HBO: You are Smart

For the past several weeks, my husband has been increasingly interested in the show “Pacquiao-Margarito 24/7” on HBO. And so, since we only have one TV in the house (shocker for some I realize) I was forced to watch the show as well.

But a funny thing happened – I was entertained.

The premise of the show is “behind-the-scenes” footage and real banter from the boxing camps of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Antonio “Tijuana Tornado” Margarito as they ready to fight each other last Saturday. It didn’t just show them in the boxing ring pummeling poor stand-ins hand picked to resemble their opponent’s style, but it truly was a 24-7 snapshot of their life. We saw each boxer eating family meals, traveling on business (very luxuriously) and arguing with their trainers.
We also saw the pressures on both contenders from outside sources, such as Pacquiao’s duty as a Congressman in the Philippines and the whole hand-wrapping incident from Margarito’s last fight that eluded him right up to fight time last Saturday.

I have to admit, it was pretty cool.

So we were almost saddened to watch the last episode as we will no longer have this insider look inside each boxer’s lives.

But then Saturday came around and my husband was debating if he should pay the $55 for the Pay-Per-View to watch the fight.

That’s a lot of money just to watch something live on your TV.

But HBO had us. They charmed us with the hype leading up to the fight and we had to know the outcome. We were already committed and involved in these boxer’s lives. We knew this was boxing history.

If HBO never created the “24/7” series, I know for certain I could’ve cared less about the outcome and would have screamed bloody murder if we paid $55 for the Pay-Per-View.

Instead, I stayed up late to watch two men pummel each other – and I cried out every time a glove made contact with my favored boxer.

And then I posted about it on Facebook. It was cool. HBO, you are pretty smart.