I don't like boxing........

 

I don't like watching the sport of boxing. That is not to say that I don't appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that boxers go through , not just in their matches but in their training and their dedication to their sport, I do! I have the highest admiration for their courage and discipline. It;s just that I can't stomach people inflicting pain on another living creature, be it an animal or a person. I can't remember ever being slapped as a child, so physical punishment is just not in my psyche.

So why was my alarm set for 5.45 am on a Sunday morning? 

To watch the lightweight Women's boxing final in the Olympics. Yes of course I'd heard of Kellie Harrington before these games but having seen her postfight interviews over the past weeks I have developed an overwhelming admiration for her, not just as a sports star, but also as a role model and a down right amazing person.

So I was on the couch with a cup of tea and a slice of toast in hand to watch the final. Now as I have never watched these fights before I'm not au fait with the scoring process. I assume you get points for making contact with your opponent and you get more points if you get their head??? I am open to correction.

So there I was, a totally non-violent person, shouting at the screen

"Hit her!! Good punch."

and actually hoping that Kellie would knock out her opponent, as I gathered from the commentators that it was one round each and the third round was the deciding factor.

And I think that's why  boxing makes me uncomfortable. It makes me turn completely against my own set of values and I become someone who bays for another person's blood.

And so it was that I screamed with delight when Kellie was announced as Olympic champion.

Apologies to the neighbours if I woke you.

The scenes at Kellie's home on Portland Row were magical. I loved it when Marty asked her mother

"Kellie lost the first round. What were you thinking during the second and third ones?"

And Kellie's mother answered, completely deadpan

"I don't know. I wasn't watching it. I was sitting in the back garden."

That sums up An Irish Mammy!