Mixed Martial Arts Still Not the Major Leagues: Part 2

Sherdog.com's Jake Rossen replies to/follows up on my post about MMA and the UFC being compared to baseball (in terms of business health and attendance metrics) by suggesting the comparison is unhelpful and virtually meaningless:

Perspective is a seriously scarce commodity in this business, and Thomas’ zoom lens into the facts is appropriately responsible. But to take it a few clicks further: In measuring MMA to instituted sporting events in this country, you’re essentially stacking a cultural hobo against a high-society mascot in a three-piece suit. Baseball has been around for over 100 years, romanticized by millions of mitt-oiling fathers, appeared beautifully lit in movies and pounded into the public consciousness with regularity; MMA is, relatively speaking, still dripping snot from its nose.

That the two can be equitable on any level, no matter how much of MMA’s relative success may be circumstantial, is -- to my mind -- utterly beyond comprehension. We’re talking about two people hemorrhaging blood in a cage. Even stacked against a Washington Nationals game, that’s a tough sell. For a sport that’s been around for 15 years and socially tolerated for less than five, it’s a radical position to be in.

Truth is, I don't generally disagree. I wasn't the one who made the original comparison between the two. It's reasonable to suggest the differences between the size, age and cultural significance of the two sports makes most comparisons curious at best and meaningless at worst.

However, I don't think the act of comparing - provided it's done carefully - is necessarily out bounds in all circumstances. Even in metrics where baseball crushes what MMA can and does accomplish (say, merchandise sales), it's still a helpful reminder about MMA's position within the broader sporting community, where we are and what we need to do to advance. My initial issue with what Sievert wrote was that we often find members of the community - fans, pundits, and others - trying to cherry pick data that gives the appearance MMA's growth and development can be interpreted as having closed the popularity gap on other traditional mainstream sports. The reality is we have not. To quasi-gerrymander data and in the process give a false impression is disingenuous and unhelpful.

Better to know where we are to know where we need to go.