Why, Rome?

Look, I have applauded Rome for being the one mainstream sports talking head to pimp MMA on a serious level. And today he opens the show talking about Brock coming back... Great open Rome!!! BUT, he is going to attempt to take MMA's credibility and flush it right down the freaking toilet by interviewing Herschel Walker today. Please don't Rome... We beg of you...

Ugh, I like Herschel, but hopes he gets knocked out honestly

There is nothing wrong with interviewing Walker. It is an interesting story. No one, including Walker, thinks he's going to great and dominate the sport or even SF. He's a 47 year athlete that wants to test his hand at fighting. Sure he's getting extra hype because he's old and a former badass football player, but why doesn;t he deserve a chance to fight? It doesn't hurt MMA's cred. 50 year olds are still boxing and playing MLB. 40 year olds are still in the NFL.

Walker is a famous athlete taking a shot at a new sport. That's news.

Ya, gotta go with the men here on this LTFG. Walker is a story. Keeps Strikeforce's name out there.

Not to mention he's doing this strictly to test his own body. I read somewhere that he intends to give his Strikeforce purse in full to charity. I don't see anything wrong with him seeing if he can do something like this just to see if he can do it at nearly 50 years old. He's been training in shotokan karate for something like twenty years now. I don't see any reason why him trying his hand at fighting is a black eye on the sport at all.

Farmer1906 wrote:

There is nothing wrong with interviewing Walker. It is an interesting story. No one, including Walker, thinks he's going to great and dominate the sport or even SF. He's a 47 year athlete that wants to test his hand at fighting. Sure he's getting extra hype because he's old and a former badass football player, but why doesn;t he deserve a chance to fight? It doesn't hurt MMA's cred. 50 year olds are still boxing and playing MLB. 40 year olds are still in the NFL.

Terrible analogy. Yes, there are old men in all sports. The difference is they having be playing and dedicated to their respected sport their entire lives. They are not starting an entirely new sport in their old age. This is like Brett Favre retiring from football, giving baseball a try, and actually starting...

Farmer1906 wrote:

There is nothing wrong with interviewing Walker. It is an interesting story. No one, including Walker, thinks he's going to great and dominate the sport or even SF. He's a 47 year athlete that wants to test his hand at fighting. Sure he's getting extra hype because he's old and a former badass football player, but why doesn;t he deserve a chance to fight? It doesn't hurt MMA's cred. 50 year olds are still boxing and playing MLB. 40 year olds are still in the NFL.

A former Heisman winner and NFL Pro Bowler joining MMA is a pretty big story no matter the age. He has trained in martial arts since he was a kid, and he's a very cerebral guy. This does nothing to hurt the image of MMA.

captain organic wrote:

Farmer1906 wrote:

There is nothing wrong with interviewing Walker. It is an interesting story. No one, including Walker, thinks he's going to great and dominate the sport or even SF. He's a 47 year athlete that wants to test his hand at fighting. Sure he's getting extra hype because he's old and a former badass football player, but why doesn;t he deserve a chance to fight? It doesn't hurt MMA's cred. 50 year olds are still boxing and playing MLB. 40 year olds are still in the NFL.

A former Heisman winner and NFL Pro Bowler joining MMA is a pretty big story no matter the age. He has trained in martial arts since he was a kid, and he's a very cerebral guy. This does nothing to hurt the image of MMA.

No I'd say its more like Deon going from the NFL to MLB except instead of the mid 90s, he did it mid 00s.

And I'd say starting would be like joining the UFC and being in the top 20.

Walker is a freak athlete. He just did a physical with with the commission out there and they said he was 47 going on 22. I would not be surprised if he went out there and looked really good.

I've been thinking about this thing with Walker. People are treating him like a complete joke yet everybody is picking him to win his match even though this old man belongs nowhere near a cage...nobody would be complaining about seeing Greg Nagy on an MMA card. He is a Tae Kwon Do black belt and he's a better athlete at 47 than most of these guys in their early 20's. He's also kicking it with the right crew. Pretty much he's doing everything right except being old, a former football star and getting a main card slot over guys like Hieron and Diesel.

What i don't like about it, is that they know Walker is just there to give it a go and is not really going to attempt to make a career out of it...so basically his fights are meaningless and just there for the draw. So it is like something that would happen in Japan...but people think Walker is a joke but are accepting Kimbo Slice who really has no real skill. no martial arts background or any true athletic ability other than punching hard. I'm atleast going to respect Walker as an athlete and who's to say he's not a fighter? Thats why you get in the cage, to prove you are a fighter.

Ninja\Rua/Fan wrote:

Farmer1906 wrote:

There is nothing wrong with interviewing Walker. It is an interesting story. No one, including Walker, thinks he's going to great and dominate the sport or even SF. He's a 47 year athlete that wants to test his hand at fighting. Sure he's getting extra hype because he's old and a former badass football player, but why doesn;t he deserve a chance to fight? It doesn't hurt MMA's cred. 50 year olds are still boxing and playing MLB. 40 year olds are still in the NFL.

Terrible analogy. Yes, there are old men in all sports. The difference is they having be playing and dedicated to their respected sport their entire lives. They are not starting an entirely new sport in their old age. This is like Brett Favre retiring from football, giving baseball a try, and actually starting...

This is not a good analogy either. Cause as far as I know Favre hasn't played baseball since he was a kid. And fighting on a SF card vs a nobody is about as equivalent to Favre playing in single A baseball. Which if he wanted to do Im sure ton's of teams would be interested, and I'd gaurantee he'd get an interview or two.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Walker is a freak athlete. He just did a physical with with the commission out there and they said he was 47 going on 22. I would not be surprised if he went out there and looked really good.

I've been thinking about this thing with Walker. People are treating him like a complete joke yet everybody is picking him to win his match even though this old man belongs nowhere near a cage...nobody would be complaining about seeing Greg Nagy on an MMA card. He is a Tae Kwon Do black belt and he's a better athlete at 47 than most of these guys in their early 20's. He's also kicking it with the right crew. Pretty much he's doing everything right except being old, a former football star and getting a main card slot over guys like Hieron and Diesel.

What i don't like about it, is that they know Walker is just there to give it a go and is not really going to attempt to make a career out of it...so basically his fights are meaningless and just there for the draw. So it is like something that would happen in Japan...but people think Walker is a joke but are accepting Kimbo Slice who really has no real skill. no martial arts background or any true athletic ability other than punching hard. I'm atleast going to respect Walker as an athlete and who's to say he's not a fighter? Thats why you get in the cage, to prove you are a fighter.

The Heiron Diesel part is the only negative imo.

And I see tension between the 2 bolded statements. But I agree with the latter. If he's willing to step into the cage, even if it is only for a couple fights, and people are willing to watch it, then it seems like a perfect match.

Quote :

This is like Brett Favre retiring from football, giving baseball a try, and actually starting...Terrible analogy.

Fixed.


Walker isn't fighting a ranked fighter, and fighting is absolutely nothing like pro-ball, where your appearance on a roster is based soley on performance.

If we have to compare this to team sports, this is more like Brett Favre starting in a charity softball game shown on ESPN, or TO showing up all-star weekend and playing in the celebrity game, showin off his dunk skills as he likes to do.

Its considered a pro fight and is labeled as a pro fight. This is on the main card of the second biggest promotion in MMA. This isn't a charity fight or pro-exhibition. It's a pro fight. Riggs vs Herion being on the undercard because this mockery has to be on the main card is a black eye on the sport. Jose Canseco, Hershel Walker, James Toney fighting on main cards on major promotions is a crucial reason why most people don't even consider MMA an actual sport. Their presence makes the average person believe any bum off the street who took Karate when they were five could become an MMA fighter.

A story, yes. But it does nothing to help the sport out. It's just another setback for MMA in its efforts to gain mainstream credibilty. I think most critics are waiting for MMA to start tossing midgets in a cage, ladders and chairs sitting on the cage to be used during fights and having two against one fights where the ref gets KO'd by a fighters girlfriend jumping off the top of the cage. I just think this is not what the sport needs to move forward...

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

A story, yes. But it does nothing to help the sport out. It's just another setback for MMA in its efforts to gain mainstream credibilty. I think most critics are waiting for MMA to start tossing midgets in a cage, ladders and chairs sitting on the cage to be used during fights and having two against one fights where the ref gets KO'd by a fighters girlfriend jumping off the top of the cage. I just think this is not what the sport needs to move forward...

Is a 47 yr old former heisman winner, and NFL pro-bowler fighting in MMA the bridge to midgets, ladders and girlfriends ko'ing the ref? if anything the pro wrestlers would appear to be a more likely gateway.

Ninja\Rua/Fan wrote:

Its considered a pro fight and is labeled as a pro fight. This is on the main card of the second biggest promotion in MMA. This isn't a charity fight or pro-exhibition. It's a pro fight. Riggs vs Herion being on the undercard because this mockery has to be on the main card is a black eye on the sport. Jose Canseco, Hershel Walker, James Toney fighting on main cards on major promotions is a crucial reason why most people don't even consider MMA an actual sport. Their presence makes the average person believe any bum off the street who took Karate when they were five could become an MMA fighter.

Why would a championship caliber boxer entering MMA make anyone think MMA is not legit?

Did Mickey Rourke, an actor, fighting in professional boxing hurt boxing's image?


The NFL guys on TUF who had zero martial arts background were a bigger "mockery". And those guys had their own TV show that ran for months.

Cappy, difference is that the guy with the sports talk show who has the largest national listening audience didn't interview Brock until he won the title, and he has yet to interview Lashley. And I agrree with you about the wrestlers on some level, but at least they're legitimate wrestlers coming from a background that is a big part of MMA.

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

Cappy, difference is that the guy with the sports talk show who has the largest national listening audience didn't interview Brock until he won the title, and he has yet to interview Lashley. And I agrree with you about the wrestlers on some level, but at least they're legitimate wrestlers coming from a background that is a big part of MMA.

But again, we have to point back to the story aspect. Dude is a Heisman winner, he was an NFL star. That's why he gets the interview. A former heisman winner getting an interview on a sports radio show because he is taking a shot at another sport is not bizarre.

And Walker's MA's background does give the story some legitimacy.

I don't have a problem with it. Hopefully it just brings more attention to Strikeforce and the real fighters that are on the card. Also what is the difference between Hershel Walker doing MMA and someone like Marcus Davis? I know Walker is a little older but not too different IMO. Only thing is Walker is a HOFer so it makes it more interesting.

Cappy, I understand why he gets the inerview... But it doesn't mean it's good for the sport. If you doubt that listen to the backlash of callers and emailers after the interview. And Walker having some MA background doesn't make him or his 12 persoanlities legitimate on any level as pertains to MMA.

I stopped listening to Rome as soon I got smart enought to check out espnradio.com and not just listening to the local radio station. Now I listen to Michael Irvin show for an hour until SVP starts. I love Rome's interviews but I can't stand the other stuff.

Brock and Walker both have martial arts background. Lesnar with amateur wrestling, Walker is Tae Kwon Do blackbelt. Lesnar decided to become a TV entertainer celeb while Walker went on to be a NFL legend despite playing his first few seasons in the USFL were his numbers are at the top as well. So who is the bigger sports star? Walker. Lesnars pop going into the sport should of been his amateur wrestling but it was of course his 'professional' wrestling that garnered hype from the masses. That really is and continues to be a bigger detriment to the perception of MMA then anything Walker can do.

Why does having a martial arts background make one unworthy of competing in MMA? Also, the haters always feel the need to bark the loudest on talk radio, in any genre.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

I don't have a problem with it. Hopefully it just brings more attention to Strikeforce and the real fighters that are on the card. Also what is the difference between Hershel Walker doing MMA and someone like Marcus Davis? I know Walker is a little older but not too different IMO. Only thing is Walker is a HOFer so it makes it more interesting.

Jim Rome didn't put Davis on his show though. We KNOW Dana or the other org's presidents don't care about the sport's legitimacy. I hope you're right about bringing attention to the rest of the card, but I doubt that comes up in the interview.