I was reading the Sunday paper this morning and this letter and response was in the Parade magazine that comes with the paper:
Q: What is your opinion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts that are becoming the favorite blood sport in Las Vegas and on TV? Ned Taylor, Det Mich.
A: We agree with Sen. John McCain, who called that type of sport "a human cockfight." It should be banned.
You can send comments to personality@parade.com the website is www.parade.com and click on Walter Scott's Personality Parade. The website hasn't updated with this letter yet - it says it will be updated on Wednesday. Let's all send him an email with the real facts on MMA.
Not worth mailing IMO, that column is a joke, the "journalist" Walter Scott might not even be a real person, and the questions are probably not really mailed in from readers either. It carries no weight, influences no one, it's nothing.
"Not worth mailing IMO, that column is a joke, the "journalist" Walter Scott might not even be a real person, and the questions are probably not really mailed in from readers either. It carries no weight, influences no one, it's nothing."
I agree that the column is a joke, that it's not real journalism, and that most of the questions, if not all, are made up, in large part of promote upcoming movies, albums, etc.
I also think Scott was WAY off the mark.
That said, A LOT of people read Parade. Like most of the people here, I've got no interest in it, but it's got tremendous circulation. Frankly, I'm sure that plenty of people looked at that item and said to themselves "UFC? Haven't thought about that in a while. Guess it's still a bloodsport," and that's the impression they have of it.
And it's not just old people who read it; I'm guessing it has pretty broad appeal, especially to women.
If the UFC had a positive mention in Parade, especially if it was a cover story, that would be very, very good for the sport. Emailing Scott to tell him he's an idiot won't help, but emailing the editors with politely worded concern could.