The character of Medvedev, the triumph of Nurmagomedov and the success of the players: how Russian athletes make you proud of yourself

Nurmagomedov's incredible ratings and record fee

The start was made by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who held the second defense of the lightweight champion belt of the most prestigious mixed martial arts promotion in the world - UFC. In a difficult fight, a native of Dagestan beautifully dealt with the American Dustin Porrier and gave a holiday to all of Russia. In Dagestan itself, every success of a fighter is almost celebrated as New Year's - the athlete’s victories are accompanied by mass celebrations and fireworks.

At the same time, Khabib was not prevented from gaining either exhausting weight loss (about eight kilograms in the last two days preceding the weighing procedure), or increased responsibility, because the fight took place in Abu Dhabi, where local fans did not hide their sympathy for the current champion, but preceded The main event of the evening is teammate fights.

Nurmagomedov coped. 28 fights - 28 wins, 12 of them in the UFC. He continues to write his name in the history of not only Russian sports, but also world-wide. Right now, the Dagestani is one of the most popular athletes in the world, who managed to outshine even the shocking Conor McGregor to some extent. It is no coincidence that the Russian fee for the battle with Porrier amounted to a record $ 6 million, and we are talking only about guaranteed payments. Even the Irishman hadn’t received so much before.

In Russia, Nurmagomedov is now one of the most popular people in general. So, on Instagram, after defeating Dustin, he already became the country's new leader in the number of subscribers, ahead of Olga Buzova.

Eloquent and broadcast figures. The first channel decided to show the fight live and did not regret it. According to the Mediascope and TV Index, broadcasts collected a share of 23.7% in Moscow and 20.7% in Russia among viewers over four years old. And the daily traffic to the site on September 7 turned out to be four times higher than usual figures at once and amounted to 4.6 million visitors.

But this is not important, but the fact that Khabib truly returned to Russia the interest in mixed martial arts, which was essentially lost after the failures of Fedor Emelianenko. Moreover, the paradox of the situation is that the real popularity came to the latter just after the first high-profile defeats. However, Emelianenko, unlike Nurmagomedov, did not play in the UFC.

The eagle is at its peak and continues to win. Although the 30-year-old fighter announced that he plans to conduct 30 fights and end his career, he seems to be ready to delight fans for more than one year. And thousands of boys in Russia and not only looking at the idol will make a choice in favor of sports.

Popular love and class victories

After the successful World Cup, the footballers of the Russian team turned into real idols. It seemed that after such a bright tournament the team will inevitably be in decline. This was confirmed by a misfire in the League of Nations. However, in the Euro 2020 qualifying tournament, the wards of Stanislav Cherchesov again appeared as a formidable force. In the opening match they won five victories in a row and practically guaranteed themselves to be in the final stage of the continental championship.

And if the triumphs in the meetings with Kazakhstan, San Marino and Cyprus should not surprise anyone, then the success in the away game with Scotland was a pleasant surprise. On the one hand, Russia was still a favorite. On the other hand, in previous years such a match would have been expected in a country with undisguised excitement, especially considering that the meeting took place on the road.

But the team won the class, despite the ball conceded in the opening, and demonstrated beautiful football. Even when the hosts took the lead, there was no doubt that Cherchesov’s wards would succeed, and this happened.

Thus, the Russian team was not only able to vividly perform in a single tournament, but also confirmed its class. And in this regard, it can be compared with the national team of the Euro 2008 model. The only difference is that the team of Guus Hiddink did not get to the 2010 World Cup, and the current team did without its Maribor.

And the leaders of the current team seemed to replace the former: Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and other heroes. Perhaps the link between the teams is 36-year-old Yuri Zhirkov, who was one of the best both in the match with Scotland and in the meeting with Kazakhstan.

Well, the main star of the team, of course, remains Artyom Dziuba, whose popular love is truly enormous. It’s even hard to remember which Russian football player in the country would be so adored. The apotheosis of this love is an icon depicting a striker brought by one of the fans to a hotel in Kaliningrad.

Much more often they scolded the national team, but in recent years they have been convinced that the situation may turn out differently, and the footballers have become real favorites from outcasts. And it is much more pleasant when the national team is praised, rather than discussed, by the huge salaries of the players. And now the victories of the national team rally the country.

The battle to the end and successor to Safin

Well, on Sunday, tennis player Daniil Medvedev almost created a sensation. He made it to the finals of the US Open and nearly beat Rafael Nadal. Moreover, the Russian, who was considered a clear outsider, managed to win back from the score 0: 2 in sets and forced the favorite in the fifth installment, although at some point he was hopelessly inferior.

And the 23-year-old Russian did not have enough to beat the 19-time winner of the Grand Slam Tournaments and the real legend of world tennis. Moreover, the broadcast of the match, as well as the battle of Nurmagomedov, was conducted by Channel One, and many Russians watched the match to the very end with bated breath. Some went to bed, not believing in a miracle, and in the morning they regretted it.

It seemed that for a long time Russian tennis will not have persons of the level of Evgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin, but now such a person has appeared. Medvedev walked a long time in promising places, but his unconditional talent was noted by everyone.

And on the US Open, all the stars came together. Yes, Daniel could not win, but he showed a real Russian character that could not go unnoticed. Now the country has a new hero. It is symbolic that just Safin commented on the meeting, and many also noted his work as an expert.

It is pleasant that Russian athletes are so actively pleased with their compatriots, because their success is an occasion for sincere, not ostentatious pride. Children trying to imitate Dziube, Nurmagomedov and Medvedev after some time may become their successors, as happened with their idols.