|
|
|
|
Athletic supporters
06 Apr 2009 12:13AM
I'm flying back from Denmark where I just fought and won against Maria Hougaard on Fighter Galla 8 in Odense. The event featured Dansh fighters against fighters from Holland, Czech Republic and the UK.
The crowd, however was decidedly unsupportive of the opponents from abroad. This is something I see a lot in the UK shows I've attended and now in Denmark (Sweden was an exception as the audiences cheered reversals, submission attempts and the out of town fighters). It is great to be supportive to the home town fighters, but it does take a lot of time, dedication and determination to travel abroad and face someone in the cage. Of course the local fighters have friends and family who will naturally feel protective and excited but it almost reminds me of pantomimes when the audience begins its chorus of boos. Perhaps it's because I'm a fighter myself, though in an odd way, the booing always makes me feel more determined (success is the best revenge).
At every fight I have had the highest esteem for each of my opponents for not only agreeing to fight me but then taking and making sacrifices to compete against me. At my first fight my teen daughter was attempting a staredown at my opponent and I scolded her for this explaining that I had 4 fights cancelled on me and was extremely lucky Willemijn was there. And after losing my second fight I took my daughter back stage with me to thank Taja for coming over and congratulating her on the win.
When I walked in to fight Maria this weekend I was able to hear the inevitable hissing and boos over my entrance music but I also saw Maria's mother applauding in the audience near the cage (she had been at the weigh-in and we had waved to each other after the rules meeting) which struck me as very touching. Despite her daughter losing a very hard fight, Maria's mum had thanked me after for coming out to fight as it was Maria's dream to fight MMA.
It was a very hard fight and I can safely say it was an all out war but at the end of it we were able to laugh about feeling sick with nerves and compliment each other which was really rewarding. It may be because I'm a girl, but I also find that same rapport after sparring hammer and tongs with the guys at the gym. It's difficult explaining to people as many who don't practice combat sports probably associate force with anger or dislike but there is definitely a bond however fleeting that you have with someone you've competed intensely with.
The only analogy I can think of is when you're white knuckling a bad flight with a stranger sat next to you. only with the fights you and your opponent are linked for 6-8 weeks in preparation for the fight, drilling gameplans, cutting weight, getting beaten up by team mates and sparring partners etc. My daughter understands it now as does Maria's mother. It's just a shame it's lost on the bulk of the audience.
Am hoping to get images or a video of the fight soon.
|
|
|
|