So, Haye still has fans?

Have you ever heard of the barmy army?

If you knew who they were you would know a bit more about British fandom. Then you would know that Haye will always have fans.

Some would say they are extremely loyal, and that this is a good thing. Others would say that they refuse to hold their stars accountable, and this leads to their stars underperforming and getting away with murder.

 

Yeah. Rabid cricket fans. The English cricket team sucked for over a decade. Yet the barmy army grew and grew.

They go to cricket matches, which last for 5 days, 8 hours a day. They don't shutup for a second.

It's like watching the Maasai people jump for hours on end, or any other strange cultural phenomen. To the outsider it just seems to be insanity and pointless.

But if you take that midset, you can see why Haye has fans. You can see why he will still have fans no matter what he does - or doesn't - do.

 

I take it you're an Aussie then??

 

I'm British, I was a haye fan when he was a cruiserweight, I liked the move up to heavyweight ('though would have preferred it had he unified with the IBF champion), I liked Monte Barret as an opener, but I am now not really a fan any more. It isn't so much the inactivity ('though that is a mistake and does put me off) it is more the bad mouthing the other heavyweights (and not just for their boxing). Once he started pulling out of fights while still verbally abusing future opponents he started losing fans over here. My whole circle have gone off him. But then, only one of us (not me!) is a cricket fan, so I'm not disagreeing with the previous posters, I think you're onto something.

 

Don't think this is a British phenomenon.

I mean Pavlik still has fans too, right?

 

Yup. I have witnessed the barmy army first hand.

Kinda surreal.

 

Not a good idea to get excited about Haye. He let his fans down badly. Reminds me of Audley Harrison. Only Audley used to fight bums with coverage on BBC. It was really funny. Audley knocks out a cab driver, everyone says 'well, this was the last one, next time around he is going to be fighting a proper boxer' and then Audley goes on to fight another cab driver! And so on.

Similarly, Haye says he will fight. For the first year he would keep us on our toes with stories how he is just about to decide who he fights. Then he stopped shot Monty and started the next round of the soap opera.

He might be the best HW out there, who knows? But I sure as hell won't get excited about his fights anymore. Not unless I am actually watching one.

 

Yes indeed!!

What did he say: "Three years of heavyweight domination????"

He allready f*cked up one year!! So much for his quest for total domination...

I hope Valuev to knock his head of for real (and not from a stupid piece of cardboard)

 

Have you seen "An Aussie goes Barmy"?

If you haven't, it was on ESPN Classics over here and had one of your countrymen touring with the Barmy Army during the Ashes 07.
Most of the Barmy Army came across as heavily drinking football fans with nothing better to do.

 

I haven't seen it, but I heard about it. I have a few friends who spent a fair bit of time with them. (Aussies spending time with poms, who would have read about it??) They couldn't believe how drunk everyone was.
They seem to me to be more eccentric than malicious, and they certainly add enthusiasm. I think they are a lot better behaved than the worst of the football fans.
It seemed strange how they kept growing despite the poor performances of the English side. I mean, the barmy army spent a lot of money to follow the team around.

 

come on how fickle can people be. you can't have been much of a fan of his if your willing to drop him over pulling out of a fight (for whatever reasons) and being inactive for a year. at least he has a fight coming up.
i mean people stood behind tyson after he was found guilty of **** for **** sake, and your moaning over comparatively tedious ****.

 

I'm fan of anyone is going to erase Valuev from boxing perpective