Why Does The Irish Media Hate Conor Mcgregor?

wonderfullife

Pussyhands wrote: »

Thank god everyone doesn't give up their job to follow their passion otherwise we'd have a nation of dole recipients and no one to fill our jobs.

It's dumb advice to tell people to follow their dreams. For every McGregor there's tens of thousands of people who failed.

And for those tens of thousands (myself included), I can look at Conor as a guy who constantly failed on his way to success and didn't give up.

You can apply that message to everything, whether it's a bad Leaving Cert, bad college results, rejected in job applications.

Keep going. Keep failing until you succeed.

freshpopcorn

D.Q wrote: »

Surely you can see why there would be a difference in his attitude in these different situations.

The socks tucked into his pants comment is baffling. How does that make him look rough?

My point was that's why some people don't seem to like him and they rarely see the likable side of him.


Regarding the socks tucked into pants look. It's just another look that doesn't come across well. If you see a bunch of young lads going around with there tracksuits tucked into there socks there generally up to no good. (It's one thing when somebody is out in a pitch/field trying to keep there pants dry)

Icelandicseige

Icelandicseige wrote: »

I agree with all of this great post..

It's a tough one that I can't quite put my finger on. I want to say it's begrudgery but I don't think that word is fitting. The GAA comes to mind and the people who follow that religiously are of the same etos..,, who shake their head at Mc gregor.

There was a ceremony for Irish sports person of the year I think Mc gregor was up against Austin Gleeson from waterford hurling team and I think the o Donovan brothers were nominated as Well... imagine giving it to any of them instead of McGregor.. not one should of been nominated with him he should of just been handed it..
There wasn't much of an applause when the news was read out either and McGregor knew it was best not to attend I feel and sent a video of appreciation instead which was very smart of him...

Listen to any GAA player talking to the media no matter what county and just hear them throw out the same shiite over and over...'''' Sure I suppose we new it was going to be a hard day against a tough team ''''. And and and ahhhh sure look it, we will go back to the drawing board and come back next year''''' ehh ehh

They are half afraid to say anything like robots they are.. at least McGregor brings a bit of personality and individuality to the table.

Il add one more bit to this to poster road-high.. John kavangh said in an interview once that 5% of his gym goers are fighters the rest are just in it for fitness / self defence and live regular lives with full time jobs I.e normal average people NOT 'Dutch gold drinkers as you emplied...

BuilderPlumber

Both Conor McGregor and Mixed Martial Arts have divided people into groups of fanatic fans and fanatic opponents. And then there's the media!

The media as we know handpick certain individuals they will push all the way. They will either ignore or criticise others. CMcG does not fit with what the Irish media want which is tameness and blandness. Tame boybands, tame modern country music trash, etc. is what they want to portray and they find cute little sports-stars like the O'Donovans who too hold a cleancut image. One thing CMcG is not is bland and cleancut. He is the polar opposite and is therefore the opposite to what current Irish media sell. Because he is the polar opposite, I have to say I like CMcG overall. Flawed he is certainly but he worked hard with little media support to get where he is.

Pussyhands

Axwell wrote: »

The reasons are simple why both the media and a certain percentage of the population dont like him.

1. He's involved in MMA - a lot of people do not follow the sport to the same levels they do other Irish Sports. Plenty also have their own assumptions on MMA based on what they hear on Joe Duffy or an opinion its a bloodsport or glorified cock human fighting without having ever watched a fight. But that's a discussion for another day.

UFC is a ****ty company anyways. It's WWE for after hours.

Name me another sport where the sportsmen competing against each other can win different amounts based on negotiation with the owner of the company?

Pussyhands

wonderfullife wrote: »

And for those tens of thousands (myself included), I can look at Conor as a guy who constantly failed on his way to success and didn't give up.

You can apply that message to everything, whether it's a bad Leaving Cert, bad college results, rejected in job applications.

Keep going. Keep failing until you succeed.

I wonder what you think about Conors quote about not having talent, just obsession. Basically saying it's hard work that got him where he is.

Yet if someone told a plumber if he worked harder he'd be a better employee and get better jobs you'd probably get a smack in the jaw.

Conor had a big marketing team behind him very early on.

There's other irish guys in the UFC who never got the backing Conor did. Joe.ie had their logo all over his arse in his first fights sure.

eeguy

Pussyhands wrote: »

UFC is a ****ty company anyways. It's WWE for after hours.

Name me another sport where the sportsmen competing against each other can win different amounts based on negotiation with the owner of the company?

Boxing

Pussyhands wrote: »

I wonder what you think about Conors quote about not having talent, just obsession. Basically saying it's hard work that got him where he is.

Yet if someone told a plumber if he worked harder he'd be a better employee and get better jobs you'd probably get a smack in the jaw.

Are you for real? Are you actually saying that hard work doesn't pay off?
If a plumber worked hard and well he could set himself up as a contractor and have a few lads under him. You'd make a fair chunk that way. I know a few people doing it.

mdwexford

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

He's terribly boring for a large amount of people.

A few curse words and a load of shouting does not make somebody interesting.

Try and educate yourself a bit if you are going to comment.

Pussyhands

eeguy wrote: »

Boxing

Are you for real? Are you actually saying that hard work doesn't pay off?
If a plumber worked hard and well he could set himself up as a contractor and have a few lads under him. You'd make a fair chunk that way. I know a few people doing it.

Pretty sure most of the working class people hate Varadkar for his "getting up in the morning" comments a few months back.

Do you think people on the dole should just work harder to find jobs?

Hard work wasn't the only thing to get McGregor where he is. Luck, talent, timing all equally important. If the UFC was only 1 year old McGregor wouldn't be where he is.

eeguy

Pussyhands wrote: »

Pretty sure most of the working class people hate Varadkar for his "getting up in the morning" comments a few months back.

Do you think people on the dole should just work harder to find jobs?

Hard work wasn't the only thing to get McGregor where he is. Luck, talent, timing all equally important. If the UFC was only 1 year old McGregor wouldn't be where he is.

And if UFC wasn't invented he'd be doing something else.
And if the internet wasn't invented we would have this discussion.

Whataboutery isn't going to get you anywhere.

Bill Gates attributed all his success to luck.
Luck of having wealthy parents
Luck of getting a school with a computer
Luck of getting a computer with shoddy security where he could get unlimited time on it, etc etc etc.

Pussyhands

eeguy wrote: »

And if UFC wasn't invented he'd be doing something else.
And if the internet wasn't invented we would have this discussion.

Whataboutery isn't going to get you anywhere.

Bill Gates attributed all his success to luck.
Luck of having wealthy parents
Luck of getting a school with a computer
Luck of getting a computer with shoddy security where he could get unlimited time on it, etc etc etc.

You agree with me so.

Clegg

Axwell wrote: »

The reasons are simple why both the media and a certain percentage of the population dont like him.

1. He's involved in MMA - a lot of people do not follow the sport to the same levels they do other Irish Sports. Plenty also have their own assumptions on MMA based on what they hear on Joe Duffy or an opinion its a bloodsport or glorified cock human fighting without having ever watched a fight. But that's a discussion for another day.

2. He has a mouth, is brash, in your face and says what he thinks when in front of the camera in relation to fights. The majority of his interviews people see are online on youtube, on American tv, at press conferences or on world tours promoting fights where everything is hyped up and over the top. When he is on the Late Late Show or simialr he is a far more pleasant individual but you can count the number if times he has been interviewed on Irish media like that on one hand.

3. Where he is from, how he talks and who he grew up with. Granted as someone else pointed out other sports stars have grew up in rough areas but when when you factor in point 1 and 2 point 3 gives people an added reason to not like him.

4. We Irish love a good rant or to complain about things - sure where would boards or Joe Duffy be without it!

This thread in itself is a perfect example - loads of posts on here from people that have never posted in the MMA forum before, or at least not in the last few weeks about the McGregor Mayweather fight because they dont follow MMA or Boxing and dont have an interest in the sport. But they know who Conor McGregor is an have an opinion on him and why they dont like him, and like him or hate him as long as you are talking about him you can be sure Conor McGregor is smiling all day, every day.

I don't disagree with your post. There is somewhat of an anti MMA atmosphere in Ireland amongst people who only see it as bloodsport. But McGregor is one of the best athletes Ireland has ever produced and I think he achievements are respected somewhat.

The problem I have with your post is that it fails to mention the rather obvious reason for why people dislike the guy. He has said some horrible things and acts like a prick. Favelas, Nazi's, racial stereotypes. These remarks can't be swept under the carpet

Axwell

Clegg wrote: »

I don't disagree with your post. There is somewhat of an anti MMA atmosphere in Ireland amongst people who only see it as bloodsport. But McGregor is one of the best athletes Ireland has ever produced and I think he achievements are respected somewhat.

The problem I have with your post is that it fails to mention the rather obvious reason for why people dislike the guy. He has said some horrible things and acts like a prick. Favelas, Nazi's, racial stereotypes. These remarks can't be swept under the carpet

I am not saying they should be swept under the carpet but I don't believe that it is the primary reason people dislike him or at least wasnt to begin with. In my opinion they already disliked him on points 1-3 pretty much from the beginning of his career in the UFC and those who werent aware of him from Cage Warriors etc got their first glimpse of Conor McGregor. In the early stages of the UFC he quickly gained a huge amount of people (and media attention) who hated him for the points I made before comments like you highlighted started becoming part of his interviews, media tours and press conferences in later fights.

eeguy

Pussyhands wrote: »

You agree with me so.

I agree with you that McGregor and many others get to where they are through a combination of hard work, talent and luck.

I disagree with you when you said he should have been happy as a plumber and not chased his dreams.

TBH I don't think you even know what you're talking about any more, since you've flip flopped so many times and tried to deflect when you were caught out, resorting to strawman arguments and talking about Varadker

melty melty beautiful wickedness

MMA is barbaric and McGregor is thuggish and uncouth.

He's not a gentleman although he does wear a suit.

It's easy to dislike someone like that. He's like a missing triplet from those Pear twins!

Smiley faces on them.

A Rogue Hobo

Some of it is just people who are ill informed and ignorant about the sport of MMA and look at it as a bloodsport for thugs (but usually still enjoy boxing for whatever reason). Some of it also unfortunately is that the stereotype of us being a nation of begrudgers rings somewhat true sometimes. Instead of looking at one of our own doing great for himself financially and thinking to themselves, 'good for him, glad he's flying our flag' they instead bitterly say to themselves 'I hope he gets whats coming to him someday, the fecker'.

Sad but true.

Sofiztikated

Pussyhands wrote: »

UFC is a ****ty company anyways. It's WWE for after hours.

Name me another sport where the sportsmen competing against each other can win different amounts based on negotiation with the owner of the company?

Forget about it being "winnings" but what he earns.

When I worked in hotels, I got paid more than others at a similar level, because I worked harder, and negotiated a better contract.

You'd do the same, if you could.

Look at football, Premiership teams with at least 11 people, and each one gets paid differently, win or lose.

Is the UFC **** to work for? Possibly, maybe, I don't know. But some of that can be contributed to the fact MMA fighters aren't covered by the Ali act, like boxers are.

Could the MMA fighters form a union, and better things for themselves? Absolutely, and maybe it's needed.

Has he said some things that are dubious/****ty? Absolutely. But the latest "racist" angle, was just trying to stir **** for the sake of stirring ****.

Is he brash, and loud? Yes. No doubt about it. Should he apologise for being that way? Why should he. Cultivating that has made him rich, he's earned him and his family more than I'll ever see.

Eyes Down Field

Good aul Irish begrudgery

Straight Talker

Richard Hillman wrote: »

He makes middle ages to older people quite uncomfortable. He's not a diddly-eye Irishman that has this persona of false modesty and playing themselves down. He is a product of Celtic Tiger Ireland. A man that never lived in the begorrah times of feeling insecure and inferior to others.

It's a change of the guard and the old timers are frightened of it.

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool: btw Im under 35 so it's not just middle aged to older people.;)

eeguy

Straight Talker wrote: »

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool:

It's all an act to build hype.
He doesn't represent Ireland so he can't really be a disgrace to us.
Mayweather will probably flatten him, or they'll draw so they can redo the whole job and make more money.

Django99

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

Good aul Irish begrudgery

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

Saw a good one the other day..king of the skangers..it's a strange phenomenon though overall..just the absolute adoration..its kind of tragic..is it kind of an evolution of the whole football fanatic thing..and it's hilarious that its all because he read the secret too..anyway, yeah, I think its symptomatic of societal degeneration..

I await the chorus..

endacl

cletus wrote: »

We're living in a bubble here. The vast majority of the Irish population don't give a shït about Conor McGregor either way. He enters their consciousness in only the most oblique of manners, if at all.

I sat at a table yesterday with six work colleagues , male and female and a variety of ages. Talk of the fight came up, mostly centered around the money being made. I was asked my opinion on the fight, but unanimously they declared mma not a real sport, too barbaric etc.

Regarding the media, their job is to sell content to the public, so that content mirrors the interest of that public

That'd be me. Overwhelmed with indifference. Best of luck to him, but only really in the 'best of luck to anybody I don't know doing something I'm not really interested in' sense. Don't really have an opinion on the 'barbaric' bit. If the lads want to bate lumps off each other, let them at it.

It's kinda the new football. All the young fellas are mad for it and getting silly haircuts.

wonderfullife

Straight Talker wrote: »

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool: btw Im under 35 so it's not just middle aged to older people.;)

So you're cheering for a guy with a string of domestic violence arrests? The guy who kicked the mother of his children in the face in front of the children and went to jail? The guy who beat the crap out of 2 female friends of his girlfriend?

Anyway, Conor won't "be put back in his box" in defeat. He is humble in victory and defeat, has faced defeats many times before. He has the 3rd fastest growing social media of any sportsperson on the planet behind only Messi and Ronaldo so he's going absolutely nowhere win, lose or draw.

It says a lot about people's irrational disliking of Conor that they'd rather cheer for a domestic-abuser.

A Rogue Hobo

Django99 wrote:

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

That's more to do with Mayweather's more than dubious past more than anything else. He's not exactly a role model. Plus also the amount of Irish that are there, and expats and Americans that identify themselves as part Irish through their family tree. Also Americans love a charismatic showman, look at Ali or Shaq. Like or hate McGregor you can't deny him of his charisma and showmanship.

NIMAN

For someone they supposedly hate, they give him some amount of coverage and column inches.

17togo

wonderfullife wrote:

People don't even bother to scratch the surface of his character and see the tremendous loyalty, kindness, humility, sacrifice and dedication in the man, all they want to see are the fight promotion antics which serve a very practical purpose in a sport where more people watching translates to more income to bring in for his family.

But this personal and antics are what the majority of us have to base our opinion on. This is the persona he has put out there and that's what he and his fans have to accept is what he's gonna be judged on. We can't rock up to his gaff when the cameras are off and chat to him and see what he's really like. Granted I know he doesn't give a rats arse what we think of him.

Since he came on the scene I've juggled with my opinion of him. After his first fight I thought he was class and very entertaining, but as he progressed he just got more insulting towards opponents. I understand this was his way of getting the big fights and paydays but I still found it hard to like. Riding on horseback into the favela and murdering people, looks like you had a stroke- aldo, I could rest my balls on your head - Mendes, midget German steroid head - siver and then all the mayweather stuff. Again I understand this is his persona for getting paid, but it's what he has to be judged on also.

With regards mainstream media I'd imagine it's a role model thing. He is not the type of guy they want to be promoting for younger audiences. I have 4 kids and I wouldn't want them listening to the way he talks to his opponents, opponents who have sacrificed as much if not more than him to be where they are but are just not willing to sell themselves in that way.

So in conclusion :-) ....... I don't like him, because of his persona. He's an exceptionally talented fighter and an animal of an athlete but I want to see him get beat, just to shut him up. Not because he's from Crumlin or Dublin or leinster. But just to shut him up, for a while. And I know mayweather is a scumbag but we won't have to listen to him as he's across the pond.

Axwell

Lads I would suggest some of you familiarise yourself with the charter particularly points on fighter bashing and trolling. Have an opinion and discuss it by all means but if you come in just to start calling fighters names you will be leaving as quickly..

Django99

A Rogue Hobo wrote: »

That's more to do with Mayweather's more than dubious past more than anything else. He's not exactly a role model. Plus also the amount of Irish that are there, and expats and Americans that identify themselves as part Irish through their family tree. Also Americans love a charismatic showman, look at Ali or Shaq. Like or hate McGregor you can't deny him of his charisma and showmanship.

To be honest I wasn't just trying to make the point that not liking someone's character (which is basically what McGregor and Mayweather are) does not mean begrudgery. It's a pet peeve of mine that anything negative said about successful Irish people is labelled as begrudgery.

I find myself somewhat in the middle as regards McGregor. I don't love him or hate him.

I respect his brilliant talent in MMA, I respect his showmanship which has gotten him a lot of respect and fame. I think he can come out with some good lines and his self belief and confidence is admirable.

However, I don't think he's a genius which is a word often used to describe him. I don't think he's as good an MMA fighter as some people believe, as he has weaknesses like pretty much all fighters do.

I don't really like what this Mayweather fight stands for and it annoys me that a fight like this will overshadow so many genuinely intriguing MMA or boxing mathches that are taking place either side of this fight.

I feel that the Irish media don't seem to like McGregor comes down to a few things. The main one being his brash personality, which is something we are not used to, and the Irish media don't really like new things. Also they don't seem to be fans of MMA in general which clearly doesn't help.

Outlaw Pete

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

A few curse words and a load of shouting does not make somebody interesting.

If that's all you're basing your judgement of him on.......then it's no wonder you feel the way you do about him.