Why Does The Irish Media Hate Conor Mcgregor?

Berserker

So it's done and dusted. Watched in online this morning and I have to say that it was very predictable. Mayweather looked at McGregor, sussed out what he was about; which was nothing more than a novice boxer, played along for a while before putting it to bed. McGregor talked his way into a big pay day, so congrats to him on that but I would have preferred to see a genuine boxer fighting Mayweather tonight. Anybody got any thoughts on when the Paulie v Conor fight will happen? On the topic of the thread, the media have been very, very generous to Conor in the aftermath of the "fight".

wonderfullife wrote: »

Obviously you could hold up Katie Taylor also but Katie benefitted with a lot of leg-ups on her way and is yet to conquer the professional ranks.

What leg ups did Katie Taylor get? She trained in her local club, with a paltry grant by international standards,from the authorities. She had to campaign to get her own sport included in the Olympics.

Billy86

Birdie Num Num wrote: »

UFC History? A 23 year old business enterprise and gravy train for those involved. And this bout tonight is just an extension of that. It is refreshing that you don't list PPV stats or dole to this in less than 5 years guff. Hopefully you can add another feather to his cap tonight too against a man almost twice the age of UFC who retired two years ago.

Care to expand on how the UFC is 'a gravy train for all involved'? Should be interesting...

Billy86

Lt Dan wrote: »

Steve Collins was a double word champion, and he too , got up the noses of people because of his ahem "arrogance" before a fight. (nothing of the sort , and always sound after the fight) Prince Nazem was the brashest of them all but a gentleman once the fight ended (out of the ring, things went a bit crazy for him) Most British liked Naz, but others took issue with him for a number of reasons.

Really? I'm old enough to remember him, Benn and Eubank but not old enough to remember too much around when (would have been about 8-11 year old), I always thought Collins was particularly popular in Ireland? Though it might explain why I rarely ever seem to have heard of him for probably close to 20 years, while Barry McGuigan still gets mentioned fairly often.

begbysback

CatFromHue wrote: »

a GAA/rugby/soccer player's main objective when doing an interview is to say NOTHING

you can't compare them

they're not trying to sell a game and not sell themselves

Reminds me of a quote my granny use to say "if you have nothing good to say, then say nothing"

I seen Conor Mc Gregors purse for the fight on the Boxing forum, and can now say wholeheartedly that she was wrong....

Best of luck Conor, and spend it wisely, well some of it wisely!!

Pussyhands

Billy86 wrote: »

Care to expand on how the UFC is 'a gravy train for all involved'? Should be interesting...

Dana White owned part of the UFC and is there front and centre at every fight.

The only other top sport comparable to this is formula 1 where Bernie Ecclestone was in charge for so long, and that sport is for corportations and is a closed shop.

There's a clear conflict of interest there with White having such a prominent role in fights.

cletus

Pussyhands wrote: »

Dana White owned part of the UFC and is there front and centre at every fight.

The only other top sport comparable to this is formula 1 where Bernie Ecclestone was in charge for so long, and that sport is for corportations and is a closed shop.

There's a clear conflict of interest there with White having such a prominent role in fights.

...which would appear to be the opposite of 'a gravy for all'

Billy86

cletus wrote: »

...which would appear to be the opposite of 'a gravy for all'

Pretty much!

Lt Dan

Berserker wrote: »

So it's done and dusted. Watched in online this morning and I have to say that it was very predictable. Mayweather looked at McGregor, sussed out what he was about; which was nothing more than a novice boxer, played along for a while before putting it to bed. McGregor talked his way into a big pay day, so congrats to him on that but I would have preferred to see a genuine boxer fighting Mayweather tonight. Anybody got any thoughts on when the Paulie v Conor fight will happen? On the topic of the thread, the media have been very, very generous to Conor in the aftermath of the "fight".



What leg ups did Katie Taylor get? She trained in her local club, with a paltry grant by international standards,from the authorities. She had to campaign to get her own sport included in the Olympics.

A club which didn't have a toilet or changing room for girls, and yep, she pretty much single handily did get the girl's game into the Olympics, and for once, it is actually a girls sport worth watching, some of those girls are damn good, not just Katie...............

The grant was to pay for training, equipment, medical care, travel. If she was living away from parents and living in Dublin and had a car, that money went quickly. Equipment etc ain't cheap. Wouldn't be much change out of the grant she got for spending sprees, even if she lived at home with the parents. Luckily she lived in Bray compared to say Belfast or Cork and having to travel up/down to Dublin regularly

hatrickpatrick

He and his personality go against everything mainstream Irish culture preaches, essentially. We're still influenced by a religious cultural demand for self-depreciation, modesty, etc - McGregor very blatantly and publicly considers himself to be an absolute legend and has no problem flaunting that self-assurance, even arrogance, publicly. You then have to add to this the current cultural movement in particular against outspoken, brash, and arrogant young men, and the numerous attempts to get men to be more self-depreciating and introverted. Finally, there's the general hatred of fighting sports among the mainstream media, for similar reasons (fighting sports are seen as a modern-day bastion of pure, unadulterated and un-sanitised testosterone / "toxic masculinity" - note how the existence of female MMA fighters gets almost no media coverage, and boxers like Katie Taylor are adored by the Irish media because she doesn't display McGregor's boorishness).

These factors combined, are why, as one recent headline put it, "McGregor is everything we teach our sons not to be". Irish culture doesn't like self-confidence and current Western media culture especially doesn't like male self-confidence. That's it, really. Irish people are "supposed" to be reserved, introverted and humble, and men are "supposed" to repress their instincts as much as possible.

EDIT: I'd actually reckon that this is part of the reason a lot of young Irish guys like him even if they have absolutely no interest in fighting sports and couldn't name any other MMA fighters apart from him and his opponents - he represents a "f*ck you" to this culture of "don't be too loud / confident / etc", and this self-assurance and lack of inhibitions is something a lot of guys aspire to even if "be reserved" is constantly preached to them by the mainstream. Same reason young lads like getting drunk, indeed.

Pussyhands

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

He and his personality go against everything mainstream Irish culture preaches, essentially. We're still influenced by a religious cultural demand for self-depreciation, modesty, etc - McGregor very blatantly and publicly considers himself to be an absolute legend and has no problem flaunting that self-assurance, even arrogance, publicly. You then have to add to this the current cultural movement in particular against outspoken, brash, and arrogant young men, and the numerous attempts to get men to be more self-depreciating and introverted. Finally, there's the general hatred of fighting sports among the mainstream media, for similar reasons (fighting sports are seen as a modern-day bastion of pure, unadulterated and un-sanitised testosterone / "toxic masculinity" - note how the existence of female MMA fighters gets almost no media coverage, and boxers like Katie Taylor are adored by the Irish media because she doesn't display McGregor's boorishness).

These factors combined, are why, as one recent headline put it, "McGregor is everything we teach our sons not to be". Irish culture doesn't like self-confidence and current Western media culture especially doesn't like male self-confidence. That's it, really. Irish people are "supposed" to be reserved, introverted and humble, and men are "supposed" to repress their instincts as much as possible.

EDIT: I'd actually reckon that this is part of the reason a lot of young Irish guys like him even if they have absolutely no interest in fighting sports and couldn't name any other MMA fighters apart from him and his opponents - he represents a "f*ck you" to this culture of "don't be too loud / confident / etc", and this self-assurance and lack of inhibitions is something a lot of guys aspire to even if "be reserved" is constantly preached to them by the mainstream. Same reason young lads like getting drunk, indeed.

I'm glad our culture then isn't one that sees racism as something to be encouraged.

Dantian

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

He and his personality go against everything mainstream Irish culture preaches, essentially. We're still influenced by a religious cultural demand for self-depreciation, modesty, etc - McGregor very blatantly and publicly considers himself to be an absolute legend and has no problem flaunting that self-assurance, even arrogance, publicly. You then have to add to this the current cultural movement in particular against outspoken, brash, and arrogant young men, and the numerous attempts to get men to be more self-depreciating and introverted. Finally, there's the general hatred of fighting sports among the mainstream media, for similar reasons (fighting sports are seen as a modern-day bastion of pure, unadulterated and un-sanitised testosterone / "toxic masculinity" - note how the existence of female MMA fighters gets almost no media coverage, and boxers like Katie Taylor are adored by the Irish media because she doesn't display McGregor's boorishness).

These factors combined, are why, as one recent headline put it, "McGregor is everything we teach our sons not to be". Irish culture doesn't like self-confidence and current Western media culture especially doesn't like male self-confidence. That's it, really. Irish people are "supposed" to be reserved, introverted and humble, and men are "supposed" to repress their instincts as much as possible.

EDIT: I'd actually reckon that this is part of the reason a lot of young Irish guys like him even if they have absolutely no interest in fighting sports and couldn't name any other MMA fighters apart from him and his opponents - he represents a "f*ck you" to this culture of "don't be too loud / confident / etc", and this self-assurance and lack of inhibitions is something a lot of guys aspire to even if "be reserved" is constantly preached to them by the mainstream. Same reason young lads like getting drunk, indeed.

He acts american....look at the Trumps of this world, loud proud, can't always back it up but enough packaging to make it work.* That makes the Irish uncomfortable, US sports stars say how amazing they are all the time, but its par for the course, because he doesnt have false modesty, because he doesnt apologise for his talent, or give other people credit for how good he is, or make excuses for his opponants loss its unsettling for those who still think Irish people should apologise for being successful.
He has no reason to be modest, he's made a mint, been a winner and made a name for himself. But we still expect him to apologise for success because thats what Irish people do - its why people hate Bono too. You can get rich, but you still better make excuses for your success, as opposed to revelling in it.



* Not saying McGregor isn't a great fighter but since he just lost he's not undefeatable

realdanbreen

It was pretty much the 2017 version of Ali's 'rope a dope' fight. Mayweather soaked up McGregors punches in the early rounds and pummelled him into defeat later in the bout. Mayweather was never in danger.

Lt Dan

Billy86 wrote: »

Really? I'm old enough to remember him, Benn and Eubank but not old enough to remember too much around when (would have been about 8-11 year old), I always thought Collins was particularly popular in Ireland? Though it might explain why I rarely ever seem to have heard of him for probably close to 20 years, while Barry McGuigan still gets mentioned fairly often.

Ya, Collins annoyed a few people, don't know why, maybe they didn't get that boxers have to be confident . He too was well able to bring a crowd to the weigh ins. (So could Ricky Hatton) I would not have called it arrogance, but some did. I was a huge fan of him. A bit like his brother Roddy, who I actually like as well. People who follow League of Ireland know auld Shoddy Roddy (He will be loved for the 2013 season in Athlone) .


"The Celtic Warrior’ even told his adoring public that such was his certainty that his hand would be raised, he would repay any losing bets put on him. “It’s not a gamble, it’s an investment”, he told media as the date grew closer. His confidence, as Collins recalls it, was often taken as arrogance, something he feels the Irish have gotten a bit more used to these days.

“Back then people didn’t accept the way I approached the fight,” he claims. “A lot of people called it arrogance the way I was going on, but I just felt like I needed to show them that something was going to change. I went on The Late Late Show with Gay Byrne the night before the fight and I think he was taken aback by me a little bit.

"“People accept it more now I think. I see Conor McGregor now and how well he’s been received, I just love the way he carries himself, I think it’s great. That’s the way it should be. He says what he’s going to do and then he goes out and does it. I was doing similar things back then, and people didn’t know what to do with it.”"

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/steve-collins-recalls-dethroning-chris-eubank-on-the-bouts-20th-anniversary

You see, before Conor, there was Steve Collins!

Remember the weigh in and press conference for both Eubank Fights? Eubank was brilliant in the build up , played right into Collins' hands (Chris got some nasty abuse in Cork, but credit to him, he came back for the 2nd fight and he comes back a lot for media purposes) He had Nigel Benn so rattled that Benn and Jimmy McGee got into a row

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WqDQb5Yv4c


Collins is a forgotten man in way.(well he was often on RTE) Two world titles is no mean feat. He fought a fair bit in the US. Christ , 1993-1998 was good times in Irish sport.

Hurling was brilliant with all those different counties winning and their colourful managers, same with the gaelic, no domination by one county. Players had distinctive nick names and one or two dared to wear white boots :eek:Gerry McInerney ! Or the Charlie Redmond free kick routine ....Laughing at Trevor Giles with the Aussie Rules type jersey


We have two world champions in boxing (Wayne being the second) We had Ken Doherty on the snooker (1997) , Sonia O'Sullivan and Catriona McKiernan in the cross country and er, Michelle Smith. Jordan in Formula 1 with the sexy girls. Our soccer lads were older but decent enough . Rugby lads were the only ones who let us down by the odd beating the English. (Definitely not as many vocal rugger heads in the media then!)

Lt Dan

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

He and his personality go against everything mainstream Irish culture preaches, essentially. We're still influenced by a religious cultural demand for self-depreciation, modesty, etc - McGregor very blatantly and publicly considers himself to be an absolute legend and has no problem flaunting that self-assurance, even arrogance, publicly. You then have to add to this the current cultural movement in particular against outspoken, brash, and arrogant young men, and the numerous attempts to get men to be more self-depreciating and introverted. Finally, there's the general hatred of fighting sports among the mainstream media, for similar reasons (fighting sports are seen as a modern-day bastion of pure, unadulterated and un-sanitised testosterone / "toxic masculinity" - note how the existence of female MMA fighters gets almost no media coverage, and boxers like Katie Taylor are adored by the Irish media because she doesn't display McGregor's boorishness).

These factors combined, are why, as one recent headline put it, "McGregor is everything we teach our sons not to be". Irish culture doesn't like self-confidence and current Western media culture especially doesn't like male self-confidence. That's it, really. Irish people are "supposed" to be reserved, introverted and humble, and men are "supposed" to repress their instincts as much as possible.

EDIT: I'd actually reckon that this is part of the reason a lot of young Irish guys like him even if they have absolutely no interest in fighting sports and couldn't name any other MMA fighters apart from him and his opponents - he represents a "f*ck you" to this culture of "don't be too loud / confident / etc", and this self-assurance and lack of inhibitions is something a lot of guys aspire to even if "be reserved" is constantly preached to them by the mainstream. Same reason young lads like getting drunk, indeed.

You more or less smashed the nail on the head there. Excellent observation

hatrickpatrick

Pussyhands wrote: »

I'm glad our culture then isn't one that sees racism as something to be encouraged.

The hatred of McGregor by the mainstream started long before there was any hint of any racism accusations on the horizon.

Gravelly

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

The hatred of McGregor by the mainstream started long before there was any hint of any racism accusations on the horizon.

Apparently watching Gone With The Wind is racism now, so I doubt he's worried about it too much. When everything is racist, nothing is.

walshb

My take on why he is not particularly liked/appealing is because his way comes across as uncouth, crass, vulgar and overly arrogant. Can you blame people for not being all that enamored?

Then there's the whole mixing in nefarious circles and other stuff.

The media and people are all just people. Can't blame them for how they take to Conor.

And it's not all down to Conor acting this way.

Plus, I always felt that he, and others do not need to go OTT on the whole obnoxious sh1t to get approval. Who exactly are they appealing to?

I have seen and heard a lot from Conor. And the impressive stuff was when he was relaxed and speaking without the OTT swearing and in your face bravado.

If he toned it down I think he'd appeal to so much more. But he can't do that now, because folks will see it as contrived.

Useful.Idiot

walshb wrote: »

If he toned it down I think he'd appeal to so much more. But he can't do that now, because folks will see it as contrived.

I don't know, I see a few people say this but I really think it's the complete opposite. There's a certain massive demographic of "hard lads" mainly in Ireland and whatever equivalent there is of that in the US that absolutely lap up all the obnoxious sound-bites that he fires out on every large public appearance.

These people prefer their idols to get their blood pressure rising rather than be inspired by positive inspirational talk. And I think these demographics vastly outnumber those who would appreciate a more sensible measured McGregor.

walshb

Useful.Idiot wrote: »

I don't know, I see a few people say this but I really think it's the complete opposite. There's a certain massive demographic of "hard lads" mainly in Ireland and whatever equivalent there is of that in the US that absolutely lap up all the obnoxious sound-bites that he fires out on every large public appearance.

These people prefer their idols to get their blood pressure rising rather than be inspired by positive inspirational talk. And I think these demographics vastly outnumber those who would appreciate a more sensible measured McGregor.

Put it this way. I don't think he'd lose as much support/following by not forcing the obnoxiousness so much, as he would gain by toning it down and not forcing it. He'd gain more than lose....

Pussyhands

walshb wrote: »

Put it this way. I don't think he'd lose as much support/following by not forcing the obnoxiousness so much, as he would gain by toning it down and not forcing it. He'd gain more than lose....

Nah he needs the obnoxiousness. What McGregor does is essentially WWE with real punches.

Birdie Num Num

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

He and his personality go against everything mainstream Irish culture preaches, essentially. We're still influenced by a religious cultural demand for self-depreciation, modesty, etc - McGregor very blatantly and publicly considers himself to be an absolute legend and has no problem flaunting that self-assurance, even arrogance, publicly. You then have to add to this the current cultural movement in particular against outspoken, brash, and arrogant young men, and the numerous attempts to get men to be more self-depreciating and introverted. Finally, there's the general hatred of fighting sports among the mainstream media, for similar reasons (fighting sports are seen as a modern-day bastion of pure, unadulterated and un-sanitised testosterone / "toxic masculinity" - note how the existence of female MMA fighters gets almost no media coverage, and boxers like Katie Taylor are adored by the Irish media because she doesn't display McGregor's boorishness).

These factors combined, are why, as one recent headline put it, "McGregor is everything we teach our sons not to be". Irish culture doesn't like self-confidence and current Western media culture especially doesn't like male self-confidence. That's it, really. Irish people are "supposed" to be reserved, introverted and humble, and men are "supposed" to repress their instincts as much as possible.

EDIT: I'd actually reckon that this is part of the reason a lot of young Irish guys like him even if they have absolutely no interest in fighting sports and couldn't name any other MMA fighters apart from him and his opponents - he represents a "f*ck you" to this culture of "don't be too loud / confident / etc", and this self-assurance and lack of inhibitions is something a lot of guys aspire to even if "be reserved" is constantly preached to them by the mainstream. Same reason young lads like getting drunk, indeed.

Keeping the bullsh¨t alive. It’s akin to McGregor announcing that he was the first Irish man to make the cover of Sports Illustrated when he wasn’t even the third. He certainly was the first to brag about it but I wouldn’t hang him for that naive tweet. Roll back a few years and there is a clip of an endearing, confident kid saying he wants to be the World champion in his sport and make more money than he knows what to do with. He has done that but there is no longer anything publicly endearing about McGregor and there hasn’t been for some time. Many will swat that off as begrudgery but he has become a class one kn0b end and inspires similar.

Billy86

Birdie Num Num wrote: »

Keeping the bullsh¨t alive. It’s akin to McGregor announcing that he was the first Irish man to make the cover of Sports Illustrated when he wasn’t even the third. He certainly was the first to brag about it but I wouldn’t hang him for that naive tweet. Roll back a few years and there is a clip of an endearing, confident kid saying he wants to be the World champion in his sport and make more money than he knows what to do with. He has done that but there is no longer anything publicly endearing about McGregor and there hasn’t been for some time. Many will swat that off as begrudgery but he has become a class one kn0b end and inspires similar.

Still waiting to hear how the UFC is a 'gravy train for all'?

The irony however is that being that 'knobhead' is a big part of what got him his world championship shot earlier than others.

Birdie Num Num

Billy86 wrote: »

Still waiting to hear how the UFC is a 'gravy train for all'?

The irony however is that being that 'knobhead' is a big part of what got him his world championship shot earlier than others.

And you'll be waiting as you know I never said that. ...and your second line adds weight to your first. Are 'kn0bends' or 'knobheads' more valuable than good fighters?

cletus

Pussyhands wrote: »

Nah he needs the obnoxiousness. What McGregor does is essentially WWE with real punches.

Would ye stop

Billy86

Birdie Num Num wrote: »

And you'll be waiting as you know I never said that. ...and your second line adds weight to your first. Are 'kn0bends' or 'knobheads' more valuable than good fighters?

Correction so, you said it's a gravy train 'for those involved' - feel free to clarify how.

Acting a 'knobhead' as you put it is what made him a bigger draw with crowds and saw him fast tracked through his division, which was a major point of complaint among many of his detractors when he got his initial shot against Aldo. So acting like a 'knobhead' has indeed been of high value to McGregor and his fast rise to prominence.