Rise and Fall of the QFC Movement

Editorial by Roland Lawrence

It started with a novel idea:  a level playing field.  Big named managers with a history of running successful organizations decided it was time to wipe the slate clean, and give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed or fail in the ring.  No longer would you need a pile of money, an elitist private gym, and years of sequestered training to compete with the big boys.  Find you a rugged 25 year old good ol’ boy with an amateur history and delusions of grandeur, and get pounding in the ring.  Training?  Who needs it.  A strong chin and a heavy hand with some tactical prowess and luck, and you could run with the elite.

This manager found a thriving Quick Fight community upon entering the game a few months back, and couldn’t help but put together a few fighters of his own.  The money was crazy good for a new player, and there was definite excitement in the air.

Just this month, the biggest brawl of modern times broke out, but it wasn’t in the ring.  It was kind of like an old western bar room brawl, with a bunch of community members all too familiar with each other swinging fists, and smashing beer bottles. The argument:  How could these amateur boxers be considered in the same pound-for-pound class as the elite fighters?  It would kind of be like comparing Sugar Ray Leonard with Joe Blow.  Don’t know who Joe Blow is?  Neither does anyone else, and that was the point.

 And yet, people were now paying to see these smash-mouth amateurs face off in an epic $6 million dollar tournament!  But in reality, would they?  The locals at the 4 H sure would gather around the corrals to watch the good ol’ boys duke it out, but you can also be sure they wouldn’t pay anything to see it.  They might throw a $100 bet on their favorite here and there, but could it be worth $6 million?

 And so it became clear, that indeed, QFC had brought the game somewhat out of balance, and needed to be adjusted, brought a little lower.  Even the most invested of managers would have to be honest, and admit it was true.  But, with all change and regulation, comes argument, hard feelings and a few bashed heads.

QFC rose hard and fast, will it fall in the same manner, or will some embrace the reality of the changes, and admit what it really is?  An exciting amateur league, that although altered, need not depart.  Just this weekend my son and I, with about four hundred other spectators, paid $12 to go watch amateur boxing.  The organization made a little money, some perfectly non-elite athletes fought hard, and we all had some fun.

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