Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Fight Night

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Lyric of the Day:

Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price you pay

- Triumph
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My show is back. I’m so excited I could pop.

"The Contender" is a sports reality show facing off 16 welterweight fighters, divided into 2 teams. The show is hosted this season by Sugar Ray Leonard and Contender I’s champ, Sergio Mora, and the contestants are coached by boxing icons Jeremy Williams and Tommy Gallagher (I love Tommy – he’s too cool for words). Systematically a boxer from each team meets in the ring ultimately coming down to a championship round with a nice purse.

I know I’m a girl, but I love boxing. I LOVE it! And The Contender is so exciting to me because these guys are ALL really talented. Any one of them could take any other one of them, so the fights are a guaranteed challenge to say the least. Also adding to the fun, by the magic of TV editing the fights are streamlined – the lulls in the ring are whittled out, leaving pure boxing action for the folks at home. Some people will get this when I say it and some people will not – it all just depends on whether you like the sport. But boxing is so graceful. It’s about timing and coordination and choreography. Beneath the pummels and blood and sweat spray there is a dance. A hypnotic dance. Beneath the brute force there is palatable passion. A good fight can be beautiful.

The Contender is about more than training and the ring, though. I love the dialogue, and the biography. Most of these kids are from mean streets and lean times. And you get to know them. You find yourself caring about them. You see their tender sides. Men with inextinguishable fire. Men wanting to provide a better life for their families. Men who choke up as they talk about their children.

I find myself loving every one of them. Which makes it hard at the end of each fight, because someone must hang up their gloves and say goodbye.

I cry every time. I’m such a dork.

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The Contender II airs Tuesdays at 10pm on ESPN.

8 comments:

chesneygirl said...

Wow, I never would've guessed you to be a boxing fan!
I've never watched the show, tho my husband did a few times.

My dearest grandfather was a HUGE boxing fan....he would've loved this show.... :)

Martie said...

I HATE boxing! To me it's just a fight and I hate fighting and confrontations. But to each his own. That's what makes the world an interesting place. Enjoy the show and you probably better keep the tissues close by!

Anonymous said...

My husband already has the DVR set. I have watched on occasion as I traveled from the kitchen, through the living room, to my office. I like the bios...the fighting makes me cringe...but the bios..now those are worth sitting down for.

Anonymous said...

Hi, you are not a dork and never have been on this or any BLOG. I am still busy and I am still unable to write on my BLOG due to all of the things on my plate but I will be back soon. I liked boxing when I was younger but not so much now.

Pray for me we get hit here at this new place a lot.

In His Service,

Craig

Nelly said...

You said it...not me! ;)

Anonymous said...

I've not ever watched the contender. I feel the same way about football as you do boxing. I love to watch old football games with music playing. It is like a form of art to me though it is really just a bunch of men tackling each other.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I had to delete my comment due to needing to edit it. Sorry about that. Anyway, here goes...

I just finished watching The Contender. Man, I was screaming up dancing around the living room. LOL I hope the old lady next door wasn't scared. I was pulling for K9, you know because people were making fun of him. I know what it is like for people to put you down and make fun of ya.