I ADORE television reality shows. Well, at least some of them. Not that brotherly stuff about boring people sitting around a house all day. Come to think of it, how can some people actually stand that?
The wifey and I are hopelessly addicted to ?The Amazing Race? and ?Fear Factor? and we constantly ponder how we would fare, if given the chance.
But we usually end up ditching the idea when we realize what it entails. I?m claustrophobic, so sneaking in and out of narrow places is out of the question and she won?t eat anything that still capable of begging for its life. So there.
But when ?The Contender? and ?The Ultimate Fighter? aired, I was completely hooked. Some boxing writers found the former blurring the lines between reality and fantasy when it came to fighting. Nevertheless, I was dandy about it.
They?re not fixing fights, and as long as they are creating interest in my favorite sport, hell yeah!
KAMAO. Then a local version ?Kamao? was created. My favorite episode was when the boxers were duped into thinking they had a ?free? night?which some of them spent drinking and singing their guts out. Only to be roused from their peaceful drunken slumber a few hours later for an early morning run?to be led by no less than Manny Pacquiao.
Some of them wisely passed, while a few brave souls gamely put on their track shoes and a few minutes later generously spilled their guts out on the street for the whole world to see what they had for dinner.
IDOL. Just recently, ABS?CBN finished airing the newest boxing reality show called ?Idol?. If you are boxing nut like me and you spend your late Sunday mornings glued to the box, then you must have seen it.
It ran for a couple of months and recently its finals were held inside the ALA Gym at Talamban where all the elimination bouts had been previously held.
This really surprised me as the semifinals were held at The Paseo along Mabolo, which I think fits like a glove as far as venues for boxing are concerned.
A check with the savvy Dennis Ca?ete of ALA Boxing revealed that sponsorship conflicts and business concerns prevented a repeat at the Paseo.
IMPACT. Are reality shows good for the sport of boxing? Yes, of course.
Anytime a giant television network dips its fingers into the sport to offer some form of corporate sponsorship and exposure, it can only be good for the sport.
Boxing needs all the help it can get right now, and if reality shows are a way to generate more fans, then I?m all for it!
Several backslaps are also in order for ALA boxing for managing the technical aspect of the fights very well and making them competitive. I mean, these kids were literally picked off the streets, some of them with little or nil fight experience. Michael?s better half, the lovely Christine Aldeguer was also quite a revelation as a show host.
But I have some minor complaints. As I watched the show unfold week after week, I had the feeling that I was being railroaded. Maybe I was on a ?Contenderish? mode and I expected a little bit more drama, but I thought they were moving the fights and the fighters too fast.
The action was very engaging, but pretty soon, their names and faces became a blur. It was good thing that they provided the sports media with some literature on the fighters.
But how about the viewers?
In addition, since the show was reportedly intended for the Visayas and Mindanao audience only as no Luzon fighters were involved, it could have done away with the pseudo- Tagalog format. It was quite disconcerting to hear the fight commentators bombard us with phrases such as ?malakas ang mga sumbag? or similar words to that effect.
THE LAST ROUND. It is on Mike Wynne who emailed me all the way from Winnipeg Canada. Thanks mike. Cheers!
