http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/09/18/ultimate.fighting.championship/index.html
Rich Franklin was a high school math teacher before he was introduced into "the ring". He fights people every night in an octagon shaped cage in front of thousands of people. He tells reporters, "I do love teaching and working with the students, but I can't imagine sitting at home on a Friday night grading math tests or sitting in a faculty meeting." This ties in with the Iliad because Rich is like Patroclus. At first he starts out not fighting really, just kind of being Achilles helper and servant type, and then after Achilles did not fight when the Acheans truly needed him, Patroclus went and fought. It's a little different for Rich, he just wanted more excitement in his life, where as Patroclus felt that he was compelled to bring home a victory for the Acheans.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Wow. Just wow. That is pretty darn cool, a math teacher becoming a... boxer? Fighter? I'm not really briefed on these kinds of things :) Anyway, that's so amazing that what happened in the Iliad can happen in real life. I totally agree with you with the comparison to Patrocles, and it's so amazing that what can happen thousands of years ago can happen now, especially since fighting is not nearly so emphasized in modern society. Unlike Patrocles, who was born to fight and was a defined fighter by himself even without Achilles, fighters these days are rather rare because of fighting for sport rather than war. That a high school teacher can shift into the mindset needed to train, fight, and win every day in modern times is amazing.
Woah, this is one crazy math teacher! Who would have ever thought that a math teacher was also a cage fighter! You made a very good observation on how this situation is just like The Iliad. This really shows that even things from over thousands of years ago can still be brought back today with a modern twist.
Post a Comment