Ever produce a star as HUGE as an Ali or Tyson? McGregor is the biggest mainstream star they've ever had, but I'm talking like epically huge... Tyson and Ali were at different periods possibly the most recognizable PEOPLE on the planet, nevermind fighters or sportsmen. Will MMA ever produce a guy that's Tyson, Ali, Pele, Jordan, level big? Or, in the era of social media, is it just impossible for an athlete to be that big again?
Probably not because all of those stars you listed had something nearly impossible to achieve in MMA. Longevity.
That's a big part of it. I also kind of think that the luster of the athlete has diminished. Don't get me wrong, big time athletes will ALWAYS be stars, but there may never be a Jordan, Pele, Tyson level rockstar athlete again. I truly don't think there will be. The paradigm has shifted, and now tech geniuses like Elon Musk may have replaced the athlete as a superhero figure.
Ali and Tyson were around at a time before politicians were stars, and before CEOs were stars, and before social media. In their era, celebrities ONLY consisted of movie stars, musicians, and athletes. It's different now.
Oh it's definitely different but as much as we bitch about boxers taking the easy route and protecting the 'O' in boxing, it has value in MMA as well. A guy gets KTFO his stock takes a hit regardless. That's more likely to happen in MMA than in boxing even if organizations like the UFC were extremely careful with matchmaking. It's just a different sport.
Exactly, and so where GSP, Silva and Fedor. Basically as dominant as any boxing champion who didn't hide behind a paper belt
Boxing has a.much longer history and is viewed as a respectable sport, while mma is still viewed by the mainstream.as human cockfighting. McGregor is pretty much the biggest kind of star theyll get imo. Also, as much as i loathed her, ronda roussey was a crossover star
As Others Have Stated, the Diverse Nature of MMA and the Advent of Social Media Pretty Much ASSURES No MMAist, Boxer or Athlete in Any Other Endeavor Will EVER Reach an Ali/Dempsey/Tyson/Jordan/Babe Ruth/Pele Level Again... Especially w/Social Media... It's Much EASIER These Days to Find Things to DISLIKE About Athletes and You Can Discover Them EARLIER Than You Would Have Otherwise... For Every 100k APOLOGISTS, There's 5k-10k HATERS w/Screen Shots of "Reasons" to DISLIKE a Particular Athlete...Hell, ALL of the Aforementioned Names are SHITTED On Daily On Social Media... REED
I feel like LeBron might be the last GLOBAL megastar in sports. He came around at exactly the right time before social really exploded. If Bron gets drafted in 2018, he's still a star, but not have been the same level star. As I said, CEOs are starting to replace athletes as the guys the public are enamored by. Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are bigger stars than anyone in the NBA not named Bron. Things have changed.
I think youre overrating lebron popularity big time. Hes nowhere close to messi or ronaldo, and im not even sure hes nore popular than federer or nadal
Bron's Been a NATIONAL Entity Since His Sophomore/Junior Year of High School, @ Least... Bezos, Musk and Others Haven't Been Covered NEAR as Loooooooooooooooong, Nor as IN-DEPTH as Bron Has...No One Gave a Fuck About Bezos or Musk When They Were In High School... Totally agREED w/Your Highlighted Point Though... REED
This. And btw, nobody outside the US knows Babe Ruth or any baseballplayer ever. I always grade real Global Megastars by the Fast of my mom having heard of them. Tyson, Ali yes. Jordan maybe, Lebron who?
Famous? Yes. Out of that list, Jobs ushered in the era of the rockstar tech CEO, and he remains the idol of every tech CEO today.
Pele??? Ptfff I guess youve never heard of Messi or Ronaldo? Those guys are up there in fame. Im afraid most of us myself included are getting old and set in our ways. We used to laugh at old people talking about the good old days. Was Ali, Tyson ect really better or does nostalgia play a big factor aswell?
Noooooo.... I've never heard of them... And this thread has nothing to do with "better." Its related purely to fame. Ali and Tyson are both among the most famous athletes in sporting history, and there's no disputing that.
No. And I don't think Boxing can do it anymore, either. It's a problem / factor outside of Boxing / MMA. It's the tech and current culture imo - we're in new territory. The virtual social web and the ridiculous speed of constantly changing, new data ensures that a 'star' such as Ali or Tyson cannot stay around long enough to have an effect and cultural entrenchment - since the 'culture' changes so rapidly compared to the past (you see internet subcultures literally change within weeks. Trends can change within days!). Things change too fast nowadays. It's hard to keep up. People are obsessed with a faceless audience and, consequently, the new, changing trends needed to attract them. You can even see this happening nowadays as low down as forums etc. True longevity as a cultural figure (like Ali) is so incredibly hard to establish, let alone keep up, nowadays that I honestly don't see it happening again. People sort through so much junk nowadays - there's always some scandal or celeb or app or whatever that is forgotten within a few weeks at most. Sorry if this sounds out there, but that's just how I see it, and I think it applies to all sports, not just Boxing. Boxing just suffers worst as it has become niche culturally anyway. Btw I'm 20 years old so this isn't even an 'us old timers were better / smarter etc.' thing either. Xplosive is right about there never being a Jordan etc. again and I believe it is for reasons I have listed + more.
Most people didn't even know who LeBron was in the UK 'till a stupid internet meme, where he was then forgotten again soon after. Messi and Ronaldo are far more famous internationally, but don't have strong cultural significance outside their own countries. I've met people who don't know either. The simple fact is that the 'cultural icon' sport figures like Ali and Jordan etc are dead. No one cares when you can now hop onto the latest new celeb craze straight away, with instant accessibility, in any field you desire.
I once had a girlfriend who butted into mine and my friend's conversation about boxing. We were talking about Wilder and Joshua and why they should fight, and then again about Spence and Crawford. She buts in, and perks up - I shit you not - with "Joshua should just fight Ronaldo". Those two clearly aren't as famous as most think.
The sincere sounding sarcasm I replied to her with is still one of my favourite moments. "Yeah, that'd be a good fight. Who do you think would win babe?" It had the two-sided benefit of being well funny as an inside joke and me keeping my bird
It says that you and George have the maturity and intellect of much older men, and aren't idiots like a lot of Gen Z'ers.
Wow i remember years ago i heard things from casuals like "when is De La Hoya going to fight Tyson" as it was probably the only two current boxers they could name. Ronaldo though?
