Hi Guys,
long story alert
On Friday night I went to the IFL Championship Show at Mohegan Sun Casino, and it was AWESOME.
Before I get to the funny story, let me say a couple words about the event. The IFL has a very high production value. I was REALLY, REALLY impressed with the quality of the event. The fights were great, the arena was well put-together, and the talent was STACKED.
I could do without the "official IFL pop singer" as a halftime-type-show. She certainly couldn't sing, the dancing was poor (sorry, I'm a dancer too....), and all she really seemed to do OK was shimmy. But hey, you can't win 'em all. At least Miss Maine showed some serious talent when she belted out the National Anthem.
Anyways, here's the funny story:
I went with my wife and brought a bunch of my students. My wife has this crazy combination of friendly, outgoing personality and wild luck that always lands her in cool situations, like backstage after concerts.
We were discussing how stacked the talent was, with big names in the house like Maurice Smith, Pat Miletich, Carlos Newton, Renzo Gracie, and Bas Rutten. I mean, this was an ALL-STAR EVENT! We started wondering how one gets to meet these guys, because even the folks with floor seats were separate from the coaches (and we were waaaaaay up in the nosebleeds).
So my wife goes out before the first fight to get some Nachos, and comes back. "Those green shirts we were wondering about," she says. "They ARE a brazilian team. One of them was hitting on me in line." As the first fight started, she said "Oh, that guy was the one in line with me" and points to RYAN GRACIE. This officially makes him the SECOND Gracie to hit on my wife (story for another time).
Anyhow, we have a good laugh about this and go back to watching the fights. About halfway through the evening, she gets restless and decides to walk around. One of my students goes with her, and the two gals decide to get some food. A couple minutes later, I get a multimedia text message on my phone, and it's a pic of the gals....WITH BAS!!!!! My buddy and I jump up to run down the stairs, and we run into the ladies, who are on their way back up. They have a good laugh, and then finally come back downstairs with us to show us where Bas is chillin' with all his fans.
To make a long story short(er), we got to chill with Bas for a few and snap some pictures. It was hysterical. I have learned the "Bas Rutten Ear-Stare". If you've never experienced it, it's hilarious and intimidating all at the same time. El Guapo is THE MAN.
~Chris
PS - My wife and student are now die-hard Bas fans.....as everyone should be.