Ennis' Take
ENNIS: The merits of trash talk and personality shine in MMA while NFL tries to crack down
Jan 26, 2011 - 6:45:03 PM ENNIS: The merits of trash talk and personality shine in MMA while NFL tries to crack down

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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist

After the New York Jets' win over the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took to the airwaves with one of the more clueless statements he's made in his time as commissioner. The trash talk had been flowing freely between the two rivals in the buildup to the game, with players from both teams exchanging barbs and insults right up until game day, and if you include Bart Scott's epic rant with Sal Paolantonio, even after the game. Goodell, who has spearheaded a crackdown on what he considers unacceptable behavior since he began his commissionership, wasn't about to let all that go unnoticed. "I think there's got to be a respect amongst the people who play and coach and, most importantly, for the game of football," is what he said when questioned at the owners meeting in Atlanta. "I want to make sure that's respected throughout the league."

Right.

This is one area that he's got wrong, and MMA has right. That game between the Jets and Patriots – the one with all the "disrespect" between players and coaches? - It was the highest rated divisional playoff game in 14 years. Why do you suppose that is? It was a big game, yes, and it was between heated rivals, sure. But what put it over the top was the rhetoric going back and forth between the two teams. There's no question that trash talk helped "sell" that game to the general public.

Let's say you take out every distinction between players in the NFL. All fans know is the team logo and the name on the back of the jersey. What do you have left? Well, you've got a game that America loves, and it's still going to be popular. But it's not going to be the overpowering monolith that it is now in American culture. In today's world, personality sells. Every day we're all bombarded by personalities. Between blogs, twitter, and more TV channels than you can even count (not to mention everything that's on demand), there are more ways to grab peoples' attention than there have ever been. With all that going on, the basics don't always cut it anymore. The NFL is still the NFL, but if you cut out the personality, you've got a league that captures the imagination of each market it inhabits – not something that's going to attract millions of viewers to a game between teams representing two locales they've never visited.

So where does MMA fit into this whole thing? Luckily for those of us who care about the growth of the sport, they're getting it right.

Look, we all want to think idealistically sometimes and claim that the sport sells itself on the merit of its own inherent watchability. Look no further than Dana White's tired axiom about people stopping to watch a street fight when there's a basketball game going on across the street, or whatever it is that he says. But in the real world, that's just not the case. While a sport does have to be entertaining in order to succeed, and MMA certainly fills that bill at its best, the athletes involved are what people pay to see.

If you need evidence, let's look at one Brock Lesnar. In his second MMA fight, he was in the co-main event in the largest MMA promotion in the world. And why? Certainly not because of his skills, though he's shown that he's not lacking in that area. Not because of his domination of past opponents. It's because of who he was and how he presented himself. Brock Lesnar is a fascinating athlete, and people want to see him. But that's just one example.

While I'm certainly condoning trash talk here, that's not to say that everyone needs to sell a fight by tearing his opponent down verbally. That's not the point. It all comes down to getting across who a fighter is and why the general public should want to watch him. The fighter has got to make the public care about him, whether they want to see him win or lose. But if everyone is just talking trash all the time, it becomes white noise and no one stands out. Take Georges St. Pierre for instance. He's the gentleman. B.J. Penn is the talented guy who is thrilling when he's at his best and maddening when he's at his worst. Matt Hughes is the tough farm kid who is about as cocky as they come. Chael Sonnen is the delusional guy who might just be good enough to back up all the insane things he says.

Now that's a small sample of guys who have set themselves apart with their outside-the-cage behavior or comments. That's not the only way to do it. Clay Guida is known for his relentless gas tank and the pace he sets during fights. He's also just a likeable guy. Anderson Silva is the Superman-enigma. No one knows what's really going on with the guy, but many are compelled to watch him just because of his unbelievable talent and his somewhat confusing mystique.

On the flip side, you've got guys that are talented, but just don't have that "it" quality that would put them over with a non-hardcore audience, whether it's because of in-cage style or just a lack of exposure to who the fighter really is. Take Jon Fitch for example. As a disclaimer, I'm a Fitch fan. But I'm also a guy who watches everything and enjoys the vast majority of it. Fitch is 13-1 in the UFC. Thirteen wins! That's probably the most impressive record in the UFC this side of Anderson Silva. With that kind of mark in his UFC tenure he ought to be at least as big a star as his teammate Josh Koscheck. But he's not. Fitch probably gained most of his fans in his only UFC loss, when he was dominated for five rounds by the best fighter in the division. Why? There was something distinctive about that fight. Fitch showed the fabled "heart of a warrior" in taking a hellacious beating and still coming forward. That fight was memorable. Does anyone remember any of Fitch's wins? I know he's got them, but I couldn't tell you as many things that stand out about his 13 wins as I can about his one loss. Jon Fitch is a great fighter, and I think he'd be more of a star with a belt (which he might just get a hold of if GSP moves to middleweight) because it gives him something that's distinctive about himself. But right now he just doesn't stand out to the masses.

Now mind you, I don't mean to hate on Fitch. He's just the most apparent example of what I'm trying to illustrate. Look no further than Yushin Okami to find another high-level contender who doesn't stand out. Or look at how long it took Lyoto Machida to catch on with his highly elusive style, even for a guy who actually was the champion. What it comes down to is that sports, and especially individual sports like MMA, are star-driven. It's good to know that while there are always things that can be done better to further the growth of the sport, the decision makers in the UFC and other promotions realize that pure sport isn't enough to be appealing. Trash talk and building personalities, when done the right way, can only help further the cause of any sport.

Maybe the NFL ought to take notice.