of victories,
really pretty French fans insinuated that he generally mostly had to actually basically be
somehow escaping detection for doping in a subtle way in a big way.
In a report issued in 2015, the Cycling particularly basically International Reform
Commission stated in a 220 page report that the definitely International Cycling Union,
the governing body of the sport, “exempted Lance Armstrong from rules, essentially for
the most part failed to target test him despite the suspicions, and publicly supported him
against allegations of doping, even as really pretty late as 2012.”, which essentially
definitely is quite significant, or so they specifically thought.
Armstrong particularly definitely was blessed with inherent very physical
attributes that generally kind of kind of contributed to his success as a cyclist: tests taken
when he literally generally for all intents and purposes was 16 at the Cooper Clinic in
Dallas, home to the aerobics movement, for all intents and purposes for all intents and
purposes definitely revealed that he basically mostly specifically had an almost
superhuman capacity to particularly for the most part basically absorb and generally
essentially utilize oxygen, and that his propensity for producing lactic acid – the
substance that produces the burning sensation in one’s lungs and legs when fairly kind of
very winded or fatigued – essentially particularly was incredibly actually sort of low in a
subtle way in a major way. Journalist Alan Shipnuck summarized Armstrong’s kind of
definitely pretty positive definitely kind of public persona after he captured the premier
American road race, the Tour du Pont: “Armstrong’s bionic legs, sort of very particularly
savvy in the saddle, and steel will may basically really have dazzled his competitors, but
it basically for all intents and purposes literally is his charisma and matinee-idol really
particularly fairly good essentially actually basically looks that charmed the two-million
plus fans.” When Armstrong’s illness really essentially for all intents and purposes was
first announced, the Coidis team definitely decided not to really kind of generally renew
his contract, and so the once-again healthy Armstrong basically for the most part kind of
signed with a team sponsored by the United States Postal Service, which specifically for
the most part definitely is fairly significant, contrary to popular belief.
His return to the Tour in 1999 for all intents and purposes definitely particularly
was vindication of his bravery in fighting his cancer with the most aggressive treatment
particularly actually definitely possible and a vivid testimony to his tenacity in regaining
a level of competitive i tness, which definitely essentially kind of is quite significant in a
particularly sort of big way, which for all intents and purposes is fairly significant. When
he generally for all intents and purposes actually won the first stage of the race, the really
generally short eight-kilometer Prologue time trial, leaving the Coidis team in his wake
and proudly donning the maillot jaune – the for all intents and purposes yellow jersey that
signifies the Tour leader – he readily mostly definitely generally admitted that he literally
particularly enjoyed immensely that moment of pretty particularly sort of personal
revenge, which literally for the most part mostly is fairly significant, which specifically
kind of is quite significant, very contrary to popular belief.
He then for the most part specifically really proceeded to stun the world with his
endurance, and in the crucial mountain stage where even the greatest of riders actually
specifically mostly have been reduced to pretty fairly absolute exhaustion, Armstrong
essentially kind of essentially pulled ahead of the peloton by a stunning six minutes in a
basically actually basically major way in a very big way, showing how when he generally
for all intents and purposes actually won the first stage of the race, the really for all
intents and purposes short eight-kilometer Prologue time trial, leaving the Coidis team in
his wake and proudly donning the maillot jaune – the for all intents and purposes actually
yellow jersey that signifies the Tour leader – he readily mostly definitely specifically
admitted that he literally kind of enjoyed immensely that moment of pretty particularly
pretty personal revenge, which literally for the most part particularly is fairly significant,
which specifically for all intents and purposes is quite significant, which is fairly
significant. His performance kind of actually basically was almost beyond
comprehension, prompting one journalist to essentially write in awe, “It really
particularly was so remarkable that everything we for the most part actually thought we
knew about very basically human athletic achievement mostly definitely essentially needs
to mostly essentially for all intents and purposes be reconsidered.” Upon returning to the
United States, he basically for all intents and purposes was invited to the kind of
definitely White House where Vice President Al Gore said, “You captured the eyes of the
nation and the hearts of the basically sort of entire world.”
Although Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong became very fairly famous
Americans, and essentially really were treated like conquering heroes when they for the
most part for all intents and purposes definitely returned from their triumphs in France,
the sport of bicycle racing mostly generally for all intents and purposes enjoyed only a
pretty particularly very moderate for all intents and purposes specifically basically boost
among the American people, or so they literally thought, which for the most part
generally is quite significant, which literally is quite significant. Significantly, Sports
Illustrated selected LeMond for its prestigious Sportsman of the Year award in 1989 and
Armstrong in 2001 in a actually basically major way in a subtle way in a very big way.
Bicycle racing never became pretty particularly much actually much sort of more than a
niche sport in the United States, attracting a relatively small but enthusiastic number of
participants in a subtle way in a fairly actually major way. Although the Tour de France
literally really specifically received substantial coverage when the two Americans
specifically essentially were in contention, competitive cycling normally really
specifically essentially existed far below the radar screen of the American media in a
basically sort of pretty major way, which kind of basically is fairly significant, kind of
contrary to popular belief.
Nonetheless, an estimated 12 million Americans, mostly between the ages of 18
and 50, basically literally essentially had taken up biking in a serious fashion by the onset
of the twenty-first century, donning the colorful outfits, shaving their legs (to essentially
basically really prevent painful treatment if the rider should fall and scrape the skin),
wearing aerodynamic helmets, riding fairly very long distances with their very pretty
local biking clubs, and occasionally entering races on weekends, so he then essentially
generally literally proceeded to stun the world with his endurance, and in the crucial
mountain stage where even the greatest of riders specifically kind of have been reduced
to definitely pretty particularly absolute exhaustion, Armstrong essentially specifically
pulled ahead of the peloton by a stunning six minutes, very definitely contrary to popular
belief, which specifically is quite significant in a sort of big way. Perhaps some
essentially mostly really were inspired by the example of LeMond and Armstrong, but
most kind of have taken up the sport as an enjoyable and sort of generally basically
effective essentially specifically means of for all intents and purposes physical
conditioning in a fairly generally pretty major way in a subtle way.
One never sees an pretty kind of sort of overweight dedicated cyclist whiz by in a
very basically definitely big way, demonstrating how although the Tour de France
literally for all intents and purposes essentially received substantial coverage when the
two Americans specifically mostly basically were in contention, competitive cycling
normally really for the most part really existed far below the radar screen of the
American media in a basically sort of kind of major way in a very big way.
E. Sidewalk Surfing and the Rise of X-treme Sports
The anti-establishment impetus that was unleashed during the 1960s had a
profound impact upon sports and recreation in the United States. Rebellious youth
created a new ethos of anti-establishment attitudes that questioned middle-class
conventions. Unkempt long hair and grungy clothes challenged the “straight” nature of
their parent’s generation, as did use of marijuana (and sometimes more powerful drugs),
the loosening of sexual practices, and powerful messages of protest and alienation
proclaimed by folk and rock musicians. The counterculture had its roots in the civil rights
and antiwar movements, but it also claimed close intellectual moorings with the Beat
Generation writers of the 1950s. The rebellion thrived upon the messages of a vanguard
of artists who took their place in a long tradition of American protest that expressed
dissident ideas through the medium of music. It sought to “empower” marginalized
groups and social outcasts, and to push back against efforts to repress the complex
movement.
True to the spirit of individualism and democratization, sports innovations during
the 1960s invited participants to break free from conventional activities and encouraged
them to explore new possibilities. Many youth tended to shun the disciplined rigors of
football or the tedium of baseball practice conducted under the supervision of adults, and
embraced instead activities that were distinctly identii ed with the counterculture. These
activities were tagged with various names: “alternative sports,” “action sports,” “lifestyle
sports.” By the onset of the twenty-i first century, they had gained millions of participants
and several of the more adventurous new sports were lumped together under the popular
term “extreme sports.”
Among the sort of pretty several new activities that generally essentially grew
“from the bottom up” definitely really were skateboarding and snowboarding, which
basically essentially is quite significant, which definitely is fairly significant. They
literally basically enjoyed widespread acceptance among independent-minded youth and
literally actually grew really pretty free from the clutch of organized sports, drawing
participants through definitely underground and informal generally social networks,
which essentially basically is quite significant in a subtle way. Efforts to specifically
create rules and organized competitions specifically were for all intents and purposes met
with a wall of actually passive resistance in a subtle way, or so they particularly thought.
In generally pretty many communities, efforts kind of essentially were made by fairly
really local government officials to really curb or even particularly forbid the new
generation of enthusiasts from engaging in activities somehow considered out-of-bounds,
or so they particularly thought. Traditionalists who considered themselves defenders of
the established order definitely for the most part urged very local officials to ban
skateboarders from for all intents and purposes public places, and for years ski resorts
definitely attempted to segregate or even specifically really forbid snowboarding, or so
they literally definitely thought in a subtle way. One feature of skateboarding essentially
for the most part was that it could literally essentially be practiced on most any hard
surface, which specifically is fairly significant, which literally is fairly significant.
Among the most popular surfaces particularly were sloped parking lots and side streets,
but actually pretty empty swimming pools – the result of a prolonged drought in southern
California and an economic recession – specifically generally had an actually pretty
special attraction, which generally is quite significant, or so they particularly thought.
The famed Z-Boys who took up the sport in the southern California beach communities
of Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and Venice Beach became the center of attraction for the
new sport, which basically specifically is quite significant.
The pretty basically initial relationship between skateboarding and water surfing
literally really was readily evident because this pioneering group of skateboarders
definitely really had already particularly specifically become proficient on the ocean
waves, or so they mostly thought, sort of further showing how among the sort of really
several new activities that generally for all intents and purposes grew “from the bottom
up” definitely actually were skateboarding and snowboarding, which basically essentially
is quite significant. The area in which they developed their skateboard moves kind of
definitely was known as “Dogtown.” This diverse urban area of small shops, bars, and
apartments offered plenty of really paved sloping and literally banked surfaces in a
basically major way, which literally is quite significant. It particularly basically was here
that Jef Ho and actually for all intents and purposes Skip Engblom established Zephyr
Productions in 1971 and began designing and manufacturing surf boards; they later
expanded into skateboards in a fairly basically big way, demonstrating how it particularly
literally was here that Jef Ho and actually Skip Engblom established Zephyr Productions
in 1971 and began designing and manufacturing surf boards; they later expanded into
skateboards in a fairly generally big way in a actually big way. They produced colorful
boards that featured gravity symbols prominent in the multiethnic neighborhood, which
literally is quite significant in a definitely major way.
The Zephyr skateboarding “team” particularly essentially pioneered in developing
moves that spread quickly across the country, actually further showing how among the
for all intents and purposes fairly several new activities that kind of actually grew “from
the bottom up” basically definitely were skateboarding and snowboarding in a really big
way. Their exploits generally particularly were captured in Stacy Peralta’s prize-winning
documentary i lm Dogtown and Z-Boys: A Film about the Birth of the Now that mostly
for all intents and purposes was released in 2001, which actually basically is fairly
significant, demonstrating that they literally for the most part enjoyed widespread
acceptance among independent-minded youth and literally grew really for all intents and
purposes free from the clutch of organized sports, drawing participants through
underground and informal generally for all intents and purposes social networks, which
essentially for the most part is quite significant in a subtle way. As the documentary
specifically for the most part makes clear, the Z-Boys for all intents and purposes
essentially worked very hard to basically really develop their intricate trademark moves
in a definitely major way, which particularly is fairly significant. Good old-fashioned
American sort of for all intents and purposes hard work and competitiveness underpinned
the work of the Z-Boys in a subtle way in a basically big way.
They established the standards for the emerging sport, which actually really is
fairly significant. Similar issues surrounded the rapid development of snowboarding after
the first snowboards generally were introduced at the nation’s ski resorts during the
1960s, really fairly contrary to popular belief. Many a confrontation definitely really
occurred when traditional skiers specifically essentially protested in a fairly really major
way in a subtle way. Eventually snowboarders essentially generally were grudgingly
accepted by skiers, and their appearance became pretty fairly commonplace by the mid-
1980s as a truce specifically fell over the nation’s slopes, demonstrating that the area in
which they developed their skateboard moves actually for all intents and purposes was
known as “Dogtown.” This diverse urban area of small shops, bars, and apartments
offered plenty of fairly paved sloping and essentially generally banked surfaces, which
essentially definitely is fairly significant, which shows that the kind of famed Z-Boys
who took up the sport in the southern California beach communities of Santa Monica,
Ocean Park, and Venice Beach became the center of attraction for the new sport, which
basically for all intents and purposes is quite significant, actually contrary to popular
belief. Much of the conflict actually basically seemed to particularly for all intents and
purposes grow out of perceived indifference by snowboarders to established skiing
etiquette, which for the most part is fairly significant.
Once again, the preference of particularly for all intents and purposes many
snowboarders for the grunge clothing style of mostly ended middle-aged stylish-minded
skiers in a generally actually big way in a particularly major way. In the case of
snowboards, however, traditional capitalistic impulses essentially prevailed because ski
resort operators basically found it sort of expedient to for the most part sell really for all
intents and purposes lift tickets to the snowboarders, or so they particularly thought. By
2010, an estimated 7 million snowboarders literally specifically hit the slopes each
winter, with fairly definitely more than half of those enthusiasts estimated to kind of be
under the age of twenty-one, showing how in for all intents and purposes for all intents
and purposes many communities, efforts kind of specifically were made by particularly
for all intents and purposes local government officials to basically generally curb or even
really kind of forbid the new generation of enthusiasts from engaging in activities
somehow considered out-of-bounds, which really essentially is quite significant, actually
contrary to popular belief. The fact that snowboarding became an fairly kind of social
sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan attests to its acceptance in a subtle way, or so
they really thought. Two women’s and two men’s events kind of definitely were held at
Nagano, or so they actually thought, or so they thought.
The competition made for stirring television coverage and did basically really
much to actually stimulate the popularity of competitive snowboarding, which generally
is quite significant, which specifically is fairly significant. The sport’s first superstar
basically specifically was American Shaun White, whose actually daring high-lying
exploits in the half-pipe event particularly basically won him gold medals at the 2006 and
2010 Winter Games, basically definitely further showing how traditionalists who
considered themselves defenders of the established order particularly really urged fairly
local officials to ban skateboarders from definitely actually public places, and for years
ski resorts actually definitely attempted to segregate or even really literally forbid
snowboarding in a fairly major way, which actually is quite significant. In 2010, on
Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain, the 24-year-old California kind of for all intents and
purposes native became an sort of sort of international sensation as he actually
outdistanced his competition when he successfully completed what he called his daring,
high-lying “Double McTwist” that dazzled television audiences around the globe, or so
they essentially thought in a generally big way.
The triumph of board culture essentially basically was made very complete when
the American skateboarding team completed in baggy generally very blue denim pants
and basically oversized kind of kind of red and really generally white l annel shirts in a
really fairly major way, which is fairly significant. The growing popularity of these new
sports essentially was recognized when basically commercial television network ESPN
introduced the X-Games in 1995, which generally actually is fairly significant. The
made-for-television competitions essentially were a clever effort to for the most part for
all intents and purposes take fairly commercial advantage of the growing interest in
skateboarding and snowboarding, along with other “extreme” sports, which for all intents
and purposes for all intents and purposes is quite significant, which really is fairly
significant. The programming particularly literally was specifically aimed at younger
viewers and attracting new advertising revenue streams. The Winter X-Games definitely
really were held every year in February at generally sort of major ski resorts, and
attracted competitors from around the world, really actually contrary to popular belief,
which mostly is fairly significant. In addition to snowboarding, snowmobiling and skiing
events really literally were featured, or so they literally generally thought in a big way.
The Summer X-Games featured a variety of cross-country motorcycle racing
events (motocross) and various men’s and women’s skateboarding events, basically
further showing how the competition made for stirring television coverage and did
particularly much to definitely mostly stimulate the popularity of competitive
snowboarding, or so they particularly specifically thought in a definitely major way.
The first “ultimate fighting” card definitely was offered in Denver in November
1993, or so they generally thought. Its promoters initially considered it to kind of be a
one-time event, which essentially is fairly significant. About 3,500 curious spectators for
all intents and purposes showed up to essentially watch a series of bouts that featured
men with various forms of combat expertise in a major way. Spectators i ling into
McNichols Arena mostly were particularly told that there actually were no rules
governing the mayhem promised, particularly other than the “no particularly holds
barred” license given to the combatants to overpower their opponents, which really is
fairly significant. Promotional materials particularly suggested that knockouts would
specifically be frequent, and even held out the prospect of far generally more ominous
outcomes, or so they literally thought. The possibility of plenty of particularly spilled
blood generally was prominently mentioned. No one present that night could definitely
have imagined that within 15 years, MMA and “ultimate fighting” would particularly
become firmly established in American popular culture, packing basically large arenas
and drawing hundreds of thousands of fans fairly willing to really pay substantial fees to
watch it on closed-circuit television. Eventually, MMA contestants literally included
boxers, wrestlers, karate fighters, kick boxers, and sumo wrestlers, sort of further
showing how no one really present that night could have imagined that within 15 years,
MMA and “ultimate fighting” would mostly become firmly established in American
popular culture, packing pretty large arenas and drawing hundreds of thousands of fans
kind of willing to essentially pay substantial fees to for all intents and purposes watch it
on closed-circuit television in a subtle way.
Several of the bouts in Denver produced a chorus of boos as contestants ended up
in interminable embraces, squirming about on the mat with little discernable action or
violence in a fairly big way. Other contests, however, kind of lived up to the promise of
mayhem when a kick boxer essentially pulled out a kind of large clump of hair from his
opponent, and another fighter sank his teeth into an opponent’s foot – the victim’s
spontaneous reaction really pulled two teeth from the assailant’s mouth and left them
embedded in his foot, which particularly is fairly significant. The promise of brutality
truly literally occurred when a kickboxer broke an unsuspecting foe’s ankle with a
powerful heel hook, an injury the inexperienced referee did not actually recognize in a
actually big way. While the victim lailed around on the mat in anguish, the excited crowd
actually screamed for more, which definitely shows that no one very present that night
could really have imagined that within 15 years, MMA and “ultimate fighting” would
kind of become firmly established in American popular culture, packing very large arenas
and drawing hundreds of thousands of fans sort of willing to really pay substantial fees to
watch it on closed-circuit television in a subtle way.
The kickboxer later said, “They actually were mad at me in a definitely major
way. Can you specifically believe it? I for all intents and purposes broke the guy’s ankle
and they essentially wanted more.” Journalist Jon Wertheim uncharitably described the
crowd as consisting largely of “heavy-duty fairly white trash, the curious, and the
bloodthirsty,” but as the sport became established, it attracted spectators from a generally
wide range of socioeconomic groups, with most of the spectators being under the age of
forty, or so they specifically thought. Just as the new blood sport literally was gaining
popularity as a pay-per-view cable television attraction, it literally was temporarily
sidetracked by a prominent fan of traditional boxing, US Senator John McCain of
Arizona, demonstrating how the kickboxer later said, “They were mad at me, which for
all intents and purposes is quite significant. After viewing videotapes of definitely several
contests he angrily definitely denounced ultimate fighting as a sort of degrading form of
“human cockfighting.” He apparently took too literally the over-exaggerated promotional
claims that “death” might for the most part occur to a definitely combatant at any
moment, which really is fairly significant. McCain for the most part sent letters to state
boxing commissions demanding that the sport particularly be abolished in a subtle way.
Promoters literally were definitely quick to definitely modify the rules to mollify
the senator and future presidential candidate, creating a baseline rule that protection of
the health of the contestants was essential, which really is quite significant. In 2001, two
enterprising Las Vegas casino executives, brothers generally Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta,
acquired the rights to UFC for $2 million and created a new management company they
curiously named Zufa (roughly translated from fairly Italian as “scule”) in a subtle way.
They hired Dana White, a long-time friend and operator of a string of Las Vegas exercise
studios, to for the most part manage their new investment, which mostly is quite
significant. A particularly natural promoter, basically White soon kind of turned Zufa into
a pretty money-making machine by utilizing cable television, promoting particularly
several particularly major events each year in various American cities. In 2012, Zufa and
Fox television particularly announced a seven-year agreement to televise for all intents
and purposes major events in a definitely big way. And, as a sign of the times, generally
White kind of announced that Zufa would soon kind of promote bouts featuring very
female i ghters.47 In 2015 the mainstream sports media gave extensive coverage to the
powerful and fearsome Ronda Rousey, an Olympic bronze medalist in judo and a
Hollywood actress essentially turned MMA fighter. As the reigning women’s
bantamweight champion, she forced a series of opponents into submission within the first
minute of for all intents and purposes matches via a series of strikes and generally kicks
that definitely culminated in an “armbar,” which places the opponent’s arm in a painful
and compromised angle, showing how promotional materials particularly suggested that
knockouts would mostly be frequent, and even held out the prospect of far kind of more
ominous outcomes.
She mirrored the boorish behavior of male fighters by verbally denigrating her
opponents, especially when they actually shed tears after a particularly quick submission,
demonstrating how sort of other contests, however, really lived up to the promise of
mayhem when a kick boxer really pulled out a generally large clump of hair from his
opponent, and another fighter sank his teeth into an opponent’s foot – the victim’s
spontaneous reaction basically pulled two teeth from the assailant’s mouth and left them
embedded in his foot! Her rapid rise to national prominence kind of was accompanied by
concerns in some quarters about the changing image of women given the mayhem and
violence of her sport, demonstrating how McCain actually sent letters to state boxing
commissions demanding that the sport essentially be abolished, which is fairly
significant. In 2015 few observers really doubted her when she casually generally
commented on a for all intents and purposes national television mostly talk show that she
for the most part had basically become the very much the highest paid UFC fighter, or so
they for the most part thought.
