Matt Watson – Marlin Wrestler Lives by the Sword …
Imagine waking up this morning, turning on one of those boring network morning shows, and … seeing some guy riding the back [ppw id=”133617382″ description=”Marlin Riding” price=”.10″]
of a Marlin. OK, I’m awake now.
Mat Watson was interviewed from Auckalnd, New Zeland about his sensational show The Ultimate Fishing Show, and let’s just say I am trying to access his web site right now, and the server is … slightly busy.
What possible gain can a guy jumping out of a helicopter onto the back of chummed Marlin possibly be for the fishing community? Well, right now on other blogs and boards posters are furiously preparing their posits about; inhumanity, abuse, man against nature, nature against man, New Zelanders, beer born brainstorms and who know what else.
There really is an upside though. It brings attention to fishing (which is documented to be in decline), and it brings a shot of adrenalin to a sport which can be (unintentionally) depicted as a comic game of “yank the Bass, pump the fist fish in one hand, and shout” loud enough for everyone to hear – a Jim Kramer salutation. The old saying “all free publicity is good publicity” plays here. If I could buy stock in this guy Matt Watson, I would do it right now. Watch the buzz build, and I’m not talking about his, or his beer buddies buzz either.
There’s only one drawback; Live by the Sword(fish), die by the Sword(fish). Let us not forget Steve Irwin, and his untimely demise by a much milder means. The Ultimate Angler videos appear to be just a notch or two above amateur, and the thought processes that lead to these fish brained stunts, do lead one to think it’s only a matter of time before a Great White shows up to take a chunk out of the celebrity’s rising star. In listening to Watson talk about what he’s doing, he seems to have plenty of respect for the fish, and their place in the chain, but beer brained ideas like jumping out of a helicopter onto the back of a Marlin … just make sure Mr. Marlin doesn’t look up. Maybe the cameras will be there to get the whole thing, and sell it for a quadrillion dollars.
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Category: Life Observed
