Never before has a movie galvanized liberals and anti American haters so tightly. To make it worse many conservatives also love it due to the respect for his athletic ability and love for sports.
Ali is lauded as the social and polical icon standing up to the Anti-American movement in the 60s. It gives the liberal media open season on loving what he did (forget the boxing), Ali actually calls US policy "baby killing and killing other poor people".
The clincher for me is Bryant Gumble (who never misses an opportunity to turn a benign situation into a racial one),,,,,,Bumble states, "When Ali lost, I cried. We all cried - those of us who were fighting for what was right."