For the time being I've decided to become a pushy, one-issue, diarist.
I appealed to you last week in an attempt to block conservatives from claiming a foothold in the booming world of mixed martial arts (MMA) It is a trivial issue in principle but huge in potential gains. Unfortunately, ladies and gentleman, we have been beaten to the punch.
Listen to me speak the word!
If you would like my explanation of our (liberals) potential electoral and ideological gains in the majority young, white, male market of MMA fans then please consult my diary from earlier in the week.
In short, this burgeoning sport is attracting massive amounts of fans who would normally lean conservative except for the fact that John McCain and Bill O'Reilly have made notorious asses of themselves on the subject. I believe that their (the MMA fan's) cause is, in fact, our cause and that this issue is a stronger one than issues, such as guns, which would normally appeal to the same testostorone inspired crowd.
Boys and grrrls, the right-wing has come out with a flying knee and leaves us no choice but to pull guard and hope for a submission from the bottom. (Translation: they got to it first and now we are left playing catch-up)
On Friday popular MMA website featured in its forum a diary entitled, "Michael Savage to Attend Pride 33!" Pride, until recently, was the largest MMA organization in the world. Based in Japan, Pride has staged two shows in Las Vegas in an attempt to win over American fans and trump UFC. Michael Savage's son, apparently, is the owner of Rockstar Energy Drink, an active sponsor of fights and fighters. Sherdog, which is the most popular MMA website, is also well known for having the most moronic forums. Even with this knowledge I was a bit disheartened to see that the majority of the entries were in firm favor of Savage attending the Pride event. They thought it was a perfect match, even going so far as to dream of Savage facing Al Franken in the ring. Of course Al, a former wrestler, would trash Dr. Wiener (Savage). But, in the ignorant minds of these fans, MMA equals tough, therefore MMA equals conservative. Don't let this happen!!!! A few valiant posters battled against the tide but it was a hard and ultimately fruitless fight. Savage has apparently been talking the event up on his show.
Today I checked the Subfighter forums. Subfighter is a much more respected site generally frequented by those who train MMA somewhat seriously. There had been, to my relief, no discussion of Savage over the weekend. However there was a post about UFC President Dana White and ,one of my favorite fighters, Matt Serra's appearance on Fox News today. There they were, 'wrastling' around with Steve Doocy............
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This may all seem like a petty complaint. I am aware of that. But, to me, gay marriage is a petty complaint. 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance is a petty complaint. Bill Clinton's penis is a petty complaint. Look what those things have won for conservatives. Now, the main opponents of MMA in the U.S. over the last decade have been conservatives. There is a huge vacuum, coupled with a new fan base who don't remember McCain as their enemy. We, on the Left, have done nothing to fill this vacuum. Now Savage and Fox News are seeping in. If these associations are made in people's minds, they will remain there. Let's give them another image. MMA events still aren't legal in New York. Get on it!!! There are tons of events coming up. Democrats; get behind them! Jiu-Jitsu is a thinking man's game. There is no reason it shouldn't appeal to us. Moreover, we can't give this away to the conservatives. The popularity wave is becoming tidal in its proportion. The Right has always gotten away with its empty, tough-guy pose. We have to pull down on their collective head and sink the triangle in tight.
Can you dig it?????