I don't watch many sports in my free time, but there's some part of me that always itches for one-on-one combat, specifically boxing and MMA. There's next to no barrier to entry for understanding rules and I find stories infinitely more compelling when they culminate in a battle between two individuals rather than teams with a rotating cast of players. Every slight prior to the bout, every misstep and subsequent capitalization on that blunder in the ring, all the pressure is placed squarely on the shoulders of two and we need only wait until one buckles under the weight of it all. In this loss however, there is a celebration, one is victorious where another fails... That is how it usually plays out at least, isn't it?
In the match between Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim there was no glory; all parties involved, from the men in question, their families, the referee even, every one of them had their lives upended. It was a tragedy, flat out. In recounting or rewatching the tape it feels inevitable, it's a part of history now, as certain as life, love, and death. This is the feeling Duk Koo Kim gives me, it's the insurmountable force of nature that claims us all in the end, the best you can do in this life is hold out until that day finally picks you.
No comments:
Post a Comment