Nick Short
11-10-2005, 09:19 AM
Everyone knows that WWF wrestling is fixed, that is no secret! But as has been shown in the UK recently horse racing is fixed by jockeys paid to not try, or even jump off and pretend to be unseated, horses being doped etc; boxing is all about generating maximum income by fixing who fights who, and belts are handed out like lollies; it is suggested that the AFL disciplinary committee is an arm of the marketing department over the way it handled Hall's case prior to the final; in motorsport there have been suggestions for years that results and decisions are fixed. UK magazines said that the disqualification of the unpopular Sierras at Bathurst was solely to promote local boy Brock to a win (especially as the grounds for disqualification changed). In rallying decisions were made that benefitted Italian cars in Italy and French cars in France (Peugeot's side skirts in 1986 for instance, but many more examples - rallying was run by a Frenchman who made decisions based on personal and often secret reasons) decisions in V8s are suggested as being taken with one eye on the results table; and in F1 it seems odd that as Ferrari's dominance was leading to fans losing interest in droves (gate numbers down, TV audiences down), suddenly Michael Schumacher is "having a run of bad luck" and we're seeing lots of teams coming to the fore. There are billions of dollars at stake, and nothing will get in the way of that. Even the way that championships have frequently gone down to the last race have been suggested as a marketing ruse and not reflective of real results. I'm beginning to believe that there is an element of truth in the allegations about F1, as Bernie sees it as entertainment that generates mindboggling amounts of money for himself and therefore will do anything to maximise its exposure and money generating power.