Videos of the ICC shows will be available from Sunburst video – see http://sunburst.tv.Sorry to hear about the low turnout. Sounds like a great show.
It is a shame that with the names on this card, the
crowd wasn't larger. I don't know how many people the
place holds, but I thought it seemed like there were
more than 450 there. Must have been because of all
the noise made for Brock, Sammy , and Sean.
People need to move on and get past their differences
hard feelings, and grudges, past and present. There
were some great names there. As I mentioned, Bruce
(?) Stull, Brock Larson and Sammy Morgan, local guys
who get better and better and always put on
entertaining fights. Krystof Szinski(sp) who is a
physical specimen and an up and comer with a great
future, John Halverson, an established pro who is
slick, versatile, and in great shape. Vitkay is no
joke and came to fight, Joe Riggs, a man making a name
for himself and rightly so. Jake Short looks like he
was made out of a similar mold to Sean Sherk. He will
continue to improve and as that happens, will be a
challenge for almost anyone, and he earns a lot of
respect for having the balls to step up to the
challenge of Sean Sherk.
And Sean Sherk. One of the best of the best at 170,
or, IMHO, pound for pound, in the world. I mean, come
on people, if you love MMA, if you are a fan, unless
you have a work or family obligation, etc., why would
you NOT turn out to see him? It doesn't get any
better than Sherk.
We are lucky to get to see him locally and need to
support the shows that bring him and the others
mentioned to us. If we don't get out and support
these shows, how long do you think the opportunity
will be there? If we, as fans, don't do our part, we
will only get to see them on PPV, and some of them
maybe not even there.
By not supporting these shows, we are also, in effect,
hurting these great fighters. If these shows continue
to loose money, there are less options for these
fighters to fight at and thereby less money for them
to make. And I know that a lot of these guys love to
fight in front of the local crowds even for quite a
bit less money than they get elsewhere. Let's not let
this slip away from them and us. You may have bad
memories of past promotions or even disagreements with
current ones and feel that you don't want to give them
your money. Of course that is your choice, but by
doing so you are also hurting all of the fighters,
too, and I know you don't want to do that.
Respectfully:
Fred
Fred is right on its hard to believe some of these "fans" of the sport dont go and support the local shows!
Fred-It was nice to finally meet you. I think the numbers may have been low because of the Timberwolves playoff game at the Target Center.
It was nice to meet you Fred. As for getting more people out to the shows, I will do what I can to spread the word in the new zine I'm putting out. I brought 2 people who had never been to a show before. They had a great time and are excited for the next one. I'm surprised there were only 450. Like Fred said, it seemed like more than that. Mike Reilly deserves credit for putting on a great show. If anyone is near the Twin Cities - make it a point to get out for the next show on 6/4. Also there is a great card tonight in Rochester.
DENNIS, I THOUGHT YOU LOOKED GOOD. THAT BODY/HEAD COMBO LANDED TWO INCHES SHORT OF THE NIGHT LITE. YOU GUYS GAVE THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY WANTED; TWO BIG MEN BANGIN.
Nice to meet you too Fred,
I agree I was a little disappointed that it wasn't full house. But the T-pups advanced into the 2nd round of the playoffs for the 1st time ever so I'm sure that was part of it. But it was loud in there and I thought the crowd was very into it.
Some very powerful fighters in the cage last night... I'd pay the price of admission again, just to see the look on Sherk's face right before he went into the cage. That guy is intense. I don't think people realize the caliber fighter that we can watch right in our own backyard.
I had a great time,
Hey, Dennis, it was good to meet you, too. Sorry I
brainfarted on your first name in an earlier post. I
thought you did a hell of a job in both your fights.
Krystof is one big, tough man to have for any fight,
let alone your second fight of the night. I have seen
him fight 3 times in the last couple of months, and
IMHO, you gave him his best challenge of those fights.
I know you will continue to improve. Pleasure
watching you work.
I forgot about the T-Wolves at the Target Center last
night. That likely did draw some people away. Good
point.
Yes, watching Sherk live is an experience. He is an
interesting study in contrasts. On his way into the
Cage and once he gets inside, he is all business and
intense. After it is all done, he is the calmest,
most polite, friendliest, most mild mannered, humble
guy you could ever meet.
Respectfully:
Fred
Good point about the Wolves
short is tuff
wish the fight would've went longer
Hi guys,
Wow, is all I can say! Very tough competition!
Congratulations to Sean, Joe and Sam we learned a lot, and had a great time!
Thanks Mike, and the rest of the ICC team for giving us this opportunity, and best of luck in the future!
Dave Gomez
We , the fans, appreciated Team Gomez coming to town
and stepping up to some tough competition in those
home town boys. You guys fought hard and conducted
yourselves like true professionals. You gained at
least one fan, and I sure that others who were there
will say the same.
Respectfully:
Fred
TTT for ICC!
Fred it was a great privalige meeting you thank you for signing my Sherk shirt!
thnx Chris
I would just like to thank Mike Reilly and ICC for the opportunity to have fought on the card last night. I had a fantastic time and met some great people (Dennis Stull, Joe Riggs, Fred Esch(sp)etc)
Thanks to everyone that came out, hope you enjoyed the show.
Krzysztof Soszynski
I hope Sherk keeps winning (looks like he will) and the UFC has to sign him back. Honestly, the guy is a machine and I give Jake props for stepping up and fighting him. I hope Sherk just keeps busy and keeps winning...he's truly the epitome of what an MMA fighter should be...hard work, humble, family man and likes to keep busy.
You'll never see him with a silly outfit or talk smack. He saves his menace for the fights (unlike certain fools the UFC just loves to keep around that couldn't carry Sherk's jock, skill wise).
"I would just like to thank Mike Reilly and ICC for the opportunity to have fought on the card last night. I had a fantastic time and met some great people (Dennis Stull, Joe Riggs, Fred Esch(sp)etc) Thanks to everyone that came out, hope you enjoyed the show. Krzysztof Soszynski"
Krzysztof - very impressive wins last night. Great job. I'm putting together an MMA fanzine - would you mind emailing me with your contact info?
fullpower@comcast.net
Thanks
I see a Cooley name there. Is that Kyle Cooley from Gomez?
congrats to Jake for stepping up!
Wasn't me man ... just some poser ;)
The ICC will grow and quickly. I talked to Mike about the attendance before the show and he had no illusions of grander. He was pretty much right on.
Although I wish our team had been on the other end of the winning track, the fights were very good, and I had many fans ask us to come back because they loved the show.
The ICC has the potential to do some really good things!
Dave