Dunlap: America Loves An Event
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LAS VEGAS (93-7 The Fan) - Does it matter that the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor wasn't all that much of a match at all? Nah.
That Mayweather had him right where he wanted him the whole time? No, not really.
That's how it was always going to be. Not for one millisecond was Mayweather -- who has never lost one match to a boxer -- in jeopardy of losing a boxing match to a man participating in his very first boxing match.
It wasn't going to happen. Ever. And I mean ever. It wasn't in the cards. McGregor was never going to win, however well he truly did acquit himself in a discipline foreign to him.
All that said, however, what we saw with this event was something that was stunningly (and to me wonderfully) American -- the glitz, glamour, pomp and circumstance of the matchup really made it so the actual fighting didn't matter all that much. Celebrities flocked to Vegas, the chatter for this fight enveloped people from all socioeconomic corners and about 5 million pay per view buys can't be a lie -- Mayweather/McGregor captivated us and would have captivated us even if it didn't work out to be a better actual match than many anticipated.
Know something else that rings true in all of this? We aren't a football country or a baseball country or a basketball country or whatever -- we are an event country.
Show someone a spectacle in any sport, and they will jump to take it in. In the aftermath of a great game, people will remember it forever, but when promoting something if you can make it as Hollywood as possible, the American masses will herd together to want to lap it all up -- and it doesn't really matter what happens once the event starts. Think about for a moment. If nothing else, Mayweather/McGregor was a study in master salesmanship and would have been an overwhelming success even if one of the participants got knocked out with the very first punch.
Man. I love America.
Sure, even matchups and the anticipation of a close game bring people out, those things get people to watch. But it is nothing like when you make an event a spectacle bordering on ludicrous, nothing like when you have a trash-talker, a great story, overwhelming bravado or -- as was the case here -- all that rolled into one.
From the time this fight was announced it was obvious McGregor stood not much of a chance against one of the greatest boxers in history. But it was the Irishman who made all this; he was the one who created the buzz with his mouth, limitless testosterone and penchant for making this event feel like it was personal between the two.
McGregor might be Irish, but he sure understood what America loves -- drama, drama and more drama. Then a touch bit more drama on top.
Screw a good game, nothing brings people out like drama.
McGregor might have lost to Mayweather, but he positively won when it came to getting Americans to pay attention to him -- and cash in off of that.
Again, I love America. I can't get enough of stuff like this.