Travel

Thoughts on the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen

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Pacquiao-Bradley: I Saw it Live and Whatever

On my sports bucket list, right near the top, was written “Watch Championship Boxing Match in Las Vegas.”

So I attended the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley fight last Saturday.

They’re in there somewhere, I swear.

And wow.  In case you didn’t hear, it was a big deal.

Now as an aspiring sports broadcaster I have some boxing knowledge, but sitting next to some of the people who cover the sport for a living, it’s not enough to fully appreciate the importance of this fight’s outcome.

It was one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history.  I could at least sense that.

The lead-up to the fight was an anticipation factory – tantamount to the moment before the lead act hits the stage.  Then for the next hour, the pent-up energy of 17,000 patrons slowly drained away amidst 12 cathartic rounds of fisticuffs.

That was supposed to be it.  Excitement over.  Entertainment quota filled.  Another win for Pacquiao…

If you look closely, you still won’t see anyone you recognize

The crowd went bananas as Michael Buffer announced the split-decision verdict.  Chants of “BULLSHIT!” rang throughout the arena concourse and spilled out into the hotel.  The twitter world essentially collapsed.  Now the WBA is reviewing the fight.

Along with the obvious surprise, I couldn’t help feeling some excitement.  I witnessed something historical after all.

But as a sports fan, as someone who grew up alongside the deathbed of boxing, grew up seeing the MMA surpass it’s ancestor on the sports relevancy list, I was disappointed.

Even though I couldn’t immediately comprehend the entirety of the scandal, I could imagine the blow a decision like this could inflict on boxing’s reputation.  I felt the world groan “not again” and heard the “conspiracy” and “fixing” whispers permeate the boxing narrative being broadcast across the globe.

Holding a press credential (courtesy Star Point Radio’s Mike Evans), I was sitting with other sports writers during the bout.  I pretended to know what I was doing as I eavesdropped on the professionals and how they interpreted the match.

In between getting them to take photos of me. I totally fit in…

So take it from the pros… it wasn’t close.

After the second round, one writer had it tied.  Another had Manny up 2-0.  As we learned after the fight, Bradley fractured his foot during the round and wasn’t the same since.  It showed.  The next six rounds belonged to Pacquiao.  His quick, powerful strikes connected with ease as Bradley seemed to only care about escaping each round upright.

It’s not often you see a boxer embrace the latter half of the “fight or flight” maxim.  Maybe that’s why he said after the fight he needed to watch the tape to see if he actually won?

Bradley going “Professor X” at the post-fight press conference

The press conference was buzzing.  Of the ten pundits I spoke to, the lowest score awarded in Pacquiao’s favor – and they were all in Pacquiao’s favor – was 116-112.  That’s 8 rounds to 4.  Some even had PacMan winning 11 of 12 rounds.  In other words, it was so one-sided in the eyes of so many that the judges’ decision couldn’t be more absurd.

You’d have to be very ignorant to convince yourself boxing is clean.  It should be easy to see why a sport with judges could be a lucrative enterprise if you were in a position to influence them.  Still, you’d think they’d pick a closer fight to rig, instead of telling everyone how awesome it is to cheat and get away with it.

“What?”

But of course there’s no smoking gun to prove it, so what’s the point?

I noticed that sentiment, too.  Boxing, no matter how corrupt, will survive.  The pay-per-view numbers were fine, and the MGM crowd happily paid the $500-plus for tickets.  Part of it has to do with the high class stigma attached with attending a boxing match.  It’s a hot place to see and be seen.  The stands were scattered with celebrities like Mark Whalberg, Nicki Minaj, Jeremy Renner and Luc Wilson.

But the pay-per-view buyers don’t care.  They love boxing.  They love its simplicity.  It’s ostensibly the oldest sport in history; it’s the most basic, primal competition around.  It’s champions are easy to identify with; you can see their faces, their personalities, their talents.

Plus everyone knows what it means to punch someone in the face.

Timothy Bradley knows more than most…

Even still, it’s wearisome to see such blatant irresponsibility rock the boxing world just when people were excited to see it rise again.  It won’t kill boxing, but it will keep it low on the list.

At least now I can take it off my bucket list.

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Mini-trip to Minny

Last year the sports editor for our school paper went to New Jersey for a Devils’ game, wrote about it, and garnered fame far across the land.  In an effort to procure similar attention I’ve decided to summarize my Vikings’ game experience during a trip to the Twin Cities last weekend.

Minneapolis '10 001

20 bucks.  That’s all it cost me for 50-yard-line tickets to a game against the Detroit Lions.  One guy said that’s all it’s worth, since the Lions are more like lambs, but I later concluded he was senile and probably a croquette fan, since the Vikings alone made it a steal.  I received some added entertainment value for my purchase when the scalpers I was bartering with nearly started a brawl outside the stadium.

“Don’t (expletive) buy off that guy,” argued scalper #1, followed by a “go (expletive) yourself” and a feigned right hook from scalper #2.  All in front of simple families, children, and probably a nun somewhere.

The passion, people!  You haven’t seen it if you haven’t seen football in America.

The game’s result was as expected. Peterson, Favre and Sidney Rice illustrated why the Vikings are awesome and why the Lions are brutal.  But aside from that there were plenty of other highlights.

Everyone beaks Americans for their eating habits, and the stereotype was strengthened after witnessing the gallons of beer, soda and popcorn the vendors dished out.  You know when you get a large popcorn at an event and say “man I’m a donkey, who the hell can eat this much popcorn?”  Well multiply that large popcorn by two and the fine people from the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” still don’t have that problem.  In fact they say, “you know what would go great with this? A couple of foot-longs and a gallon of beer.”

The Metrodome itself is pretty impressive.  It’s basically Commonwealth Stadium with a roof.  Throw in 64,000 screaming, purple-clad fans and it’s easy to see why it’s one of the loudest stadiums in North America.  It was contagious – and quasi-scary.  After a blown helmet-to-helmet call, I was sure everyone wanted to rape and pillage some distant country.  The Scandinavian cheer they do probably had something to do with it.

Don’t forget about the camouflage.  I’m a hunter myself, but I’ve never thought of any place other than the great outdoors to sport camo gear.  Well in Minny they love their Cabela’s as much as we love Tim Horton’s, so promoting it in as many places as possible is the thing to do.

Aside from that, though, the stadium is a lot like Rexall – old with narrow concourses.  Plus it has only two small “big screens,” which may have kept AP from posting three TD’s in the game.

A new stadium is first on the Vikes’ list of things to do, which is great since the Wild’s Xcell Energy Center in St. Paul is first class, not to mention the Gopher’s football stadium.

The city is comparable to Edmonton as well.  Sure the cold weather is the same (or nice weather if you want to take the current situation) but it has that rural, blue-collar feel to it, with a nice river-valley and a passion for hockey.

So if you want a home-away-from-home and a great sports city, then Minny is a good place to check out.

Just save room for the popcorn.