Francis Anthony Govia
Spit blood into the pail. This fight has ended. Everybody has a fight to finish at some time or another.
Iceman
The Iceman, Chuck Liddell, had a fight too many. For years he busted everybody up until you just wanted him to have a beating. When Chuck’s reign ended he fell like Goliath.
Only a champ knows what it’s like to lose his dominance. The rest of us are just bit players. When champs fall they do not take it easily. They want to drink. Others shoot themselves in the roof of the mouth. They leave foot soldiers to clean out garbage in discredited places.
The newspaper may give a small paragraph to the defeated but more space is devoted to making money. Still for whom the public so easily forgotten are accounted many reams of paper with columns in the red.
Folks keep dreaming of making a come-back only to be stymied or busted up by young guns. Smart men walk away one step ahead of a losing battle and public scorn. The sum of a champ’s past is insignificant when compared to anything he has left when he retires.
We hear the stories. Men rise. Men fall. We often think we can cite the exact moment a champ rose but we seldom cheer they who have the power. We cheer those who take to the octagon for a fee.
Who knows who makes the call? What power lurks behind the scenes? What demons lie within they who hit the canvas? What secrets are carried by he who bears the torch?
Tags: Chuck Liddell, Contact sports, mixed martial arts, modern gladiators, rise and fall, UFC
