I started to notice Rossi's character when he vilified Biaggi. It was harder to detect because Biaggi could be a .... too. This is when the cult really started to develop itself as an entity, and Rossi weaponization of the media became a thing. At first, nobody really noticed, but when Rossi began to weaponized the willing media, a robust cult of fans, and the organizers in tow, particularly Race Direction's unwillingness to thwart or admonish his 05 punt, that I think was the biggest signal to Rossi, you're untouchable son, do and say whatever you want. It's only got worse from there.
The straw that broke the camels back for me, keep in mind I was already onto Rossi by 05, particularly given his antics to villainize Sete Gibernau, was when after the 2006 championship, the by then established and entrenched Cult and chickenshit media disparaged Nicky Hayden's championship almost from the moment Rossi crashed. Cue yellow smoke. Since then I've hated Rossi, his minions, the cowardly media, the organizers, etc. I blame Rossi for his share, which is a lot, but he's not the only one at fault, in fact I'd say Rossi has a small part, it's the organizers and the media that should bear most of the blame. Had they scolded him for his conspiracy theory that he got a bum tire during the race (oh the irony) and blaming Yamaha, Tony Elias, etc., they (media, fans, organizers) could have stopped him from becoming the monster he became. They disparaged Nicky to the point where the man emblazoned his leathers with the counter argument, "The Numbers Don't Lie". That is about as much of a '.... you' a Hayden clan could ever muster. Nicky was a "fluke", this narrative made its way into ever comment section, post, and general sentiment.
As you probably remember, this sentiment continued for 2007, and only got worse and worse. Stoner was disparaged, Lorenzo was disparaged, and now Marquez is the devil.
If you live in a glass house don't throw rocks.
