MMA and Me

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. His
challenger on that night got scared and ran home to Mommy.
His name was Phil...um, Doow. Yea, Phil Doow O_O

Before I begin, let me say this is not a rant! I followed mixed martial arts and the UFC for about three years now; I understand how the UFC operates, the controversy between Dana White and the fighters, and violence in sports and sports entertainment. I get all those, but this will not focus on any of those, or maybe they will?

Tonight, world champion and Canadian phenom Georges St-Pierre defends his belt again interim champion Carlos Condit. Condit is the interim champion because St-Pierre took a year off fighting due to an ACL injury he sustained in December of 2011. GSP returns to the octagon for his first fight since then, and in his home province of Quebec at Montreal's Bell Centre, no less.

When I would go out with friends to watch any UFC event, dozens of "fight fans" would pack the restaurant we would visit. For the most part, everyone was there to eat food, watch a fight, and have a good time. Of course, there would be divided loyalties, but no one cared too much.

However, when my friends and I would go out to the same restaurant to watch a UFC event involving Georges St-Pierre, you could see "fight fans", but there were many more "GSP fans" in the same space. Now, a small percentage of a VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE of "GSP fans" know three things about mixed martial arts:

1. Georges St-Pierre is Canadian.
2. Georges St-Pierre always wins.
3. Georges St-Pierre never loses.

You can't question the first part, at least successfully o_O, but if one "GSP fan" encounters a fan that supports BJ Penn or Matt Serra and believes the second and third parts are incorrect, then that "GSP fan" starts a fight in the parking lot outside of the restaurant. Invariably, at some stage during the night of a GSP fight, there will be lights from a police cruiser flashing outside of the restaurant because a "GSP fan" came to blows with a "heathen" or "non-conformist". I stopped going out to watch UFC pay-per-view events on Saturday nights because I'm afraid I will be one of those "non-conformists" featured in the bonus fight in the restaurant parking lot on UFC nights.

GSP: He killed four hecklers in the back row with that look o_O Two more while wearing that suit O_O
I was almost a mixed martial artist, but I took an arrow in the knee.

I ask my friends the next day, if with their food and entertainment they get the 'bonus fight in the parking lot', and they answer yes every time.

I had an incident at a bar, about three years ago. I bumped into a fellow as I went to my seat before the UFC event began, and we stared at each other for what seemed like five minutes before I apologized and sat down. He shook it off, said "sorry", and sat down next to me. o_O We didn't say a word to each other until the waiter brought me my appetizer: Mushrooms stuffed with cheese and spinach ^_^ He looked at them and said "Those look nice!" I agreed, and proceeded to wolf them down.

The whole experience lasted three or four seconds, in hindsight, however it stuck with me until now. I hate imagining what would happen if I was with others, if his buddies were nearby, if I spilled something, or if I wasn't a Christian what my response would be. I don't like thinking about it or possibly undergoing a similar situation with different variables. If there were two reasons why I don't go out to watch UFC PPVs, then that would be the second reason (you already read the first one).

Now, like every other branch of the sports entertainment tree, the act of competition is neutral; what we as humans do with that particular competition is where we find a lot of what we love and detest about sport today. The difference is how much each of us are willing to tolerate, and keeping in mind our relationships and responsibilities to our family, friends, or employers and wards what we will watch or when we will go to watch a live contest of competition. Does that make sense? I hope so; if you would like to engage in this discussion, feel free to leave a comment or six.

If you would like to know, yes, I hope Georges St-Pierre wins, and no, I don't want there to be a bonus fight in the parking lot tonight. GSP is a great dude, and a good, well spoken representative for Canada at home and aboard. If you are going out tonight, be safe...PLEASE be safe.

Where Did I Go?

Writing was that thing I used to do.

So, how are you? That's good, but don't overdo it, otherwise you will get sick. It's mid-November, and almost a month since I wrote anything on my blogs. Quite a few major things, personal and otherwise, occurred in my life during that span; although I can't share EVERYTHING with you, I can share the humorous and insightful bits, ^_^ because that is what you came to see o_O

How do you be as annoying as me, and earn this badge? ^_^
Activate your foursquare account and find out! (I am not
receiving kickbacks for promoting Foursquare)

• I got a new phone! It's an Android phone with a video touch screen, and working camera. Already I shot a few things and uploaded photos to Instagram. If you click the link, it will show you the latest photo I uploaded since writing this piece. I also discovered something called Foursquare ^_^ A few of my friends have foursquare accounts, but I'm already setting records and annoying everyone with my constant status updates. I even picked up a badge for being annoying over the course of the day: Overshare LOL I will have more on my foursquare experience in a later blog.
• Music practice: Piano and guitar are coming along, and I performed for a few people so far. I am nowhere near Carnegie Hall or Grand Ole Opry material, but the goal is to be competent, and encourage a younger, musically inclined person to be all they can be, and do better than I could.
• A new computer: I put the final payment on my new computer last month, therefore I can officially call this iMac mine ^_^ The transition from PC to Mac is strenuous and fraught with awkward moments o_O Where I work we have PCs, so Alt+W does not close windows! I am still at a lost to what the other "function" key does on the Mac keyboard. Sidenote: I own a wireless keyboard, which allows me to type from anywhere in my room. Right now, I am typing from my bed; I changed the sheets yesterday, and they are quite nice. Now, I am typing  with my back turned and facing the closet. Let me see if this worked...yes, it did ^_^ The final test: Typing from outside! (Phil is such a dork) HEY, WHO WROTE THAT?!
• I got sick: Last week, I thought I could put style over safety, I decided to dress up a bomber jacket with a striped scarf, and wear the deadly combo to work. Unfortunately, the wind was howling, and it blew cold air at my neck, which would be covered by my jacket if I didn't unzip the top to show off my trendy scarf >_< So, being sick for a whole week was fun. My nose is still stuffed, and I have occasional bouts with mucous all over the streets of the Greater Toronto Area -_- I have no one else to blame but me, but until I reach that conclusion I will throw everyone else under the bus.

Finally, I started filming again. I uploaded a prototype video of me celebrating the fact I can upload straight from iMovie with my video camera. I had terrible audio problems before, but the camera picks up the sound from my voice and other sources very well. I have a list of projects to work on, and now I can complete them ^_^

As you can see, life is busy LOL What did you do last month? ^_^