Boxing, the Sport of Kings, Depending on Your King.

Yesterday we went to the County Fair. I love county  fairs. It is a celebration of community. I enjoy watching the bustle and hum, and color, and excitement. Everywhere you look there is activity, color, and excitement, everywhere you listen there is noise, music, the whir of carnival rides. The smell of  fried food, the odor of humanity, mixed with the heat and humidity, it can be intoxicating, and powerful. It must trigger something primal, from our collective past. Something from when our survival depended on numbers, cooperation, and a herd like solidarity. Or maybe I am just a little crazy.

Anyway, we went mostly for the boxing.  Growing up I watched giants, Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton. Giant men, with giant egos and giant personalities, using giant amounts of talent, and determination to prove who was the best. And I was in awe.

Later, when living in a small town in the Midwest, and knowing very few people I joined a boxing club, mostly to try to get in shape, and keep myself from too many really bad habits, habits that threatened to consume me. After a couple of weeks they politely refunded my money and asked me to leave. It seems my actual boxing skills were very limited, but my imaginary boxing skills were boundless. Concerned with my safety, and, probably potential insurance problems, they decided to end our association. Another dream falls dies on the vine.

But, I don't blame them, and I still love boxing. Though, I had forgotten how much until my wife asked "do you want to go to the boxing matches at the county fair?" DO I? my dreams were reborn, at work, when no one was around I was shadow boxing on the second floor. Jab, jab, jab, hook, upper cut, dance away. He never laid a glove on me!

So, we went, and loved every minute of it. We walked in right as the first match started. And it was amazingly fun. These guys were boxing, in the truest sense of the word. Honestly, I didn't expect the boxing to be that good. They would punch and move, jab, throw a flurry of combos. There was not a lot of grabbing to rest, they really put on a good show.

The rest of the bouts were good, but that first one was the best. Here is the amazing bit, (I try to save he amazing bits until the end, I've heard that is the best way) the winner of the first bout, the undefeated boxing legend Afrim Mema, (he was undefeated yesterday, anyway, and any professional boxer willing to watch the matches with us is a legend on this blog) came up to the grandstand, and asked who was winning, we told him it hadn't started. And my son said "great match." he thanked him and sat down and watched the rest of the boxing matches. Not only was he a very talented boxer he was a polite young man, with a great sense of humor, and a keen insight into the sport.

It was a great day, very warm, very humid and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we forgot the sunscreen and are all a little too toasted this morning. That is OK, though, we had a good time, watched great boxing, and met a professional boxer, it doesn't get much better than that.

The videos I threatened all of Tech Whacko Nation are still coming. It is much more difficult transferring video from a digital camera to an iPhone than I assumed, you know what they say happens when you ASSUME things. You end up looking stupid.