The Hometown Effect | Articles | Newspaper article | Business article | Health article | Free article | News article

Business Plan | Business Process | Business to Business Search

Home > Recreation & Sports > Martial Arts > The Hometown Effect

The Hometown Effect

In mixed martial arts, hometown crowds are something of a rarity. Certainly, you wouldn’t want to face Matt Lindland in Oregon, or Renzo Gracie in Rio de Janeiro, but those scenarios don’t come up as often as in other sports.

At least, that’s what I thought until a few weeks ago, when the IFL came to Moline, Illinois, the home of the Quad Cities Silverbacks. It wasn’t the first time the IFL had ventured into the hometown of one of its teams, but this was different.
For the first team contest between the Red Bears and Tiger Sharks, the crowd seemed much like previous audiences. They cheered when a fighter landed a big punch or executed a sharp takedown. They grew restless at the slightest pause in the action. But when that match-up was over and it was time for the Silverbacks to take on the Nevada Lions, it became abundantly clear just what these fans had come to see.

It was the first time I’d ever personally seen a crowd get behind and entire team of fighters so completely. They cheered the Silverbacks all the way to the ring. They booed the Lions from the moment they were introduced – and they didn’t miss many opportunities thereafter.

But when the night was over and the Silverbacks had climbed back into the playoff hunt via two very close decision victories, the question had to be asked: did the crowd affect the judges? Were the three people at ringside who we’d all like to think of as completely insulated and impartial won over by the boisterous fan support?

Silverbacks coach Pat Miletich dismissed the idea, saying that the real benefit of a hometown event was sleeping in his own bed. Beyond that, he claimed, the difference was negligible.

But Lions coach Ken Shamrock took another view, using the outcome of the evening’s heavyweight contest as proof.

“You’re really got to give it to the fans tonight,” said Shamrock. “They won that fight for Ben (Rothwell). He would land one punch they exploded. Then Roy (Nelson) landed three and it was quiet.”

Lions lightweight John Gunderson, who also lost an extremely close decision, felt similarly about the effect of the hometown crowd.

“As soon as I heard it was a split decision, I knew,” he said. “I mean, it’s Moline.”

Much like the last line in the classic film, Chinatown, that remark says it all. Let it go, John Gunderson. It’s Moline.

But now, as the Silverbacks and Red Bears prepare to face each other in Chicago on May 19th, a new question arises. Who will truly be the hometown team there?

The Red Bears are the official Chicago-based team, with Chicago natives like Mark Miller on their roster. But the Silverbacks hold sway over a large portion of the Midwest. Another Chicago native, Rory Markham, is their star welterweight. To make things more confusing for fans, Markham will take on the Red Bears’ Miller when the two team meet.

The Silverbacks can’t afford to lose this match if they hope to earn a spot in the playoffs and defend their 2006 championship. They need to beat the Red Bears, and beat them by a hefty margin. The match between the two Chicago fighters could easily be the turning point there.

Miller has proved himself a relentless and determined competitor in his first two IFL fights. He battled it out in a grueling bout against Delson Heleno back in February, and came from behind to win a decision over Brad Blackburn earlier this month. So far he’s been the Red Bears strongest and most consistent performer, and the man they’ll depend on to help them get some respect in the IFL ranks.

For his part, Markham has become such a fan-favorite in the Midwest that he had the entire arena in Moline chanting his name after a third-round knockout of the Lions’ Pat Healy. Charismatic and explosive, Markham seems to feed on crowd energy, but will he have it against Miller?

The Red Bears have yet to distinguish themselves in their home city the way the Silverbacks have in theirs, but this could be their chance to do just that. A win over the defending champions in front of a Midwestern audience might send a message. The 2007 season may be lost for Igor Zinoviev and his squad, but there’s always next year.

If there’s one thing Zinoviev and the Red Bears have proved in their rocky first IFL season, it’s that they don’t even know how to give up. While they may not have excessive fan support going into this one, they might still get it before the night is over.

Article Source: http://articlebusiness.net/

Please Rate this Article