Post Of The Year On The Last Day Of The Year
By Jake Rossen
(From "the legacy of royce" Thread By poodollar)
"A fighter's worth is judged by his accomplishments in his era, among his contemporaries. Maybe Lennox Lewis would've knocked Jack Johnson the Hell out, but does that somehow cheapen what Johnson did for the sport of boxing?
Fighters today have the benefit of a decade's worth of history to draw from. There is very little that can come as a surprise anymore. When Royce fought, he climbed into a cage and got into a televised brawl with much bigger men. The only thing he carried in with him was his faith in jiu-jitsu. That took more courage than just about anything that's ever been seen in sports.
To cheapen that by saying that it was "unfair" is ridiculous. Was it "unfair" of the Pistons to have a more cohesive team than the Lakers this year? The whole point of sports is to one-up your opponent. Maybe Royce should've shared some tapes and seminars in the same way Detroit should've shared their playbook.
Incredibly, people think that they're "owed" something, that Royce should fight Silva or Fedor or something equally insane. This is no longer Royce's era: he's still around to take on special-attraction fights, but he is not a circuit fighter and is not in pursuit of any belts.
He was interested in using his art to submit his largest opponent ever, and you know what? It'll look pretty goddamn good in his biography, along with having the longest match in modern MMA, being the only guy to submit Shamrock in MMA, beating an Olympian in Judo (draw my ass), being the only three-time UFC tournament champion, and ten million other milestones.
This thread and this forum wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Royce Gracie. This sport has aged in dog years, and just because Royce isn't hobbling around with a cane, people expect him to go throw himself in the fire to "prove something."
He's proved enough, and if you don't believe that, you need counseling."
Agree 100%
Good Job Last Night Royce
R.I.P