READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Boxing could learn something from Van Halen
Published: 5/2/2012 10:03 AM
Last Modified: 5/2/2012 10:03 AM

Here are the two most choreographed things in sports or entertainment (and the line keeps getting blurred between sports and entertainment):

1, The scuffle at the boxing weigh-in.

2, The encore at a rock concert.

Before many boxing weigh-ins, I presume the fight promoter tells the punchers to say something bad about each other's mommies, give each other a death stare and, perhaps, throw a punch or two. The hope is that fans will be so gullible as to think "these guys hate each other so much, that I have to buy the pay-per-view!"

And, at the end of many rock concerts, this is the formula: The band plays a "final" song, the lead singer says goodbye and everyone in the group gets together to take a bow. Then the band members leave the stage, the arena stays dark and, after a lengthy period in which ticket-buyers clap and shout in hopes that the band will come back, the guys make a glorious return to the stage (loud roar!) and play a few more songs. Wow. That band was so great that the fans demanded an encore -- at every concert you have ever seen.

Van Halen strayed from the formula during a Tuesday night appearance at the BOK Center. After the farewell bow, the band members didn't leave the stage. Lead singer David Lee Roth just said "how about an encore?" and the band belted out a final song (Jump). Props to Van Halen for getting rid of the fake drama of whether a band will return to the stage for an encore. It was a time-saver for everyone involved. Score it this way: Reality 1, Pretense 0.

Ok, boxing. The ball is in your court......



Reader Comments 1 Total
P.OswaldBoone (10 months ago)
The Van Halen show I saw in the late 70's, They did no encore. They played their first album in it's entirety, then they were gone.
1 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Games People Play

Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

Follow Jimmie Tramel on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
Jimmie Tramel's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.