The Professor, on 23 June 2010 - 02:54 PM, said:
I wonder if "out of ideas" can be considered sensible.
It makes no difference anyway.
JHS, on 23 June 2010 - 08:22 PM, said:
Bad news on Valentino being out for the rest of the season if it's true.
I wish I could say the sport is greater than one rider. I've said a similar thing for F1 in the past. I really wish I could say those words.
But in the case of Rossi and MotoGP I can't. He's huge. He has legions of fans wherever he goes. Love him or loath him, you can't fail to admit he is a crucial element of the MotoGP series. He's like the Ferrari of MotoGP, or how Ronnie O'Sullivan is to snooker, or Tiger Woods to golf. Okay, the last comparison is harsh on Vale and I appologise. But you get my drift. Without those sorts of guys at the top level of the sport they compete in, interest for said sport drops. It's a fact.
He's not essential for MotoGP, but he is a massive part of the sport. I fear that right around the world, (expect Spain perhaps who are mad for bike racing and now have two countrymen who hate each other battling for the title) the viewing figures will be lower for the remainder of the championship compared to if Rossi was still there.
It just worries me how MotoGP is going to cope when Vale retires, or if now he packs it all up for good. They don't have a Rossi-esque figure lying in waiting. Sure, Lorenzo's a brilliant rider and has many, many fans already but.....I don't know, it's hard to explain, he hasn't got the Rossi persona going about him or the ability to set up a cult if he so wanted to like Rossi could.
MotoGP has lost a big part of it's appeal for me now. Rossi was one of the big reasons I kept tuning in. Goodbye MotoGP '10, it was fun whilst it lasted. Hope all is well in '11.
Enjoy the rest of the season, everybody.
Nah.
People come and go. No biggy. Besides, Rossi has had more than his time. Time to move on really. He should've taken that jump to Ferrari anywhen instead of this.
freaky2, on 23 June 2010 - 09:10 PM, said:
The problem is that Lorenzo will probably walk it. Stoner hasn't upped his game, in fact Hayden is beating him consistently, and Pedrosa is just like that... the most fun last race was in the battle for 2nd-3rd. It's just not quite the same >.<
This is a good point. Stoner is back to his crashing ways and Pedrosa is, well, Pedrosa.
However, I wonder if the problem is not the category itself rather than the riders. Take a look at Moto2, for instance... great races every GP.
The Professor, on 23 June 2010 - 10:08 PM, said:
I agree with JHS on this one, I think it is different with Rossi.
Rossi has a global fan base whereas most sports superstars have a more national one. Everybody seems to support Rossi as if he's one of their own, so to speak. When Rossi retires from MotoGP, the effect will be something similar to when Michael Schumacher stopped racing in 2006, where interest in F1 dropped massively in Germany. The difference for Rossi and MotoGP, is that the loss of viewers will be a "global" trend.
For all the good Rossi has done for MotoGP, when he retires there is going to be a balancing, the sport will lose a lot, but at least it can be thankful it had him in the first place (very few sports have somebody like Rossi imo, a person globally adored).
Saying that, MotoGP will survive post-Rossi, no doubt about it. It just won't be the same for those who ever watched him race live, and I doubt somebody will come along with a similar talent and charisma for a very long time.
Same nah.
It happens in all sports. Some guys pop up and steal the show. They mark an era... but eventually they are gone and, guess what, the world keeps spinning.
The funny thing is to come across the fans whose world have stopped spinning and cannot but recall the time when WHO and WHO fought the best matches/races/games whatever.
Recycle yourself or die.
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