Why Brock Lesnar Captures Our Imagination

Greek mythology...Comic books...Superhero movies...Tall tales...Shoot 'em up video games...

Superman. The Incredible Hulk. Hercules. John Henry and Paul Bunyan. Duke Nukem. Ah-nold Schwartezenaeyager. Sic.

There is a certain gland or section of the brain in every little boy (and many a' little girl) who wants to grow up to be a force to be reckoned with. They want to lift cars, shoot lasers, turn into werewolves, beat up a hundred ninjas, etc.

One lucky little boy from South Dakota got his wish. And we just can't help ourselves; we are INTERESTED.

Brock Lesnar, through some accident of genetics or incidental contact with Miracle-Gro or some such thing, grew into an enormous gorilla-monster with the strength of three or four men. And that's not an exaggeration.

He has reportedly benched over 650 lbs. (per Kurt Angle, who may be lying, but the number doesn't seem far-fetched). A 200 lb. bench press from a regular guy who isn't particularly interested in fitness seems about right.  

Not only is he huge and hulking, he's FAST, which absolutely defies logic. He's coordinated and at times, he's even acrobatic.

His proportions are ridiculous. From his filing-cabinet head to his mailbox-sized fists, he looks fresh from the pages of Marvel or DC. A friend of mine was at one of Brock's first house-shows with WWE. Lesnar, completely unknown, merely walked through the curtain and eyes bulged and jaws dropped. He said that even from the nosebleeds it was obvious that "was one big f@#$ing dude." (Note: Before I bear the brunt of a storm of speculation about our intelligence, we all lost interest in wrestling shortly thereafter.)

There is a certain respect that can only be commanded through physical intimidation and Brock Lesnar owes that respect to nobody. We all have to wonder, what does that feel like? What is it like to walk into a bar and know that the three biggest guys in there couldn't beat half of you if the other half was helping?

Love him or hate him, he's an anomaly. Frank Mir beat him by twisting his leg, but until we see somebody literally stop Lesnar from imposing his will through an equal and opposite reaction, Lesnar will capture our imaginations as we heap expectations on him. 

"Gather round, young 'uns...I'll tell you the tale of Brock Lensar...He was eight feet high if he was one..."

And if he can stomp MMA Hall of Famer Randy Couture in just his fourth fight, that's what we'll be telling our grandchildren.