The good and bad of Rossi's popularity

There's nothing unusual about crowds at race meetings being larger on a Sunday than a Saturday. That's the way it's been forever. But there is something unusual about that crowd building into and during Saturday evening, well after qualifying is done and dusted.

And there's nothing unusual about said crowds invading the track after a race, to get as close to the podium as possible. But, again, there is something unusual about the mob booing two thirds of the competitors on the podium.

These are all things that happened last weekend at Mugello, largely as a by-product of the popularity of one man: Valentino Rossi.

From the outset, this is not pointing fingers at Rossi for anything described in this column. Similarly, it is not saying all Rossi fans are cast from the same die.

But Rossi's standing as motorsport's most-loved competitor is not all phenomenal performances from an all-time great, ticket sales and merchandise revenue. There is also a darker side - admittedly way more anti-social than criminal - that MotoGP would be better without.

The Italian Grand Prix had both sides of that equation.

Let's start with the positives, for which the event should be remembered. As I left the track on Saturday evening, fans were piling into Mugello, ready to camp out on the hills surrounding the circuit, seeking a prime viewing position for the race Rossi would start from pole for the first time since 2008.

By Sunday morning the hills were no longer the green of spring grass, but filled with 100,000 people, most of them wearing Rossi yellow. As sights go, it's one of the most impressive and mesmerising you'll see anywhere in motorsport.

And the atmosphere matched it. Beyond the air horns and the usual array of noise-making devices, there was a genuine buzz around the place, which really started on Saturday afternoon when Rossi claimed pole position as the chequered flag was being readied.

The grandstand on the front straight, opposite the media centre, erupted and didn't stop until Rossi was long out of sight within the Yamaha garage.

I love a good sporting occasion and the crowd's rendition of the Italian national anthem on Sunday was as good as any I've experienced. The smoke from yellow flares greeted riders as they headed to the grid, and Rossi spent most of his lap out from the pits waving to his adoring fans, embracing the special moment.

Rossi has done it all before, and was able to switch back into race mode when it counted. When it started, the crowd was riding with Rossi as he pressured team-mate and race leader Jorge Lorenzo.

It looked like Rossi had more pace on Sunday, in that first third of the race at least, and was set to challenge Lorenzo for victory. But that didn't happen. Rossi's engine called it a day - in a genuine tale of two engines, Lorenzo's failed at the end of the warm-up - and his hopes of a dream victory were over.

With that, some fans left, which is unfortunate because they missed one of the best races you are ever likely to witness as Lorenzo fought off Marc Marquez's advances. Both Spaniards were supreme in the closing laps, putting it all on the line but never crossing it, especially on the final lap, as they traded the lead.

Lorenzo used Yamaha's better acceleration to reel in and then pass Marquez's Honda on the run from the final corner to the start-finish straight, his margin of victory 0.019 seconds.

The reward victor Lorenzo and Marquez received? They were booed, heavily. Marquez admitted that it made him tone down his celebrations, which is a shame, because a ride like his should be celebrated. Lorenzo doesn't appear to mind it, almost appearing to relish the role of villain.

Yes, it is 'just' booing. Sportspeople get paid a lot of money, have a thick skin and should be used to it. And by all reports nothing more serious happened during the weekend.

Mugello was, of course, the first time MotoGP had raced in Italy since the controversial end to last year's championship, when Lorenzo overhauled Rossi to win the title, as Rossi feuded with Marquez.

Nobody expected Lorenzo and Marquez to receive a warm welcome from Rossi's fans. Organising body Dorna even offered them both bodyguards for the weekend, an offer Marquez said he declined.

And I will add here that I did see Marquez being asked for autographs and photos a couple of times during the weekend, and he obliged. I didn't see Lorenzo in that situation at all, but can only assume he would have done the same.

But even if they hid in their motorhomes all weekend, were flanked by bodyguards and did not make themselves available for photos or autographs, they did not deserve the booing on Sunday afternoon.

By all means roll out 'VALE' chants all day long, but booing is pretty lame. And that's all before you get to the matter of respect, respect for the risks these competitors are taking - two MotoGP riders finished the weekend with injuries - and respect for their level of ability and commitment.

These two men rubbed elbows while braking from 210mph into San Donato on the final lap, not even 10 minutes earlier...

Sadly, it appears to be a growing trend this year, audible from the first race of the season in Qatar.

At the second round in Argentina, Lorenzo, Marquez and Rossi were asked about booing in the pre-event press conference. Could Rossi have taken the chance then to put his name against it, beyond responding: "Boo? I don't know. I don't know."

Perhaps, but he cannot and should not be expected to control people he has never met. He's not their dad.

An olive branch appeared to have been extended last week, though, when Rossi called on his fans to respect all of the MotoGP riders, through Italian media. When told of this on Friday night, Marquez appeared genuinely pleased.

"This is good," he said. "And I want to say thanks [to Rossi] for saying these words.

"I feel really good, honestly I feel like [it's] a normal GP. I know that there will be more [Rossi] flags than everywhere, but this is normal, we are in Italy, we are in Rossi's home circuit and we respect this.

"But most important is that we race on the track and the show for them must be good."

Booing - or anti-support in general - is nothing new in sport. I find the constant whistling in Spanish football genuinely unappealing, for instance, compared to markets where fans spend their energy singing songs and supporting their own teams instead.

It's not even new in motorsport anymore. Sebastian Vettel was booed on podiums for a stretch in 2013 after his 'Multi 21' run-in with Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber in Malaysia. Nico Rosberg was in 2014 after his Belgian GP clash with Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari was on the podium for the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix after its team orders and F1 in general was during the six-car US Grand Prix three years later.

In my native Australia, Jim Richards (from New Zealand, but this had nothing to do with his place of birth) was booed after winning the Bathurst 1000 touring car race in 1992. It was a controversial finish, involving a wild storm and red flags. Richards crashed on slicks while leading, but his disliked Nissan was awarded the win when the race was red-flagged and results backdated, denying Dick Johnson a win in his Ford.

Fans of Aussie V8s booed Richards and Mark Skaife on the podium, and - his close friend and 1967 Formula 1 world champion Denny Hulme having died due to a heart attack during the race - Richards responded by calling them a "pack of arseholes". It's a part of Australian sporting folklore and everybody moved on soon enough.

But booing doesn't seem to be something that everybody will simply move on from. As such, it could become a major problem for MotoGP without an easy answer. It doesn't sound good on TV and would not endear MotoGP to potential sponsors, for starters.

Sure, in 10 days we will be at Barcelona and Lorenzo and Marquez's fans will have the chance to return serve, but from the races I've attended this year - even Jerez - Rossi's yellow has been omnipresent.

Ultimately, sports need a level of 'heroes and villains' to help build a narrative. Otherwise it's just people you don't know doing things you're not. For so many MotoGP fans, Rossi is the hero and, especially after the events of last October and November, Lorenzo and Marquez are the obvious villains.

Different people have and will continue to fill these roles to different motorsport viewers. And that attachment to a hero is what helps make an event like Mugello a must-attend before Rossi retires from MotoGP. Especially if the villains get the respect they deserve.