UFC 94: Will GSP Become a Legend and Beat Prodigy BJ Penn?

While I was reading about the upcoming super fight between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre, I thought back to a lonely scene of Georges walking down railroad tracks in his childhood home in St. Isadore, Montreal, talking about how all his life, people told him to quit dreaming, that he would never become the best.

Thank God he continued to chase his dreams!

Some people, myself included, have a dream in their heart and head, but do not ever put the mechanics required to achieve their dream into action. But not Georges. He knew it would be hard work and he was dedicated to training, conquering new disciplines and searching out people and activities that would help him achieve his dreams.

Other people dream and never put the actual skills involved into action to catch that dream, it remains a feature in their mind and no more than that.

Anyone who has sought to master a martial art realizes how much time, practice, and repetition it takes to become proficient in their chosen pursuit. Few go on to achieve the level or greatness that Georges has.

I can appreciate what he has gone through after watching my sons attempt to achieve greatness; them failing to do so has given me an appreciation for someone who takes the hard road without taking shortcuts or using the excuses life gladly provides.

Those distractions can be disguised as girlfriends, peers with whom to hang out and party too hearty, and the attraction of mind numbing drugs and alcohol to escape reality for a while along the way.

So many dreams bite the dust leaving the dreamer with regret and ruminate on "what might have been."

Georges has taught his doubters and detractors quite a lesson by going far beyond their expectations of him. Now he intends to go beyond his own dreams of becoming a champion, which he undoubtedly is, to become a" legend"

I have never known anyone who aspired to be a legend.

Of course, the way I feel about Georges is no secret on Bleacher Report; no one will be surprised that I am hoping that Georges will indeed attain this new goal.

How will Georges reach such a milestone? By beating the much lauded "prodigy," BJ Penn.

For a long time, I was the worst type of columnist a fight site can have. I was a "fighter basher" and my favorite target was BJ Penn.

I have apologized to BJ and do not have any desire to "BJ bash" now. Of course, the fact that Georges admires BJ and has said how much he admires him makes me all the more reluctant to bash BJ.

This is a hard task for me because, for years, I felt that BJ was "getting a free ride" with all the attention and praise he garnered.

His effortless popularity for having a black belt and his early success in international competition actually proved to be bothersome to me.

I felt it came too fast and much too easily; I watched his progress and few failures with great interest and would often tell others that BJ was wasting his God given talent with his lack of attention to a routine, admitted laziness, and lack of dedication.

To me, this was a very big sin. I hated to hear of his surfing, partying, and indulging in weed, all of which were distractions from hitting the gym as hard as I thought he should.

But, BJ reinvented himself, telling his fans that he wanted dearly to leave a legacy in the sport of MMA and promising to seriously pursue this new purpose with a renewed vengeance.

Unfortunately, being the cynic that I am, I didn't believe him and saw his wins over every fighter from Jens Pulver until Sean Sherk with a jaundiced eye.

BJ's blood letting, blood licking, and deliberately provocative trash talking before the events had me "seeing blood" and wanting to exterminate him.

Of course, thanks to Georges and his lovely manager Shari Spencer, I have a new perspective on Mr. Penn.

Other than the fact that I think BJ enjoyed the cat meat/ Manapua incident a little too much for my overly sensitive taste (which is largely due to watching the disgusting food pranks on the UFC 8 series), I cannot find anything to complain about.

It sounds like he was a most gracious guest in Toronto and a very capable host in Hawaii. Both Georges and Shari have commented on how hospitable BJ was, so I have no doubts about him as a good person.

Naturally, I will be cheering for Georges to beat BJ because I want Georges to become a legend. 

So, accordingly, I have called off the sharks and will not be putting any curses on BJ.

And for an old gal, I think that is a pretty good change of attitude.