Post by Boxing World Online on Jun 15, 2021 11:10:12 GMT -6
Our reporter sits in The Great Room at The Manor watching baseball and basketball and sipping cold beverages with Poindexter Del Crunchy and the Man In The Hat.
Reporter: "So, it looks like I misquoted my fiancee..."
Pointy (laughing): "My guess is, it won't be the last time you do that..."
Man In The Hat: "Well. I'm glad nobody's accusin' ME of bein' the smartest manager in the FCBA. The record says otherwise..."
Pointy: "But, give yourself a LITTLE credit, Wizardo..."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "Oh, givin' myself ENOUGH credit ain't my problem over here. But, seriously, I did take issue with a couple o' things your betrothed said in her predictions. Didn't mention 'em Sunday, because Tess sometimes gets upset when we disagree..."
Reporter: "I'm all ears..."
Man In The Hat: "First, when we're fortunate enough to have the belts, we DO like to spread title shots around, and I think that's hugely important. It's not a 'strategy' to hold onto the belts longer, it's a strongly-held belief that what can KILL this-here federation is the same thing that's killed a lot of other, similar organizations..."
Reporter: "Explain..."
Man In The Hat: "Know what killed more wrestling promotions than any other factor? Keepin' the same few guys on top for years and years..."
Reporter: "So, why do people do it?"
Man In The Hat: "Simple. It makes money. For a while. See, you hit on some stuff and it starts workin'. So, you keep doin' it. You run the horse as far as you can. And, that's natural. But, while you're doin' that, you're puttin' everything ELSE on the back burner. So. Eventually, what's workin' stops workin'. It gets stale. But, the problem is, you don't have anything to replace it with, because, you haven't DEVELOPED anything else. So, you keep runnin' that horse. Only, now, it won't run, because it's DEAD and so are you."
Reporter: "So, how does this relate to the FCBA?"
Man In The Hat: "Let me TELL you how. When I first started here, people were talkin' about the FCBA bein' in decline. See, a lot of the folks who'd run the stables at the beginning were gone, and there weren't a lot of folks steppin' up to replace 'em. And, here's what happened when new stables started. They couldn't get fights for their girls. They couldn't get title shots. They were just...there. On the back burner. While the same few fighters stayed on top. So, those new stables didn't last. It was a vicious cycle."
Pointy: "But, we don't have that problem anymore..."
Man In The Hat: "As far as getting fights for new stables? We do NOT. Newer organizations can come in here and get their girls work. But, it's still hard, as it should be, to take the last step and get a shot at the belts. And, what makes it harder is a 'usual suspects' booking method. So, and we are absolutely NOT alone in this...LCA, for one, does it, what we do is this. If you've had a shot recently, we aren't likely to give you one...unless you've made an ABSOLUTE case. If there's NOBODY more deserving than you, well, that's different. But, if there's room for argument, we're gonna pick a deservin' girl who HASN'T had a shot recently, or hasn't had one at ALL. It's about giving opportunities to people who haven't had 'em, which is how you keep things FRESH and how you build depth in a division. That's why we do it. And, that's why we've turned down TWO title shots this year. Because, we talk the talk AND we walk the walk."
Reporter: "You said there were a couple of things..."
Man In The Hat: "Correct. And, the second is a little simpler. There's no LUCK involved in winning a title once you've gotten the title shot. None. Zero. Zilch. You are in there, in the ring, with the CHAMPION. And, in order to BE the man, you've gotta BEAT the man. There's no other way to do it. You have to BEAT THE CHAMPION to BECOME a champion. And, guess what, Smackeroo? When you BEAT THE CHAMPION, then you ARE a champion. Period. End of story. There's no 'getting lucky'. There's only BEATING the champion or FAILING to beat the champion. There's only BECOMING a champion or failing to do so. There's no luck involved. NONE. Either you are GOOD enough or you are NOT. Either you ARE a champion, or you are NOT. There's nothing purer in all of sports than two boxers stepping into the ring with the belts on the line. There's you. And, there's me. And, ONE of us is walking out with the gold. Now. Let's watch some ball, shall we?"
Reporter: "So, it looks like I misquoted my fiancee..."
Pointy (laughing): "My guess is, it won't be the last time you do that..."
Man In The Hat: "Well. I'm glad nobody's accusin' ME of bein' the smartest manager in the FCBA. The record says otherwise..."
Pointy: "But, give yourself a LITTLE credit, Wizardo..."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "Oh, givin' myself ENOUGH credit ain't my problem over here. But, seriously, I did take issue with a couple o' things your betrothed said in her predictions. Didn't mention 'em Sunday, because Tess sometimes gets upset when we disagree..."
Reporter: "I'm all ears..."
Man In The Hat: "First, when we're fortunate enough to have the belts, we DO like to spread title shots around, and I think that's hugely important. It's not a 'strategy' to hold onto the belts longer, it's a strongly-held belief that what can KILL this-here federation is the same thing that's killed a lot of other, similar organizations..."
Reporter: "Explain..."
Man In The Hat: "Know what killed more wrestling promotions than any other factor? Keepin' the same few guys on top for years and years..."
Reporter: "So, why do people do it?"
Man In The Hat: "Simple. It makes money. For a while. See, you hit on some stuff and it starts workin'. So, you keep doin' it. You run the horse as far as you can. And, that's natural. But, while you're doin' that, you're puttin' everything ELSE on the back burner. So. Eventually, what's workin' stops workin'. It gets stale. But, the problem is, you don't have anything to replace it with, because, you haven't DEVELOPED anything else. So, you keep runnin' that horse. Only, now, it won't run, because it's DEAD and so are you."
Reporter: "So, how does this relate to the FCBA?"
Man In The Hat: "Let me TELL you how. When I first started here, people were talkin' about the FCBA bein' in decline. See, a lot of the folks who'd run the stables at the beginning were gone, and there weren't a lot of folks steppin' up to replace 'em. And, here's what happened when new stables started. They couldn't get fights for their girls. They couldn't get title shots. They were just...there. On the back burner. While the same few fighters stayed on top. So, those new stables didn't last. It was a vicious cycle."
Pointy: "But, we don't have that problem anymore..."
Man In The Hat: "As far as getting fights for new stables? We do NOT. Newer organizations can come in here and get their girls work. But, it's still hard, as it should be, to take the last step and get a shot at the belts. And, what makes it harder is a 'usual suspects' booking method. So, and we are absolutely NOT alone in this...LCA, for one, does it, what we do is this. If you've had a shot recently, we aren't likely to give you one...unless you've made an ABSOLUTE case. If there's NOBODY more deserving than you, well, that's different. But, if there's room for argument, we're gonna pick a deservin' girl who HASN'T had a shot recently, or hasn't had one at ALL. It's about giving opportunities to people who haven't had 'em, which is how you keep things FRESH and how you build depth in a division. That's why we do it. And, that's why we've turned down TWO title shots this year. Because, we talk the talk AND we walk the walk."
Reporter: "You said there were a couple of things..."
Man In The Hat: "Correct. And, the second is a little simpler. There's no LUCK involved in winning a title once you've gotten the title shot. None. Zero. Zilch. You are in there, in the ring, with the CHAMPION. And, in order to BE the man, you've gotta BEAT the man. There's no other way to do it. You have to BEAT THE CHAMPION to BECOME a champion. And, guess what, Smackeroo? When you BEAT THE CHAMPION, then you ARE a champion. Period. End of story. There's no 'getting lucky'. There's only BEATING the champion or FAILING to beat the champion. There's only BECOMING a champion or failing to do so. There's no luck involved. NONE. Either you are GOOD enough or you are NOT. Either you ARE a champion, or you are NOT. There's nothing purer in all of sports than two boxers stepping into the ring with the belts on the line. There's you. And, there's me. And, ONE of us is walking out with the gold. Now. Let's watch some ball, shall we?"