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The sight of dozens of young Irish people wielding tricolors and traveling around the world to support our sports stars is not new. Since Jack Charlton's football team has qualified for Euro 88 in West Germany, hordes dressed in green are pouring money into countries as far away as Orlando, Korea South and New Zealand.
And, two years ago, at the Euros in France, Irish football fans were applauded by far for their exemplary behavior. Stories abounded of benevolent supporters who mingled with fans from other countries and agreed well with local residents in a tournament marked by crowd problems elsewhere.
But last weekend, traveling Irish sports fans were represented in a very different light. There were no humorous words – like the images of friendly supporters stopping to help a motorist change his tire, as happened in France in 2016. This time, it was Was acting a new green army of restless and aggressive men fighting in Las Vegas.
The occasion was the return of Conor McGregor to UFC – the Ultimate Fighting Championship – after a two-year break. It lasted four rounds against Khabib Nurmagomedov, the opponent of the Dagastani, before throwing the sponge, or using the jargon of the UFC, "tapping out".
Rising tensions
There had been tension for days around his fight back. The day before, scuffles had broken out in the crowd. Fighting took place in the auditorium immediately after the fight, in part because of Nurmagomedov who had climbed the perimeter of the octagon immediately after his victory to attack Dillon Danis, McGregor's training partner.
And then there were the YouTube images – some of them already watched millions of times – that showed Irish and Dagastanian fans arguing in the lobby of the T-Mobile Arena. A particularly disgusting movie showed a McGregor fan losing consciousness with a single punch. He had incited his attacker to spit on him.
If Conor McGregor is perhaps the most polarizing of all the stars of Irish sport – whether he's loved or hated, there seems to be little of a middle ground – then the legion composed mostly of young men who lean him up. love also succeeds in dividing the opinion. For some, its most virulent supporters embody the worst excesses of toxic masculinity.
McGregor's reputation for travel support has hardly been reinforced by the news that 53 people have been denied access to flights to the United States bound for Ireland – some of them were excluded because they were suspected of being linked to the infamous Kinahan criminal gang.
Anger issues
The Dublin-based psychotherapist, Karl Melvin, has long been interested in mixed martial arts and admires the know-how and technical know-how that characterize the UFC, but he believes that a sport fundamentally violent like this will attract young men with anger problems.
"Young men have been watching violent sports from a very young age or have been exposed to violence themselves and now they are doing it," he said. "Maybe they see it as the kind of sport that reflects their own perception.MMA is a violent sport – and at its most basic level, it's about two people fighting.
"Are some young men hurt, are they not able to express themselves, is violence their outlet, perhaps this is the only way they can get noticed? sports that reflect what they feel … winning, to be alpha – UFC provides all that. "
Much of Melvin's work is focused on anger management, and it is mostly men who need his help. There was certainly a lot of anger in Las Vegas last weekend, and the therapist thinks the crowd mentality helps to provoke people who might otherwise withdraw from conflict situations.
"There is comfort in numbers, a sense of security," he suggests, "perhaps less of a consequence if you hit someone, I've seen it quite often over the years." years, people become even more brave, some have an alpha image and they want to be the leader of the pack and they want to be seen as a leader.
"There is something quite primal in us that wants to see the violence and can not look away, and one of the reasons that Conor has become so popular is that it is a exceptional artist. [the boxer Mike] Tyson … and these types of people attract a lot of men. We all have the ability to be violent. Socially, we have been trained not to express that, to develop a level of maturity where we find healthier ways to defend ourselves. But this part of the reptilian brain has this combat or flight aspect. If there is a fight, we will look at it. "
David Prendergast, head of the Department of Anthropology at Maynooth University, explains that the phenomenon of violent young men is hardly new – and mentions the huge problem of the hooligan that has wiped out English football in the years to come. 1970 and 1980.
A long tradition
"There is a long tradition in sports and in movies where masculinity is made and redone through representations of heroic figures," he says. "Conor is the last of a long line of heroic characters … [Muhammad] Ali represented someone who was a darling of the masses while Tyson was mad, and there is something like that at Conor too, especially when you think about how unpredictable it can be.
"The violence begins to spread outside the octagon but this only feeds his legend, as was the case when he attacked the [Khabib Nurmagomedov] bus [in Brooklyn last April]. This adds to the aura of unpredictability. So many people are attracted to it because it is unpredictable and because it is not a PC. If you are an impressionable young man, the fact that he says exactly what he means – and refuses to censor himself – is very attractive. "
Prendergast says that young McGregor fans do not seem to care about his loss. If anything, he argues, it cements the bond that unites them.
"Often it's not just about success," he says, "but taking risks." Conor represents someone who can lose [and doesn’t lose his fanbase]. He represents a successful outsider identity. It nourishes the dreams and aspirations of success, which is very attractive to young men.
"He embodies the idea that it's possible to risk, lose, and always achieve greatness." He sets himself very bold goals very publicly, puts everything in play – like this fight with [Floyd] Mayweather [in August 2017]. He represents for his fans the idea that even if you lose a fight, you are always winning because you can make a fortune. "
John Trainor is one of the leading sports sponsorship specialists in the country. His company, Onside, asked the general public about their favorite sports stars and he said the Dubliner "is the undisputed sports personality of the number one sport among 18 to 24 year olds in Ireland".
Two-thirds of the people in this age group who admire McGregor are men, according to Trainor, and that's a position he's held since he became famous.
As a result, "challenger" brands such as Reebok and Monster Energy have signed sponsorship deals with McGregor, despite the many controversies that have followed in the past two years. Both brands – and Burger King, another name that uses the fighter as an ambassador – are particularly keen to connect to a young men's market.
"It seems to have already identified the fact that creating your own brands can generate benefits far superior to those of the mere role of ambassador," says Trainor.
McGregor launched his Whiskey, the Proper No 12, manufactured by Bushmills this weekend, which would have been exceptionally well sold in Las Vegas. Critics have been mixed – the Bloomberg title was: "If you thought the McGregor battle was a disaster, its whiskey is worse" – but celebrity-endorsed beverage brands can take advantage of a value attractive merchant. George Clooney's Casamigos tequila brand, now under the aegis of Diageo, is valued at 1 billion euros and UFC chief Dana White has made fun of what McGregor's whiskey would make him a billionaire.
However, Trainor said that McGregor's absence from the ring in recent years had resulted in a decline in his popularity, given the larger population. "Last year, he was second to Katie Taylor, now third behind Taylor and Johnny Sexton, and his attractiveness is falling."
Curiously, Trainor says that admiration for McGregor drops sharply in women over the age of 24 and in men and women over the age of 35. His vulgar speech, boasting and obsession with money seem much less attractive to those who are not part of this crucial demographic group.
A 23-year-old McGregor fan from Dublin admires him for his honesty. "He says exactly what he wants and he does not care who he offends, I like it about him, he is real, too many sportsmen end up saying nothing – they do not want to offend anyone. give no sh ** e.
"And all this talk about UFC violence is hypocritical – watch all the very difficult fights that have taken place at GAA club matches in recent weeks – it's all there on YouTube.
"You had a guy in Laois who had a terrible injury this weekend, but no one ever talked about it." Laois Pitcher's captain Ross King suffered terrible facial and dental injuries after being hit by a handful of hurley through the visor of his County Finale helmet Sunday.) "
The young admirer of McGregor first agreed to speak, but then asked not to be identified. "My girlfriend does not like the UFC and thinks that if I give my name, people will see me as a thug, I have never fought in my life, and I would say that most people who Do not support him Do not have him That's why McGregor does not have time for the media – they distort everything he says. "
And yet, the reason so many people seem to find McGregor so disgusting and the UFC is more related to what is said before and after the fights than what happens in the octagon itself -even. Some were dismayed by Nurmagomedov's gross and disproportionate provocation last week, especially when he spoke of "the smell of shit", a reference to his opponent's coach's father.
Others remember the abusive tirade he had inflicted on Floyd Mayweather before their mega-bucks boxing match last year, with the order to "dance for me, my boy" – a choice of words considered by many to be racist insensitive to race when delivered to an African. Americans are perfectly aware of the legacy of the slave trade.
In the end, however, McGregor's global legion of young male fans will not abandon his idol in the face of a litany of politically incorrect replies. On the contrary, it will bring them closer to a man qualified as "master of the show" by the anthropologist David Prendergast.
"You can see how he plans this," he says. "He beats the Irish flag, he swears, he represents someone who defends his interests and those of his people, and he has no shame, even in the promotion of his whiskey."
"Many people may not like it, but its fans will love it."
& # 39; The Notorious & # 39; in numbers
€ 5 million
The value of each of Conor McGregor's sponsorship contracts with Reebok and Monster Energy
€ 3 million
What McGregor won for the match with Nurmagomedov
4
McGregor's ranking among the world's richest athletes (after Floyd Mayweather, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo)
$ 7 billion
What is UFC worth, according to Dana White
Indo Review
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