Quote Originally Posted by uptoscratch View Post
People are intrigued by and want to see athletes who have mastered their craft -- Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning.
For sure. It's a shame, because nobody bashes Kobe Bryant or Peyton Manning for playing responsibly and smart. Nobody complains that Peyton didn't throw enough risky hail mary passes, or that he didn't get sacked enough. The networks don't go to the coach of the Patriots and say "hey, Tom Brady is completing way too many short passes and the fans are getting bored, can you put some rookie in there instead who'll throw some exciting interceptions and get killed by passrusher every 3rd play?"

Nobody gives a shit that the winning football team takes a knee at the end of the game to run out the clock. Wouldn't it be more exciting if instead they went balls out to score another touchdown? Of course it would, but nobody expects them too.

Why can't boxing fans have the same respect for the sweet science? It seems we have no desire to see A-level talent, when it's much more exciting to see C and B-level guys because they don't have the same skill and end up getting punched in the head and bleeding more. Then people shit on the A-level guys because they fight in a way that a) gives them the best chance of victory and b) lets them take the least amount of damage possible.

When you see guys like Abdusalamov who'll be lucky to ever walk and talk with his wife and kids again, winning without getting brain damage seems like the way to go.