Vegas Day 2: Enigma

My day started at 10am today. Got a meeting with an executive, Bob at a sports promotion company, Top Rank to negotiate a possible contract. Met up with my manager and headed downstairs to meet Bob. He was a chubby businessman with a crisp clean suit…not even a single piece lint on him. Shook hands with him and we followed him to his limousine. Had a few glasses of wine in the limo and got to his office just 10 minutes off the strip. He led us through his beautiful office and his friendly subordinates. We walked into a conference room where the room was filled with people all wearing professional attire. We sat down and all eyes were on me. Formal introductions was made by Bob, the others in attendance commented on my mystique that I was walking through tough competition without ever being seen on TV or the internet. I told them that my other job required that I keep myself low key for confidentially reasons. In attendance were some broadcasting network station producers, hotel/casino affiliates and some of Bob’s staff. The television network companies wanted to do a documentary of me to generate more buildup to the fight. I was asked to basically tell my story of my life pertaining to the sport. In short, I remember my humble beginnings when I was a kid all the training and workouts were thought to be a big waste of time and money. So my parents stopped sponsoring me for my training...but I followed my heart somehow and went door to door after school asking people if they had beer and wine bottles so I can sell back to the beer store. That was my income to pay for my gym membership until I finally got a job. At times I would even go through my neighbours’ recycling bins to find the bottles to finance my boxing gym membership. The frigid winter months of digging through the snow for beer bottles were the worst. I was almost convinced that my parents were right and just give up and just focus 100% on school and piano lessons…it was impossible to connect the dots back then...but it was very clear what all that led to...cant connect the dot looking forward into the future...you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future...you have to trust in something....your guts, life, destiny, karma...whatever...because believing the that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even if it leads you off the well warned path...and that will make all the difference… The television producers listened with great interest as they were taking notes. Bob laid out potential opponents for me next as well as listing their credentials. The meeting lasted 5 hours, but no deal could be hammered out. The contracts were extremely lucrative, but most wouldn’t allow me to balance school, so further negotiations will be needed. My manager received business cards from all of them and told them we would call them once we have decided.

I returned to my hotel room and worked on my case study. At 5pm I looked out the window and the strip was still filled with people walking up and down but by 6:30pm the streets were empty and everyone was either at MGM Grand Garden Arena for UFC 94 or they were huddled in a bar somewhere watching it. I got a call from Diep, the person who took me clubbing last night, he was wondering if I wanted to join him and his friends to watch the UFC 94 at the auditorium at the MGM Grand for a closed circuit viewing. I met him and his friends there and the place was packed. Everyone was standing in front of the projector watching the fight. People were chanting the fighters name as if the fighters could hear them. The place exploded as BJ Penn and GSP made their entrances….people were on their feet cheering or booing. I can tell everyone was getting goosebumps minutes before the fight started. Excitement was definitely in the air. For every shot landed there’d be screams and “oooh”s. It was an impressive fight…both fighters fought their hearts out. My man GSP WON!!!...not only won but in a dominating fashion...he was so slick! All the GSP fans there were celebrating and partying while BJ Penn fans sat there in disbelief. GSP gave BJ Penn a piece of humble pie for talking so much smack before the fight and on primetime. By the 3rd and 4th round, BJ Penn could’ve easily been replaced by a blowup doll…he was just lying there getting beaten down. Damn…now I’m talking a little too much…hope no one says that about me if I get beat. The magnitude of the fight is just out of this world…there’s no event like this.

Boy…what a night!