Feb28

The Live Wire: The Impact of Women in Sports, Ronda Rousey and Danica Patrick

MMA, The Live Wire 8 comments

Audio Commentary from Fan on Fire’s Maurice Barksdale on the Impact of Women in Sports.  In particular the impact that Ronda Rousey is having on the UFC and that Danica Patrick is having on NASCAR. 

 

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  • Tophatal

    I’m sorry one race doesn’t hero make and you’re doing a disservice to Janet Guthrie who paved the way for the likes Patrick , before she’d done anything in IRL . One race at Motegi , Japan as a race victory and they’re hyping Patrick as something special which she isn’t . Patrick other than leading a few laps at the Daytona 500 has done absolutely nothing . One of the reasons she left the Indy Izod series was her lack of real commitment and main avarice of seeking money and fame rather than her commitment to her craft .

    Patrick while being good in IRL , let me ask you this , do you know who Sarah Fisher happens to be and how it is that although she’s just as talented as Patrick she was never afforded the opportunity of crossing over to NASCAR . This whole maneuver was ,marketing ploy which has been amped up with the GoDaddy ads .

    Rousey on the other hand , her mother was a world champion in the style Ishin-Ryu Kararte was a well as a world class ju-jitsu practitioner . Carmouche was no match for Ronda Rousey from the outset . Having taught unarmed combat as a Marine in the British military (hold a Black Belt 3rd degree in Karate and have also practiced , savate , taekwondo and muy-thai kickboxing ) , I can tell you this , MMA has now surpassed in boxing as fan participant sport !

    Dana White knew sooner , rather than later he needed to add women into the mix as the males supporter of the genre were genuinely calling for it to be part of the MMA UFC banner . Now it’s there it will add to the branding and all round popularity of the sport . MMA under the UFC banner is now a multi billion dollar enterprise that has seen their popularity sprout up in Europe , the African continent , Far East , the Arab peninsular as well as in the UK (place of my birth) .

    Dropped a boxing NBA piece, that I think might pique your interest .

    http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/i-say-fity-you-say-fifty-but-who-gives-a-damn/

    Tophatal …………………..

    • http://fanonfiresportswire.com/ Maurice Barksdale

      I’m not saying that Danica Patrick is something special as a race car driver, I’m saying that there are men out there who are hating on her not because she has a lack of commitment, but simply because she is a woman. And some men feel the need to try and boost their egos by tearing down women.

      And I doubt Patrick is the only driver in NASCAR who can be accused of having a lack of commitment, but those drivers don’t receive any where near the amount of criticim from men that Patrick does.

      And even though Patrick may not be amongst the best drivers in NASCAR, I doubt 99% of the schmoes who criticize her could drive any where near as well as she can. But when they see a woman doing something they can’t do, a switch flips in their brain to instinctively discredit their efforts by harping on the thought that a woman shouldn’t try to succeed in a man’s arena.

      I have heard of Sarah Fisher, but I can’t say know a lot about her. However, I do know that that are other female race car drivers who have competed and done just as much if not more than Danica Patrick has in the world of racing. But my segments are short and unfortunately I can’t mention every one of them.

      But these comments can serve as an extension of the discussion and more time can be devoted to giving Janet Guthrie, Sarah Fisher, and the others the credit they deserve here.

      And I agree that MMA has surpassed Boxing. I love MMA, as it incorporates Boxing. Boxing is just too one dimensional and the kind of athletes that dominated boxing in the 70′s 80′s and 90′s are no longer boxing these days, but playing football or basketball. So that marquee nature and freakish athletic spectacle isn’t there like it used to be.

      • Tophatal

        Janet Guthrie paved the way for Patrick and people within the world of sport have such short memories , let alone delve into the sport’s history .

        Patrick made history in Motegi, Japan , winning a race that no one saw in terms of the IRL . Since then she’s done nothing . All this hype in terms of NASCAR , . Look at place finishes , and her consistency just isn’t there . It’s all smoking mirrors here and it’s the same thing with the hype over Dale Earnhardt Jr .

        Let me pose this if Lance Armstrong hadn’t admitted his guilt , would you believe him to be greatest cyclist ever because he’d won the Tour de France for seven consecutive years ? Armstrong beyond that race has never won a meaning Vuelta title but yet the idiot anally retentive fans and journalists here bought into the bull$hit . Obviously they have never heard of Bernard Hinault , Eddy Merckx , or Laurent Fignon . That is the problem with the US sports’ fan , way too insular and neither do they ever take an interest as to what goes on beyond the shores of North America .

        As to MMA , it leaves boxing completely in the dust and then some . Best fighters out there at present Georges “Rush” St Pierre , Ben Henderson , Anderson Silva and Jon Bones Jones .

        I’m North Carolina for the Miami vs Duke ACC …. game , and it be a lot of fun .

        Here’s a link to a piece I did on boxing and the NBA . Let me know what you think ?

        https://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/i-say-fity-you-say-fifty-but-who-gives-a-damn/

        Magic Johnson says he’ll put $1,000,000 if LeBron James enters the next Slam Dunk contest (2014) .

        Sunday’s NBA match-ups should be great in terms of the Thunder vs Clippers and then the Heat are the guests of the Knicks .

        Pardon me for saying this , all of this talk about CPIII is the best point guard in the NBA, is becoming somewhat asinine . What does that suggest to you concerning the play of Tony Parker this season , if people are overlooking the Frenchman !

        Skip Bayless needs both a frontal lobotomy and a vasectomy ! The first to negate what little intellect he has and the second , in order that doesn’t father any damn kids !

        Tophatal ……………

        • http://fanonfiresportswire.com/ Maurice Barksdale

          I have heard of all of the cyclists you mentioned, and watched them all as a child, but the Tour De France is pretty much the only race that gets much mainstream coverage in the United States. I follow many sports, some more than others, but you’re right most Americans don’t follow sports outside of America.

          And Lance Amstrong is an American, so it’s logical to me that Americans would follow one of their own who’s having that much success. However, there was Greg LeMond who came before Lance Armstrong, and he didn’t receive anywhere near the praise or media coverage from Americans that Armstrong did.

          Armstrong got so much attention from the media because of his fight with Cancer, not his prowess as a cyclist. If Cancer weren’t in the equation, Armstrong would have gotten some notoriety just like LeMond did, but no where near as much as he has.

          Inspirational stories always draw peope in. When athletes overcome obstacles or tradgedies in everyday life and go on to become champions, then that transcends them from being more than just sports heroes, but also heroes in life.

          But I always found it strange how Armstrong all of sudden started winning, and wondered if there was somthing to it. But initially I didn’t question it because LeMond had already had similiar success, so I thought it might be possible that Armstrong wasn’t cheating.

          But not until Greg LeMond came out and said that he was suspicious of Lance Armstrong doping did I really look at it seriously.

          • Tophatal

            Lemond was a great ambassador for the sport , whereas Armstrong was simply a self serving as#hole and a ba$tard to boot !

            And while inspiration is good , it was contrived and orchestrated by Lance Armstrong’s publicists from the outset . Fu#k what Armstrong has done concerning cancer survivors because we now know that it was built on a web of lies and deceit and anyone who still believes that he has an ounce of integrity or moral character at this juncture has to be looked at as a complete a$s devoid of intelligence .

            Armstrong should be sued not only by the corporate endorsers he has defrauded , but also by the US government ( USPS contract $30 million he has received from the US Postal Service) . But at this juncture US Attorney General Eric Holder is too much of an a#shole to actually do his job with any degree of integrity much less intelligence .Why Obama nominated that #ss is beyond belief !

            There was always suspicions concerning Armstrong’s victories but L’Equipe who oversees the Le Tour de France and UCI the sport’s international governing body are so damn incompetent and the fact that IOC still hasn’t got the balls to simply throw that sport out of the Summer Olympics when IOC Chairman Jacques Rogge and WADA have been adamant, that they will seek to stamp out cheaters within the games , simply indicates to me that they have no damn clue ! Cycling was rampant with “cheats” but they did nothing at all . And that was even with WADA and all of the testing protocols that they had at their disposal . What a bunch of goddamn hypocrites ! .

            Tophatal ……………

  • Tophatal

    Smith is leaving the Niners to go to the Bowel of Hades by joining the Kansas City Chiefs . Damn !

    Tophatal ………

    • http://fanonfiresportswire.com/ Maurice Barksdale

      Yeah, I didn’t think Smith would end up with the Cardinals. The Chiefs seemed the most logical place to me. It might work out in a weak division like the AFC West.

 
 
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