In Search of the Elusive Mainstream

and fights that deserve to happen

whether we increase popularity or hit the mainstream or whatever means piss all either way to me so long as the sport is quality.

for distinguishing between “going mainstream (boo! cookie cutter programming!)” and “becoming better established (yay! more money and fans!)”

I especially appreciated the YouTube video analogy.

And if mainstream = Dancing With The Stars, I want nothing of it. Shows like that do nothing but pander to the lowest common denominator. A dumbed-down MMA event is essentially WWE. Yuck.

When was Zack Morris on fucking Kimmel?

Rome,

I don’t think fans want “fake heat” as much as they want to perpetuate the notion that fighters earn “mutual respect” for one another in the cage. Viewed through this prism, the post-fight display of sportsmanship validates the idea that these men are not savage brutes, but legitimate professional athletes fiercely dedicated to winning, and even if there’s trash-talking, once the winner has been declared, the animosity dissipates. In that way, it’s like Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest going at each other on the basketball court, but embracing and congratulating each other afterwards.

We make allowances for “the heat of the moment” when we follow professional sports, but in the interest of setting a standard of sportsmanship, we feel that transgressions of sportsmanship warrant criticism.

As to the argument about “mainstream acceptance,” it’s simple:

Mainstream equals more fans, which equals more revenue, which equals better compensated fighters, and the ability to attract more world-class athletes. Good for fans.

Mainstream also equals “respectable” journalists being able to cover issues that go beyond simple wins and losses, and message board “controversies” which deteriorate into flamewars. This allows writers to influence a grander swath of public opinion, and to apply pressure to business entities that would otherwise function under a cloak of power, money, and corruption. When the mainstream doesn’t care, many abuses go unreported, and people in power aren’t called on their behavior. To the extent that MMA media today is routinely marginalized and bullied by Zuffa, and some media outlets have to behave like thinly-veiled propaganda machines in order to get access, “mainstream” = accountability to the masses…which is also good for fans.

Obviously, there are people who can take the notion of “mainstream” too far, but by and large, there’s nothing wrong about wanting the thing you like to be accepted and important to a greater number of people.

I had no problem with Lesnar getting in Mir’s face after the fight – there was legit animosity there. I don’t like how BJ said his beef with Sherk was hype, nor Serra & Hughes. It may sell more, and I doubt it hurts the sport any, but I don’t like it. Either have some respect and admit it’s just business, or show actual emotion like Brock did. Don’t weasel out with “It’s just talk”.

The emotion he displayed was much more “real” than most of what we see in mixed martial arts.

cant argue with that.

I’d share the concerns of others if this was happening all across the UFC, but one guy “disrespecting” the sport really isn’t that huge of a deal.

I don’t know if that’s your personal POV or you just stating what many have said. In my personal opinion, I don’t see where Brock disrespected the sport with what he did, and I’m fine with most of it. Now had he half trained and failed to make weight, that is disrespecting the sport.

Otherwise well said.

Awesome post, Rome. I hope more people start thinking like this, rather than kowtowing to ESPN.

Fightlinker: Fuck the mainstream.

I don’t really care about the mainstream per se but I do wish MMA would get covered like any other real sport.

My case in point:
While waiting for my coffee to finish brewing in the office I decided to check the sports section to see if there was any UFC coverage. Not that I expected any information that I hadn’t already read 10x over online but I figured I’d see what people wrote.
After skimming through the first 4 pages, skipping over articles about cyclists, curling champions, and other obscure posts I found 1 tiny article just before the classified ads talking about how “ultimate fighting” is becoming more popular than Baseball and Football in Canada.
Wow.
I don’t care if all the asshats who watch ‘Big Brother’ while listening to the newest Brittany Speers album watch the most recent MMA event but goddamn if it doesn’t piss me off that probably one of the biggest MMA events ever put on didn’t get even 1 blurb, buried under articles for ultra fringe sports. BAH!

The worst part about this discussion is that I do agree with the notion that EVERYTHING that happens in MMA needs to be filtered through the lens of “But ooooh, what would the MAINSTREAM think?”

That said, there is something to the idea of the sport having a culture, and I think that there’s a bit of a power struggle between the “Dark Ages” fans, the “TUF Era” fans, and the “ESPN” fans. I think that people have different visions of what MMA should be, and what it means to be a “real fan.” Because of this, the struggle to shape the sport around people’s preferences becomes deeply personal. It isn’t enough to say that I think something was over the top or disgraceful; people want to ascribe deeper ramifications to their reaction. I’ve been guilty of it myself, but I at least acknowledge it, because I sincerely do see benefits in the sport looking one way rather than another. However, I try not to make the “Ooooh, what would the Mainstream think?” argument too much, because 9 times out of 10, it’s kinda irrelevant.

Looks like comments broke.

I still think that MMA can be as mainstream as Soccer. :-)

nice article