Two weeks ago, Ronda Rousey was on top of the world. She was on Jimmy Fallon, popping up in every other commercial, even on the cover of various magazines.
Then it happened. She lost.
After never losing a fight to start her promising career, the 28 year-old UFC champion ran into Holly Holm. Rousey was extremely confident going into the fight and even was trash-talking heavily on social media and in a handful of interviews. The anticipation was through the roof, and with the whole world watching, she fell flat. After a devastating kick to the face, Rousey went from legend to the joke of the day.
The backlash she has been facing since her defeat has been completely unfair. Whenever you're good at what you do, there will always be naysayers, but how people have responded to Rousey has been downright unfair. People have been saying things such as "she deserves it" or "serves her right." I've even witnessed people stating that they "can't stand her." I really can't stand people like this, but I can't be a hypocrite because I used to be one of these people. I was the first person to exclaim my dislike for LeBron James. As I got older however, I began to really understand how lucky we are to really appreciate the greatness of these once-in-a-generation athletes. The only reason people decide that they "hate" any athlete is because that person is usually very god at what they do. I had become a hater, and that is not who I want to be.
The truth about being a sports fan in this generation is that there is going to tons and tons of different opinions thrown in your face because of the presence of social media. You're going to witness those "trollers" on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, you name it. People are always going to find a reason to dislike this player or a certain team. I've never really found a problem with any of these differences in opinion until I truly realized how sad and pathetic these comments really were.
Each and every week we are given the opportunity to watch these people who have put their life efforts into their craft and the first thing people choose to do is to nitpick everything that they have done wrong. Most would argue that these comments from the public don't have an effect on these athletes because they are living this dream life, but the truth is these people see everything that is said and the words either materialize into fuel for motivation or they can destroy their character. Ronda Rousey was so hurt emotionally after her fight that she didn't even want to show her face to the public. Granted it, she did have damage done to it because of the fight, but it has changed her life. There are now talks of her being "washed" and if she is even marketable any longer. What were once harmless comments have now become the very words used to describe this talented woman.
The sports world is an interesting place and the trash talk and demeaning talk is always going to be apart of it. I just hope that one day we can take a step back and realize just how great these athletes are instead of constantly finding a way to bring down these athletes. Let's learn to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of these people and enjoy the entertainment they provide us with while they are still able to. One day we will look back on the LeBron and Ronda Rousey's of the world and wish that we had a chance to watch them just one last time.
