So, Jumkie , you actually see Rossi as evil personified no ? I'd call it a descent into paranoia, post PI which came out in the PC, followed up with an attack of the red mist in the race, Marquez was also culpable as he was not conducting his own race as he would normally, in cases of provocation like this, people react abnormally and I think you forget this, nobody is perfect and everybody has a tipping point.
I see Rossi complicit in leveraging the corruption of Dorna to create a rigged competition. I see Rossi using his influence and fanbase as a disgusting and cowardly weapon against rivals for their 'crime' of daring to realize their dreams of becoming motorcycle champions at the top level.
I've had this opinion over a decade, and have been repeating it since. There have been many events that have confirmed it, but up until 2015 it was difficult to make the case until Rossi had his revealing public meltdown, up until then when push came to shove he got his way. He threatened to quit, then Carmelo gave him what he demanded. Of course he never had to display publicly his tantrums, those were reserved behind closed doors. All we got were public spill over, like a weird mock interview where he interviewed his dad (circa 07-08) the not so subtle message was cleared up once the league acquiesced to his demands.
After Rossi deliberately crashed out Marc, I thought for sure this would be the ah ha moment, the smoking gun, the revelation of the man I've been aware of, but alas, even I underestimated the reality of Rossi worship and the utter cult dynamic that exists surrounding this man (including the casual following of Rossi). You say you're not a bopper, I actually believe you, because watching and seeing Rossi's performance and record certainly appears like it was all achieved authentically, but doesn't hold up to scrutiny. It's our human tendency to observe an enterprise packaged as a competition as genuine. Hence why WWE is so successful.
You characterized Rossi /Burgess going to Ducati as mere "underestimating" but glossed over the context of arrogance, conceit, capriciousness, and smug disrespect they expressed against Stoner and Ducati in that very context. I think lots of people feel this way, the way you have described it, because they were unaware of the context or simply don't believe it. But make no mistake, it was a dig at Stoner.
On the subject of Marc's "provocation", even this is absolute perversion, as it was Rossi who was the provocateur! Unless you can point out you suspected Marquez was involved in dubious activity a day before Rossi registered his McCarthyist accusations, you're assessment of some "provocation" is as tainted as any person who bought into the Yellow (red) Scare. It may appea as Marc's provocation because Rossi told us to interpret the exchange of Sepang within that lense, it worked! Yet 3 other riders raced just as hard at PI, point out one person, journalists, fan, rider, members on this forum that declared immediately after that race Marquez had deployed his mastermind plan to cheat Rossi.
Again, I submit that Rossi of Sepang is the same Rossi that disparaged Lorenzo's title with party cancelations to boot (you should pause to consider an environment where such a thing can happen), that vilified Stoner, that disparaged Hayden, that disrespected Sete, that trumped up his rivalry with Biaggi. The message was received loud and clear, love me hate them, because...i deserve to be loved, see I win, they deserve to be hated, see they lose. And he did this with the absolute support of the peculiar fanbase and the support of the League who afforded him the artificial advatages to make him "right" by virtue of a rigged playing field. MotoGP doesn't operate in a bubble of authenticity free from the power politics that shape the world you live in.
Everyone loves the winner, and winning erases the moral hazzard of his transgressions. Rossi crashed out a fellow competitor! It doesn't get any more Tonya Harding than that! Except unlike Harding, Rossi is the victim. Rossi is the Nancy Kerrigan. It's stunning perversion! And not only are the Yellow fans perverse, the paddock either are too scared (see Davide Bravio's recent interview) or perhaps like you think this was an isolated incident to be forgiven (not part of a long ongoing modus operandi); and I'll add the supposed impartial sport media are weak or incompetent to bring light to this ..... And why or how could they, they're so embedded they can't possibly be impartial. Most the journalists are cozy with the paddock, most the journalists are cozy with their subjects, and most the journalists understand and are aware of their relationship with the organization. Read the journalists tweets, this becomes abundantly clear. Though I'll add, the media can become vocal, like say when an individual pisses them off, then they all of a sudden find their voice, they can express themselves quite harshly.
