2008 Woodie Awards
No pretend in the "Contender"
Mark Gentile
Issue date: 3/25/05 Section: Sports
In a country that is dominated mainly by the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the NCAA, other great sports seem to be two steps behind.
The ability of the four aforementioned organizations to get such popularity lies mainly in the connection the fans feel with those athletes involved. With coverage on a daily basis, players and coaches are exposed to the point that we actually come to believe we know who and what these guys represent, which leads to a certain bond or kinship that gets us coming back for more.
One sport that has fallen victim to the inability of relating to consumers is boxing. Great fighters like George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar DeLaHoya, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. have that connection, but as time passes these former champions, time has come and gone.
What's been left in their wake seems to be a group of distant unknown prizefighters. It is not that there is a lack of talent, there is, but what about that connection we get through the media? Where is it?
NBC has decided to take this dilemma and create a show that allows us the opportunity to know and understand what it's like to fight for life.
"The Contender," a show hosted by Sylvester Stallone and former champ "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is a reality-based show involving young prospects in the world of boxing. It pits the East Coast boxers against the West Coast to see which side is the best side. However, only one individual will win, and in the end collect one million dollars.
The show allows people to see these men away from the ring, and how they fit in on a daily basis. You see the relationships amongst the boxers, as well as with their friends and family.
As each episode passes you learn more and more, giving a new angle to a sport that was desperately in need. You actually learn who's who in a sport that has never attempted to do so.
"The Contender," if given a chance, really has the ability to launch boxing back to where it once was.
The ability of the four aforementioned organizations to get such popularity lies mainly in the connection the fans feel with those athletes involved. With coverage on a daily basis, players and coaches are exposed to the point that we actually come to believe we know who and what these guys represent, which leads to a certain bond or kinship that gets us coming back for more.
One sport that has fallen victim to the inability of relating to consumers is boxing. Great fighters like George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar DeLaHoya, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. have that connection, but as time passes these former champions, time has come and gone.
What's been left in their wake seems to be a group of distant unknown prizefighters. It is not that there is a lack of talent, there is, but what about that connection we get through the media? Where is it?
NBC has decided to take this dilemma and create a show that allows us the opportunity to know and understand what it's like to fight for life.
"The Contender," a show hosted by Sylvester Stallone and former champ "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is a reality-based show involving young prospects in the world of boxing. It pits the East Coast boxers against the West Coast to see which side is the best side. However, only one individual will win, and in the end collect one million dollars.
The show allows people to see these men away from the ring, and how they fit in on a daily basis. You see the relationships amongst the boxers, as well as with their friends and family.
As each episode passes you learn more and more, giving a new angle to a sport that was desperately in need. You actually learn who's who in a sport that has never attempted to do so.
"The Contender," if given a chance, really has the ability to launch boxing back to where it once was.
