FanPost

When Live is Really Live

"We can't watch the pay-per-view, at least not live. I've got this thing. We'll record it and watch it next week."

You are unable to see the pay-per-view on the night of its airing but decide to drop the $45 and record it. Did you then avoid all MMA sites for a period of time? How about a week?


So a week rolls by, you've successfully hidden from the internet and it's finally time to watch the PPV.

Does it feel the same watching it a week later?

At the beginning of each ring entrance and each first round, there is an intensity in the fighter’s eyes shared by the fan. A feeling inspired by the sheer unpredictable nature of what is about to happen. The fighter is going to war. Euphoric relief or slow recovery could follow the next moments. The fighter goes in, and the fan too.

This question mark in a fight’s proceedings is the very criticism members of the professional wrestling community have made of MMA. The fight may explode or plod along; it may be evenly-matched or a beatdown.

When you truly want a fighter to win, you carry fear into the match and ride the waves of win or defeat with him. Perhaps the same cannot be said for a team sport where so many people on a field or court create so many variables. If one player is having an off-night, others can cover for him.

Mano-et-mano must be personal. The action in other sports stops after a play, in between possessions, or perhaps when someone is injured or pretending to be. The viewer sees a playfulness in participants: they might slap a team member’s hand or look at the referee incredulously. No such playfulness exists in MMA until the fight is over.

In MMA, the action does not stop unless eyes, testicles, or open skulls are involved.When the action does end, usually the fight is over. The question mark becomes an answer, the pundit predictions become foregone conclusions or huge upsets, and fans rejoice or hurt.

Have you ever roared in at the top of your lungs in a sports bar and slapped the back of a stranger because you just watched Anderson Silva choke out Chael Sonnen moments before losing it all?

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via 4.bp.blogspot.com


We have.


The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of MMA4Real readers and do not necessarily reflect those of MMA4Real editors or staff.

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