Who knew that the takeaway from what was billed as “The Fight of the Century” would be Joe Frazier’s jock strap?
Frazier won a 15-round unanimous decision at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971
It was the first time that two undefeated boxers fought each other for the heavyweight title, so why not a souvenir?
These days, apparently, there’s a market for anything.
Bidding ends this week for Smokin’ Joe’s jock. Added bonus: it remains unwashed.
Frazier died in 2011 but what better way to honour his memory? Besides, who wouldn’t want another man’s jock strap (unwashed) at an expected cost of God knows what?
What I wonder is where it gets hung when the bidding is over.
Will the winner wear it and if so, when?
Does it go in the house and if so, where? Over the mantle piece to replace the colonial mirror?
In his workout room? In the garage?,
In his bedroom? (Frazier was known as “Smokin’ Joe,” after all.)
What about the car? The rear view mirror?
I’m stumped
When I first heard the story, i wondered about the state of my sanity, never mind the people competing for an unwashed jock.
But a letter recently in the Globe and Mail provided some perspective.
The writer, Byron Allin of Ottawa, noted that at $3.58-billion, this year’s giant fire in Fort McMurray, Alberta was the country’s costliest-ever natural disaster for Canadian insurers.
“By comparison,” Allin wrote, “In the first 96 hours of the National Basketball Association’s free agency, more than $3-billion was handed out in contracts to players.
“I point this out to emphasize the level at which our society values professional athletes. In today’s society, the court jester is often paid more than the king, and the comparison of these two staggering numbers helps to highlight this point,” Allin concluded.
The bidding ends Thursday. The gloves Ali wore could draw as much as $1-million.
I confess to having no idea what Frazier’s jock will fetch, but there is a precedent.
A jock strap worn by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan during his seventh no-hitter reportedly once sold for $25,000, but Ryan was from Texas where they do things in a big way.
Frazier was from Philadelphia, where football fans once booed Santa Claus. So all bets are off.
Anybody else out there think something is just a bit amiss?
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