This has been a very emotional couple of weeks for me since eYada closed down on July 9. Sure, those who cherish the combat sports all like to act like tough guys 24/7, but we all know there is more to life than that. I must confess that I still am somewhat in a state of disbelief, as much as I was aware of eYada's problems and as much as its demise, like so many other Internet companies, was not a surprise to me.
I learned of its closing, as many know, while commencing a working vacation. I still have not had the physical and mental rest I had hoped to get and so sorely needed on this vacation. It's almost like I'm merely on vacation, just a few days away from showing up Monday through Friday, 3 to 5 PM Eastern Time, to speak my piece, to set up interviews and then conduct them, to read e-mails, and to pull together a heap of news from mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, and related subjects like the Olympics. But after about 400 shows and over 1000 interviews, and after transforming the show to include regular segments and coverage on boxing, that ain't gonna happen.
The "No Holds Barred" show on eYada is in the past. I am trying to work to reestablish some type of combat sports show somewhere, somehow, in some medium other than stand-alone Internet "radio," a venue that just doesn't make economic sense today, unless, of course, you can afford to do it for free. I can't, not now, anyway. I have received a blizzard of suggestions, and am investigating each and every one of them. That said, right now nothing has panned out, and I do not know where I will land.
It is thus with a mixture of humility, satisfaction, and sadness that I have decided to reproduce a selection of some of the e-mails I received when news of eYada's closure spread. I have already answered each and every one of the e-mails I received. I was contacted by many well-known names throughout many of the combat sports, and truly appreciated that. But what touched me most, and also again revealed the degree to which combat sports affect people in ways that other sports and endeavors do not and cannot, was the outpouring of support from the fans and listeners of the show from around the world. It is those e-mails, slightly edited as I did on the show to preserve privacy, that I am reproducing below. As you read them, you will see once again why I always said our listeners were the most intelligent group of fight fans on the Internet.
What is the point of this? I felt the overwhelming reaction I received was a story in itself, a tale I would have liked to read had the subject not been me. Notice when you read them how many people also extended support for Al Gattullo, my tireless producer. The show became a phenomenon unto itself, and its passing touched many people deeply. I guess talking about the combat sports, and striving simply to tell the truth each and every day, were so different from whatever else people were experiencing that the show's end left a void in people's lives, and not just a void in their sources of information.
Hosting this show and affecting so many people was thus an honor. I want to be back, and soon. Maybe these e-mails will light a fire somewhere. And maybe they can help spur a collective discussion of just how we can shore up and expand our media, so much of which seems to be hanging by the thinnest of threads, like the one that just broke at eYada.
Any ideas are more than welcome. So keep sending those e-mails, to eddieg@maxfighting.com.
THE E-MAILS
Eddie, godamit, I just started listening to your show last week, and then I signed up for the newsletter, and wouldn't you know it--my FIRST e-mail newsletter tells me that the show will no longer be on. Damn, and I LOVED the show already!!
Michael
Hi Eddie,
I have been a long time listener to your show since your first day at Eyada with the Guy Mezger interview. You have provided me with hours of entertainment and information that I used to battle ignorance against MMA. You have become a great friend through the internet and I am truly sadden by the news that Eyada is no more. Eddie, please get back on air soon with big Al. We love you and we'll keep fighting the good fight.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Henry, Vancouver, Canada
Dear Eddy,
I was very saddened to hear of the closing of eyada.com. I was a frequent listener of your show and its departure is obviously a huge loss for MMA fans. Your vast knowledge of the sport made you the perfect host. Hopefully, there will be an another opportunity to host another show on another station.
Hang in there!
Steve
Thanks for all the great shows. I work at home, so I tuned in almost every day to hear your show. I will really miss it. I loved hearing my emails being read and discussed. I hope to see you on more MMA shows. Maybe Pride can hire you to lend some legitimacy to that organization. I know you'd love working with Bas. Thanks for the straight shooting. I asked some really tough questions that you didn't hesitate to read. You have my respect.
Take care Eddie, keep sporting that love for the combat sports.
Your favorite fan...Tom
Hi Eddie, I just heard the sad news about the closing of Eyada!!
Damn, you were the best and at the forefront of your field.. New Beginnings my friend and this just might be a blessing in disguise as MMA is legalizing everywhere and many more opportunities will arrive for a man of your qualifications..
What I am thinking is to enter TV as well as getting another gig with an internet radio show.. How about working with the FC fighter TV show or the new show that Zuffa is planning!! I hear that a new FC fighter show will be coming on this fall in Canada.. That's perfect for you.. also, please approach ESPN radio to see if any opportunities can arise for a MMA show on their Radio network.
Keep your head up and stay positive, thanks for all the great work and more to come in the near future !! Your friend, Ravi from Toronto!
** By the way, I still owe you a few beers to celebrate the UFC getting back on cable**
Damn I never thought I would be emailing you like this. Man I can honestly say that listening to your show was one of the points looked forward to in my day. I know I possibly overstated my opinion many many times, but that's how it is when you can finally express yourself. Not to mention be part of something that you love. Damn, what am I going to do now ? What I'm more concerned is,"What are you going to do now?" Your the best journalist of this sport. You can't just be UNEMPLOYED. Naw, it doesn't suit you at all. You and Al is the team. It's just not right for the show to end like this. I really just wanted to thank you for all you've given me. Your show really did make me feel like I was part of this. Correction : you made me feel like a part of this. You and Paula didn't have to but you gave a kid so much. A chance to be on the inside with nothing but his heart and mind to offer. You gave me a voice and honestly it has made a difference. A real difference all around. I won't forget the time you put me on the show. I appreciate that with all my heart. I know all the emails and opinions were annoying at times but I had fun.
I honestly do believe in God and Fate. I think that this couldn't have come at a better time. With getting back on In Demand and the end of the cable ban, and the rise into mainstream, I think it's an appropriate time for your internet talk show to end. Kinda think of it as forced evolution. A sign. With the mainstreaming coming, it's time we all thought mainstream. I don't think we can be underground anymore. I think we all have to be commercial. We have to think commercial. And you're the top journalist in this sport, and I think it's time you got on cable tv with this sport. I think you were on A.M sports radio. Better yet, I think it's time you had your own tv show that was had the sound broadcast live over the radio and over the internet. But who knows, I would start out with a A.M. sports radio format first. Their has to be a sports station that is interested in combat sports in NYC.
How are you going to get to the shows for now on? If you have to watch on PPV, I'll go watch them with you and Paula at Timeout, if they are still open. Ahh hell it won't be hard anymore I hope. Still don't know about cablevision though. Dude, seriously if you need anything do not hesitate to let me know. I owe ya one !!!
With much heart,
Gabriel
I am amazed that eYada has gone. I just have started to listen to it regularly as well as for my English lesson. It was a rare opportunity to listen to fighter's real voice. I hope to utilize your talking ability somewhere else soon. Was it also sudden to you?
NISHIJIMA Toru, Tokyo
Hi Eddie,
I am crushed to say the least. I'm kind of in the same boat with my own business. As I say to people who ask how it's going: "call me in January, and I answer the phone, it's going well".
I was wondering if you and Al had considered doing the same type of thing John Lewis is doing on a local New York station. Most of us who can access EYada can access inumerable radio stations through the internet. You could easily get the word out through Maxfighting, FCF, and ADCC. I'm sure there are alot of local stations with internet broadcasting that would like to pick-up your worldwide listeming audience to get the advertising revenue, and it could be taped for rebroadcast at odd hours so other parts of the world can listen, like they do with other sports radio. I don't know if there is money in it, but I am certain there are a number of loyal fans who will listen faithfully.
We'll be waiting.
Morgan
hey eddie, this is charles. We met for a lil bit at
ufc32. I'm one of your biggest supporters. Is there any way that
maxfighting could pick up the show? Do they have the funds? Maybe UFC
could sponser the show. You do more for MMA than anyone ever.
Now there is a major void in my life from 3-5 everyday. not to mention
the countless hours that I ponder what was said during the course of the
show :). Hopefully everything will work out for you.
Hope to hear from you soon.
-Superman
Eddie,
I just wanted to e-mail ya and tell you thanks for the 21 months. The show was great and I was surprised and saddened to hear that eyada had folded. With our sport we don't have the sportcenters and other shows for our news so your were our means and I once again just wanted to say thanks. People like you are the reason I know this sport will survive and thrive in the future.
Thanks again
Jon
Eddie,
From the start to the ending I listened to your NHB show on eyada constantly. The loss of eyada and the show will be great. Like most there are many things I both agreed and disgreed with on the show. But all and all it was a great show and something that made my lunch hour very enjoyable. Keep up the great work and hopefully another incarnation of your show comes to fruition.
Best
Joe from Torrance
Eddie.
I was a long timelistener of your 'No holds barred' show on eYada, and have learned of its apparent demise. I would just like to let you know that your show was truly one of brilliance and always gave the 'combat sports', as you dubbed them, an aura of intelligence that seems to be lacking in much of the mainstream coverage on them, especially in regards to the quote-unquote "human cockfighting" advertisements that the UFC has been marred with since the beginning. Anyways, I thought I would send you some email showing you some gratitude for the hard work you have put in during the last few years giving this industry a lot of credibility and always having incredible guests, including my favorites interviewees Tadashi Tanaka and Tito Ortiz, and offering intelligent and in-depth discussion of the combat sports and the issues therein. I would like to wish you the best of luck with future endeavors and to let you know I will continue reading your columns on the 'net and that I am looking forward to the next time you are able to have a radio show broadcast.
Best of luck and Thanks for the hard work.
Marshall, Iowa, USA
Eddie,
I'm sorry to hear about eYada. As you know, I was a big fan of the show. I'd bet (read: hope / pray) that the UFC is going to grow exponentially in the near future, maybe they could use your talents in their organization. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you best of luck in your future endeavors. Let me know what you are doing. All the best.
Adam
hi eddie
commiserations from all the mma fans in wales, uk. you are THE mma source for us. We have mailed president bush and told him to sort it out, give you a job doing what you do best. respects eddie. if you are ever in the uk let us know and we will roll up the barrel.
chin up
hope it happens soon for you fellah
mike swambo, big steve, waynno, rhianne, chiggy, sam, sy,llewellyn, rick no mind loont, stone monkey, chris, squab, hairy dave, knobby, tom and all the regulars at submission fighting wales in cardiff.
Even sadder than the fact I will no longer be able to enjoy your show ( I listened every day) is the fact that such hard times have fallen on one of the truly unappreciated pioneers of mixed martial arts. I can't believe that after work I will not be able to come home and listen to the archives of your show just hours after they were on. I wish you the very best in the future, and if there is any way that we the fans can help you out please let us know.Mr.Goldman, you are one of the reasons mma did not fade out of exsistence and why mma is headed for the mainstream. I look foward to future articles on maxfighting and Grappling magazine. I hope you will be able to compensate for the absence of eyada.com and find new fulfilling work. Who knows, maybe in a couple of months when mma is mainstream you will be back on the radio, or even t.v. Yeah, that's what I want to see,
Eddie Goldman on t.v. Anyway, good luck to you and I wish you the best.
a true fan of Eddie Goldman,
Dan
Dear Mr. Goldman,
Hello, my name is Ismael and I'm a huge fan of MMA. I always listened to your radio broadcasts especially when it had to do with the UFC and Pride. Not to long ago I e-mailed the show for the first time when Tito Ortiz was your guest on July 6th. I couldnt believe when you were reading e-mails I heard "Pumas96"
I was like "that's me!" When you read the part about Elvis Sinosic being the "King of Crock and Crumble" it even made Tito chuckle. I am very sorry to hear about Eyada going down. Your show help put MMA on the map and it really helped keep it there. Although the show will no longer be there it will be remembered through all the fans, and we will get the word out on MMA. Take care Eddie and I wish the best of luck to you in your future.
Ismael
Mr. Goldman/Eddie:
Sorry to hear Eyada and NHB with E.G. is done. I liked listening to NHB show when working at my desk. Their is nothing like hearing the fighters' own words on the issues as well as the insights the show brought to issues in the sport in a truly "No Words Barred" fashion .
It's too bad. I believe like many have said on your show that NHB contests are ready for primetime and someday will surpass boxing as the premier combat sport of interest. I think NHB with E.G. was just a bit ahead of its time because as the sport grows their will definitely be a growing market for the journalism to cover it. I would like to commend you on your fair and unbiased reporting of the sports. I think anyone that listened to the show had to be entertained at some of your bold statements about the people and events involved, such as Pride, and at the same time openly entertain any and all responses. The show's gone, I am glad I heard it.
What do you do now? Well, I guess what you need is people like me to write you email like this so you can show it to somebody and they can see people liked the show and listened to it so they want to put back on the air. The key is to be able to demonstrate a listener base = a market . I suggest you make a call for emails requesting such a show back on. The flood of requests you get should be able to convince someone to sponsor it. I think one of the dominent independent NHB sites is best. Obviously you couldn't report unbiased from a site like ufc.tv or kenshamrock.com. It looks like you're at the right new home at max as I think it will quickly become the premier site with Buffer and McCarthy behind it. I noticed it received alot of promotion on the UFC32 broadcast. I suggest you see about getting the old broadcasts from Eyada and posting them at max. From the hits you get on them you'll further be able to prove the interest in a new show.
When you get a show back on, because I know you will. I don't think it's important to do it live because until you can tap the internet wireless I would think the bulk of listeners listened from the archives like me.
I hope these comments helped or at least encouraged.
Keep Scrappin' Eddie
Fitch
Eddie,
I would have mailed you earlier except I have been hiding from the news and off the internet waiting for UFC 32 to arrive here in Australia. This is a sad day for MMA. Hopefully someone will get you going on audio interviews again.
Justin
Eddie,
Sorry to hear of the closer of eyada. As a wrestler and student of the mixed martial arts I am upset that the biggest voice of reason on the subject of combat sports has been shut down even if it is for what is hopefully a short time. I loved the show and will not know what to do with my afternoons while working at my desk. Had so much information to E-mail you about like the July 14th Pankration classes given by Ken Shamrock and others here in Denver, and the upcoming fight in California in which Nate Marquardt will hopefully become the next IFC World Champion. I don't know if you will be able to make the California fight, but if you do I would like to meet you, shake your hand and buy you a drink. Thanks for the great show and I look forward to reading your articles and wait for your return to the internet, radio or television.
Ken
please bring back eyada!!
Larry
Say it ain't so Eddie,
First, MMA is my passion and I truely thank you for all your efforts for the betterment of this beautiful sport. But I foresee this is only chapter one for you great MMA Guru. I know there are other passionate fans out there that will make a joint effort to put you back on the cyperspace waves.
Doesn't one MMA forum have over 38,000 users? Can you start up your own new Eddieyada or something. I would be happy to pay $5 to $20 a month to listen in. Take 1000 fans paying $10 a month to listen to your show, could you operate at 10,000 a month? Can you and Albuy eyada equipment? Do you need seed money to start? Let the fans know what would it take to put your ass at every MMA event so the rest can taste greatness while at our 9 to 5 death sentence?
He shall overcome, I would rather die tring than a life of wishing.
Good Luck,
Alan
MMA fan with every fiber of my being
well maybe thats too much?
Eddie,
Thanks, not only for this show but for the hundreds of articles that you have written. I have been following your work on different web sites and mailing lists. We will see you in some larger capacity in the future, maybe even with inDemand.
Thanks again 24 karat,
George
Eddie & Al,
Thank you so much for everything you’ve done over the years with No Holds Barred. You were always a bright spot in my day and it truly pains me to here that you’re going off the air. Please try to keep a contact list and contact all of us (I’m positive I’m not alone) when you can (please, please, please) resume broadcasting in some way, shape or form. I know that Eddie writes for Grappling magazine and Maxfighting.com. I will continue to read. Please keep us informed of any other irons in the fire.
Again thanks for sharing time in my life.
Very sincerely!
Ken
well eddie im sorry it had to end. you were a breath of fresh air. i loved your show an its format. being able to listen an talk to the premier fighters in the fighting sports was incredible. ive learned alot bout these fighters we couldnt have if it wasn't for you. take care an thanks for your contribution to the fighting sports . ill be keeping an eye out for you in some other medium . thanks again, wahoo
I just wanted to let you know how much i have enjoyed your talk show on eyada. Best luck and success in whatever you do. Please keep on writing.
Mark
to Eddie and Al.
Just to let you guys know that I think you've done an amazing job over the last couple of years. Your passion for the sport is evident in every show. Your show has linked up MMA fans around the world and given them a chance to learn more about all the participants and the politics behind the sport we love. Thank you very much, and good luck in the future guys.
Jason, Osaka, Japan
I'm really sorry to hear this. I also hope that there will be a rebirth of the Eddie Goldman Show somewhere, some how. Thanks for the shows of the past.
Bill
I am sorry to hear EYADA is no more.I was just recently introduced to it.It was probably the best info. on NHB around.I loved the show and the archives.You're the best Eddie.Good luck on finding somthing new.I will pray for somthing better to come along for you. P.S. Keep your head up high.
Charles
Dear Eddie,
Sorry to hear about Eyada shutting down. I loved your show and wish you the best of luck!
Mike
You are second to none. Keep your E-mailing lists so we can pick up where you left off. Looking forward to your new locale.
ESPN/Sporting News Radio
You should make a pitch to these guys for a week end show and all of the special commentary, editorials, and the whole package. Bert Sugar comes on with just boxing and they don't really do anything else. They have so much crap on. You could really give them an upgrade and a new audience.
I know you've thought of this. I just want to let you know I'm all for it. One vote in the Eddie column.
Pat, Norfolk, Va.
Yo, Ed whats up? Please,please,please tell me that what I've heard is untrue! Is the only place that supports MMA , and presents it to the masses outside of the hardcore fans being taken away? This cant be, not in this time when the sport leap from the shadows and into the spotlight!!!! Please NOOO !!!!
But if it is so then I'll just go back to the pics and text of mags and net. And if it is so thanks good the great show and I'll look forward to your printed work(or fight commentary,fingers crossed)
Thanks again Ed!!!!
dorian
I went to listen and Kaput Fini! Tell me it ain't so..
Bill
Hi Eddie I was a big fan of your show on eyada. It has been too long since I have been able to read great your work. You are by far my favorite journalist, I like your style, how you fight for what you believe in, and I trust you. I look on Maxfighting.com and sherdog.com everyday but I do not see anything from you or even about you. Am I looking in the wrong places?
Are there any plans for you to get a live show on the internet again? I thought maxfighting would have offered you a daily show on their website. I remember the first time i listened to your show. Tito Ortiz was on and talking about fighting Yuki Kondo. I always liked Tito so I e-mailed him a question, and to my surprise you read it to him. I could not believe it I was just a fan who wanted to ask my favorite fighter a question or two and you gave me that opportunity. After that first show i NEVER missed your show. I do not know if you ever really did understand how great your show was. Two hours everyday of mostly NHB news you cant get anything like that now, and much of the news was from the fighters themselves.
I hope you get your own show again soon.
Applejack
p.s. "Keep on supporting ALL the combat sports."