Regarding New York...

[kenyan_cheena]

In relation to a fighter's hometown/place of birth, I've noticed the game has some listed as New York, while with others such as Riddick Bowe it'll actually say Brooklyn or it might say the Bronx for another. Just wondering, seeing as I always thought that Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, etc. were all part of NYC, when it just says New Yrok does that really mean Manhattan?

Thanks.

[Mark42661]

I spoke with my friend, who lives in New York, on the telephone this evening and mentioned your question. She actually lives in Flushing, which is part of Queens. Anyway...based on what she said, I think you are probably right. When a lot of people speak of New York City, they are often picturing in their minds that famous New York City skyline...which, of course, is mostly Manhattan. (Although it's hard to imagine that many fighters are born in Manhattan. It's more plausible that a fighter's hometown can be listed as Manhattan.)

Either that...or the exact burrough that a fighter hails from is not known when they have "New York" listed as hometown or place of birth. Or maybe they even hail from a small town in upstate New York somewhere.

Mark

[kenyan_cheena]

Thanks, Mark.

[zyberianwarrior]

in a way its a lot like athletes listing what colleges they play for when their name is announced ala MNF. More of pride than anything else. Brooklyn has pride, Queens, Bronx etc....So a fighter naming a particular spot burough or whatever is more of a hometown shoutout than anything else. Some just say NY or others say hey yo i'm from Brroklyn, Queens or whatever. I don't put much into it myself but I think thats all it is.

[Mark42661]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Thanks, Mark.

You're welcome

Although, after re-reading what I typed, I don't know if it was really much help to you. Actually, I think what zyberianwarrior said probably makes more sense.

Mark

[Syd Thrift]

It's also worth noting that, depending on how far back you're looking at the fighters, Brooklyn was not a part of New York City until the mid-1890s. Queens and the Bronx joined up quite a bit earlier but as noted they still maintain quite a lot of borough pride.

It's very much like the way Seattle was originally situated around West Seattle but then the movers and the shakers moved up to Seattle proper. Except for the fact that Seattle is like 1/1,000,000th the size of New York and it's not comparable at all. Seattle's original name was New York Alki, the last word of which means "by and by" in the local Native American language, which in turn means something along the lines of "is the name we have decided to give to our small town even though they are nothing alike at all".

[Jersey-Jim]

New York is very territorial! When they come over the bridge to Jersey we let them know they're not in New York anymore! lol

Truthfully, New York and boxing are so steeped in history, there was a time when neighborhoods bred champions and the local rivalries were as fierce as anything we see in modern times.

With boxing, New York can be compared to Europe. You don't say you live in Europe... you live in Italy, Germany, France, etc. That's how it was in New York as far as boxing goes!

[Syd Thrift]

London's similarly huge and has a much longer history of territoriality (given that it has a much longer history, period) but you don't really hear announcers say guys are from Southwark or Finsbury Park, just London period (granted that more blighted cities like Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle tend to be bigger origins for boxers than London town).

Not saying you're wrong, jj - I think you're spot on - it's just a strange aspect of a great city.

[David Ball]

Brooklyn in particular is really a special and unique case. Until the merger in 1899 it was a great independent city, the fourth largest in the US and more than half the size of New York itself. It was always New York's smaller twin city across the East River, but in any other location it would have been a metropolis. There can't be many other cases when a major city has increased its size and population at a stroke as dramatically as New York did, even proportionally, and certainly very few if any other cases of a city as large as Brooklyn being swallowed by a neighbor.

So Brooklyn entered the merger with the character and institutions of a major city, and after the merger it retained most of that. Deep into the 1950's Brooklyn had its own downtown shopping district. It had (and still has) a major art museum. Brooklyn had it own newspapers, not neighborhood advertising sheet but major metropolitan dailies, and its own major league baseball franchise, which in the 1940's and 1950'was the most famous team in American sports except the Yankees and perhaps the Notre Dame University football team.

The identification with Brooklyn was very strong on the part of its residents, therefore, and probably all the more so because even before the merger their city had been very much the junior partner. After World War II, old Brooklyn gradually died, but in large measure if not completely the identification with the boroughs remains. I have spent little time in New York in recent years, but I would guess people from the outer boroughs probably still talk about a trip to Manhattan as "going into the city."

[Jersey-Jim]

My father spent lots of time in Brooklyn growing up. Still have lots of family and friends in New York. I like the Jersey side better, but that's just me.

These days, I like Florida as a nice change and contrast.

[Mark42661]

Has anyone ever flown into La Guardia? I did for the first time back in 2003 and it was one of the most amazing and beautiful sights I'd ever seen. First you see the Statue of Liberty in the bay and then you look up a little and see this amazing city that just goes on for ever and ever...from one horizon to the other and just about as distant as the eye can see. Finally as you make your approach into La Guardia, you fly so low over the old Shea Stadium that if there was a baseball game going on, you'd be able to see how many runners were on the bases and whether they were players of the home or away team. The whole experience was every bit as breathtaking as seeing the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon for the first time.

There was a very sobering sight, however... from the observation deck of the Empire State Building you could look out and see the empty space where the Twin Towers should have been standing.

Anyway...not sure why...but just wanted to share this experience since we were talking about New York.

Mark

[zyberianwarrior]

never flown into larguardia (that I know of) but traveled all around NYC for a week in 2001 (before 9/11) saw a boxing er HOCKEY cup final game (Dallas vs NJ sweet game too) got a good grasp of the subway system and saw the necessary tourists sites as well had a ball. And Liek Jim Florida is my home now.

[Ric915]

Us New Yorkers definately have our pride. I was born and raised in the Bronx and have The Bronx tattood on my ankle along with the Yankees insignia tattooed on my arm. I haven't been back to New York in about 20 years and still consider myself a New Yorker and will until the day I die.