"Oh my God, what did I get myself into" -- GSP Hits Manila, Mall Of Asia 09.25.2010

These were the words of Georges St. Pierre when he went to see his fans in the SM Mall of Asia, Pasay, Manila Philippines.

He was genuinely surprised when he saw the size and intensity of his fans from day one, when he landed at the airport.

"Maybe I'll come back for a vacation, or who knows, maybe to fight here in Manila." -- GSP, Press conference. 09.23.10, ABS-CBN ELJ Building, Quezon City.

Fight fans here in Metro Manila, Philippines will be expecting to see a live UFC match from here on.

Boss Dana, what do you say? Give UFC fans here in Manila what they want, when they want it.

Not a sizeable market compared to other neighboring Asian countries, but as they say, best to strike while the iron's hot.

What a Rush! GSP Live in Manila

It was one wild day for UFC fans in Manila yesterday at SM Mall of Asia!

First off, this was generally bigger and wilder than Chuck Liddell's media tour 2 years ago. The number of crowd who waited to get a glimpse of the Rush and see him do his public training was 3x more! Every space with a vantage point in the area was packed, and i mean REALLY packed. In fact, coming from the back, from the bay area, you could already see the substantial amount of people present to experience the excitement. More fans got in to the exclusive areas by simply purchasing a copy of the maiden issue of UFC magazine Philippines, unfortunately there weren't enough for everyone. In a matter of minutes, the stock was sold out! Fans tolerated the lines so that they could buy shirts, and other GSP Hits Manila memorabilia. Man, this was totally a whole new level.

GSP's arrival was scheduled and announced to be at around 2:30pm in the afternoon, but hours before his arrival many of his fans were already there, stationed at the best position they could pick. It was a mix of mixed martial arts practitioners, fight fanatics, and sports enthusiasts who all-in-all were totally crazy about GSP and the UFC. Just by looking at them, you know that they were all true fans of the sport and of GSP.

Soonest as he arrived, the fans went really wild. Filipinos are not normally like this especially with sports icons, but yesterday was really different. You can see that they were all at a complete and trance-like awe at the Rush's presence. More so when GSP came out of the stage in between the huge LED backdrop in his big entrance. The crowd simply went wild. You could probably hear them chanting and shouting from miles away.

St. Pierre was a real charismatic crowd pleaser. He knew how to connect with them and make the fans happy. From his short speech after his introduction, to the public demonstration where he randomly selected a lucky boy to do a short training with Dam Shewin Surisuk, his Muay Thai instructor during this trip, while he padded up for the next part of the training, was a sign of how much he really loved his fans back and knew how much he wanted to make them happy.

When it was all over, you could see that all fans were satisfied and greatly inspired by what they experienced. You could see in their faces that they were wondering when the next Philippine media tour will be, and more importantly, who they will see next. Who knows, maybe two fighters will be coming in to the country next? I hope? Well, that's the only logical next step I see after this.

Is this an positive indication that we too, the Philippines, are ready to welcome and host one of Asia's UFC fights? If this happens, I can imagine how much of a tourism boost it could also be. Fighters and many of their fans from all over Asia, and even the world will be coming over to experience this.

All in the name of SPORTS entertainment.

In The Name of Entertainment: EXPERIENCE THE RUSH IN MANILA!

In The Name of Entertainment: EXPERIENCE THE RUSH IN MANILA!: "Need we say more? The world's biggest UFC fighter is coming to Manila and pay his fight fans a big visit. George 'The Rush' St. Pierre has..."

EXPERIENCE THE RUSH IN MANILA!

Need we say more? The world's biggest UFC fighter is coming to Manila and pay his fight fans a big visit.

George "The Rush" St. Pierre has been the cause of a major buzz among fight followers in Manila, Philippines. He's set to do a highly anticipated open demonstration of signature GSP moves at the SM Mall of Asia where he will also indulge his fans in answering their questions during a meet and greet. Fans can also expect to have their photos taken, their UFC magazine Philippines signed personally by him during the exclusive session during the meet and greet.

If you're a fight fan, do expect to really savor this experience as GSP's entourage also heads out to Club Icon (formerly Wherelse? and Euphoria) at the Hotel Itercon in Makati, and party it up with the rest of Manila.

If you're a fight fan, this is something that YOU surely should not dare miss. If you do, then who knows maybe after two years, another big UFC fighter will come along to the Philippine islands and show us what it truly takes to be an Ultimate Fighter.

If you're a fight fan then this is something that you should proudly say, you were once part of and was there, in the flesh, to experience the RUSH!

...All in the name of sports entertainment.

Malibu Shark Attack?

I don't know if you've seen this movie before but it's been on in HBO here in Manila for some time now and it's kinda driving me nuts.

It has a decent plot for the film, but very common. Sorry to say. The sharks in the film are very refreshing to see though--compared to other similar films, because of a different take on where it comes from.

"Pwede na." as we say it here in Manila. Nice enough. All for the sake of entertainment.

The Godfather

This is one movie, most boys, or should I say, gentlemen--of any age, makes a mark in their life. This is probably, the only classic film that most men use as their ultimate guide to living life and their overall relationship dynamics towards their business in general.

The film has this deep influence on us, not because of the fear of getting hit, fed to the fishes at the bottom of the sea, or simply made an offer we cannot refuse, but because of the utmost respect, the godfather attracts from his circle of influence.

Respect, the binding constant that most Coppola, and Puzo fans see in such a kind of literature.

It simply never gets old that many men across many parts of the world has used names in the film--Santino, Alfredo, Michael, Lorenzo, Luca or Lucas, and of course, to name their sons, cars, pets, and what have you, simply because of the sense of power or awesomeness it gives.

"You've always been good to me, ever since I came here. You looked after me like a father. I thank you. And I won't forget it."

--An excerpt from Young Vito's conversation with Abbandando in the grocery.

(The Godfather II)

The movie is also a healthy source of lessons on life and favors, accepting one and returning it back two-fold to the one who presented it to you. Not doing so is a sign of offense and might mean a grave situation, so to speak, for the one involved.

Needless to say, this movie is truly a rich resource of how men ought to live their life--less of the crime and violence of course.

All in the name of entertainment...One classic literature that will truly never be forgotten.

Today's top entertainment

1.) 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(tm)

Aside from the fact that almost the whole world's population has--to some extent, an affinity towards this sport and the tournament, the World Cup only happens once in every four years. Hence, people are determined to savor each and every playing minute of the game, no matter what time zone they may be in, or even if they are not even represented in the game.

The sport of football, the celebrity athletes, the unbelievably large following, the old-fashioned essence of the game, the beautiful fans, every bit of this just adds to the World Cup's impossible to resist charm.

In the name of entertainment.

In The Name of Entertainment: Coming to America

In The Name of Entertainment: Coming to America: "My all-time favorite Hollywood comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and the cast of Colors. The story of an African prince, Ak..."

Coming to America

My all-time favorite Hollywood comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and the cast of Colors.

The story of an African prince, Akeem (E. Murphy) who sets off to America in search of his bride and future queen.

His journey with Semi (A. Hall) lead them on a "different" adventure as commoners who found employment in a awfully familiar fast-food restaurant, Mcdowell's.

"They have the Golden Arches, we have the Golden Arcs!" -- Mr. Mcdowell.

Along the way, Akeem and Semi meet a handful of distinct characters that contribute to this movie's unique flavor of comedy that never went out of style.

"Thiszszzzz issszzz beauttiiiful...wwhut isss thiss vellvvvut????" --- My T Sharp by-stander

"I believe the children are the future...**singing** Schexual chocolate! Schexual chocolate!!" then abruptly drops the mic. --- Randy Watson of Sexual Chocolate (who by the way, resembles UFC's Rampage Jackson)

"I'm Cleo...I'm not sure what to call you."

"My name is Aoleon"

"Oh! Ae..Aelien!"

---Excerpt from Mcdowell and queen conversation

The joke at the end of the film, when the end credits start rolling, for me captures the distinct brand of humor this movie wrote in the history books of Hollywood.

"stop, stop, wait a minute, wait stop right there!

Listen: Stop right there, man. A man goes into a restaurant.

You listenin'? A man goes into a restaurant, and he sits down, he's having a bowl of soup and he says to the waiter, waiter come taste the soup. Waiter says: Is something wrong with the soup? He says: Taste the soup. He says: Is there something wrongwith the soup? Is the soup too hot? He says: Will you taste the soup? What's wrong, is the soup too cold? Will you just taste the soup?! Allright, I'll taste the soup - where's the spoon?? Aha. Aha! ...

Whadaya know from funny, you bastards?" -- My T Sharp by-stander