Motorcycle Forums

Don't be such an arse

If you watch races to support one rider to the point of obsession, then stop watching when that rider finishes, then you haven't much interest in racing itself have you

Which is what people advocate with Rossi, he's bigger than the sport and when he goes, a percentage of 'viewers' will go too, therefore bad for the sport. Then 'another' will have to be found to replace him to attract back the viewers.

Is that the point of racing?

Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool

then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

What the hell are you talking about bluto? You mean to tell me then that anybody that supports Rossi is damaging the sport?

I've never held a high opinion of you bluto but this really is a new low, even for you.

Bulto

You quote - ''Does anyone with any common sense really care which rider attracts the biggest crowd to his last race or retirement party...'' - It may come as a surprise to you but the size of the crowd reflects the respect, success, ability, popularity and most of all the status of the said personality. The smaller the crowd the lower esteem in which that personality is held.

(note: I do not compare Rossi and Stoner here, the above analogy applies to any aspect of sport throughout the entire world.) However you can draw your own conclusions
 

The masses Benny

it's got to have something popular to sell to the mass market. Or it dies.

Who are these masses you talk of? Masses on the scale of pitch side football audiences? or football TV audiences? Or golf, or tennis? I'd wager every single person I know has heard of those three sports. Where I work, not one person I know knows what Motogp is, even some seriously anal F1 fans.

How many people tune in to watch Motogp on TV - masses? It will never be mainstream TV.

If motorcycle racing needs a 'personality' in order to survive, it would never have made it to the end of the 90s

Dank..

Morning, fellow hardcore race fans..bit dank outside innit.

Is Bulto being a wet blanket, I ask myself?

Let's say he's right..A fair few Rossi fans are fly-by-nighters. Before Val, they used to watch football, tennis, F1.

Now..they come to the races and watch bike racing, at the track, paying TV subsciptions, buying magazines..on the internet.

How many?..is impossible to quantify but it's likely to be in the millions not thousands.

They are bike racing fans now..maybe not hardcore like me and you, not all of them anyway, but they spend their hard earnt swelling Dornas coffers.

How many will stop watching when he retires?..all of them? If it's 90%..the sport is still better off than it was pre Yellow fanboi.

How many of their friends now take an interest because the newbies introduced them to our sport?

How much more exposure has the game received wordwide because of Valentino's involvement 16 years ago, and how many will remain..the residual?

Think about it..It's got to be more hasn't it.

The modern world is highly competitive. Most have a finite income and other sports compete for our leisure time money.

Having a charasmatic global figure fighting in bike racings corner, grabbing headlines, drawing attention cannot possibly be as negative as Bulto says.

He just despises Rossi because..well..he does.

Bulto is trying to say..because he doesn't support Rossi, he is a real fan and that carries more weight and validity.

It's a spurious argument and illustrates a snobbish attitude.