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Bob Sapp, the muscle idol

thomas

thomas

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Taken from Jlist:

Japan has a new "muscle idol" these days: Bob Sapp, a former player with the Minnesota Vikings who is now a professional wrestler and fighter in K-1, has a huge following of fans in Japan and appears in dozens of TV commercials and on TV variety shows here. His combination of a big, scary body and teddy bear cute looks have caused fans to go gaga over him. The Japanese tend to have extra curiosity about black men, who seem "extra foreign" to them (compared with white and other gaijin), and this has no doubt helped Bob build his career in Japan. In one recent variety show, famous "talents" (that is, actors and singers) had to play rock, paper, scissors with him, but he kept making scary faces at the Japanese guests, causing them to run screaming off the stage. It was a fun spectacle to see.
Click to expand...

Bob Sapp's photo gallery


COUNTRY : USA / Colorado Spring
HEIGHT : 205 cm
WEIGHT : 170 kg
September 22,1974 ? (K-1)

😵

200210061207-1.jpg
 
"Bench Press: 300Kg"

Yikes! Drop that last zero and i'm right up there with him!
👏
 
He's unbelievably scary in the ring. In K1 he starts the fight by going down into a 'scrimmage' style crouch and then charges the other guy as if he is playing (US) football.

I saw him fight a few weeks ago against a well known Japanese whose trademark is "I've never been beaten". Well it was until Bob Sapp almost murdered him! He is known as The Beast.

I think he is perhaps the most famous gaijin in Japan right now.

Tiger
 
How about an Afro-American yokozuna? Asashoryu needs a serious challenger anyhow. Hm, I assume that acting the gaijin animal in K1 pays off better than sumo.
 
If you think that's something....

Bob Sapp just put put his first cd maxi single, "SAPP TIME". I saw the song performed on Fuji TV the other night (can't remember the program)....but yeah, it was a strange sight indeed. One of those "I want to look away but I can't!" things.😲
 
Bob Sapp sort of receives mixed responses, in some of areas aside from fighting.

Among his own race, he seems to garner a negative response due to how his character is portrayed on Japanese broadcasts, as animal-like. I have never personally seen him in action, but have only heard about it, so I can't personally give an actual opinion though from what I hear doesn't set well with me.

But I guess whatever pay the bills, and I hear he really is that popular in Japan.

Just wondering, how good of a fighter is he? Is he one of those that actually has a repetoire of moves? Or basically just a brute strength only kind of guy to get over in his matches? Is there anyone within his weight class that can challenge him in K1?
 
From his profile, I suspect Sapp has had to "learn" how to compete within the K-1 arena per se as he is not a natural fighter with a traditional martial arts background. He reminds me of a Mike Bernardo, only bigger but without the technique. Nevertheless, his sheer size and brute strength strike me as quite formidable and given enough time and patience, he may be able to pull it off as a regular K-1 competitor. Unfortunately, even with all that size and strength all it takes is a well-placed kick or two ala Peter Aerts and Co. to take even the biggest guys down. Should be interesting to follow his career as it progresses.
:)
 
,, are like all these posts recycled from f*ckedgaijin messageboard or do you all talk about the same stuff everyday? I'm asking because THEY KICKED ME OUT!, I mean, how bad does one need to be in order to get banned from a message board called, 'f*ckedgaijin' , you tell me, in all honesty I think I fall defeated when put VS. with 1,000+ nerds and their calculator-swords.

Josh



"He is simply a dick on wheels, rolling infinitesimally close, but never reaching, the object of lust." CS, 3/1/03
 
Stay on topic please as I have absolutely no clue what you're trying to say although i'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Bob Sapp...
 
<off topic>

Josh, FG, our forum and a lot of other J-related boards share the same news resources, so there's no recycling. I'm not a frequent visitor to their board. Whatever you did over there, please do not repeat it here. Thanks.

</off topic>

;)
 
Bob Sapp seems to be a good guy from what I have seen on TV, but he does absolutely nothing to help with how ex-pats in Japan are perceived. I understand the argument of making a living, but can't one be a K1 fighter and not run around like a loon? A TV show on the 15th asked a panel of celebrity guests where they thought the richest people in the world could be found. One man answered "America". The host asked why and a lady chimed in with "because there are a lot of Jews there." Everyone agreed. I almost choked on my dinner. In an environment where that is seen as an acceptable comment to make on primetime Sat TV, having more crazy ex-pats on TV is not a good thing.
 
> Bob Sapp seems to be a good guy from what I have seen on
> TV, but he does absolutely nothing to help with how ex-pats in
> Japan are perceived.

I think my question would be - why do you even care? I don't think Bob Sapp has any bearing on how ex-pats are perceived whatsoever. Sapp is Sapp - he's a pro wrestler/fighter who goes under the moniker of "The Beast". He's a unique personality on his own. There's no-one else like him.

Japanese people have some curious opinions about foreigners, but I don't think they're so stupid that they think everyone is like Bob Sapp.

Tiger
 
Tiger- Why do I care? Because the foreigners that have decided to make Japan their home will have to clean up the mess of stereotypes thrown out there by the mass media. In almost every single conversation I have with someone about life in the US, some stereotype from TV is thrown back at me as gospel truth. Most of the time they can be informed otherwise. Like it or not, Bob Sapp is a small cog in this process of stereotype forming, reinforcing, and disseminating. The stereotypes probably will not be direct in nature - Sapp can bend cooking pans, therefore all black men can bend cooking pans 窶 nor attributed to him (indeed that would be impossible). Unfortunately I do not have Fuji Television knocking on my door to get to know me as an individual. As a humble non-celebrity I, as do all of us, have our time in Japan colored by mass media perpetuated stereotypes. It is a pressure I would like to be able to do without.
 
Originally posted by Mandylion
Tiger- Why do I care? Because the foreigners that have decided to make Japan their home will have to clean up the mess of stereotypes thrown out there by the mass media. In almost every single conversation I have with someone about life in the US, some stereotype from TV is thrown back at me as gospel truth. Most of the time they can be informed otherwise. Like it or not, Bob Sapp is a small cog in this process of stereotype forming, reinforcing, and disseminating. The stereotypes probably will not be direct in nature - Sapp can bend cooking pans, therefore all black men can bend cooking pans ﾂ・nor attributed to him (indeed that would be impossible). Unfortunately I do not have Fuji Television knocking on my door to get to know me as an individual. As a humble non-celebrity I, as do all of us, have our time in Japan colored by mass media perpetuated stereotypes. It is a pressure I would like to be able to do without.
Click to expand...

I could understand the following parts of that last post in order being: Japan, stereo and *** media. It makes me wonder why god gave certain people fingers, oh wait i know the answer to that....

Josh

 
Bob Sapp has like his own novelty store located somewhere in Shibuya. That is pretty crazy, they sell like Bob Sapp Dolls, T-shirts, posters, etc. Also, have any of you guys heard his single he put out on CD? In my opinion it pretty much sucks, because Bob Sapp can`t rap worth a food stamp. Therefore, he should stick to fighting and being in a million different commercials.
 
By the way, he also seems to be the new "face of Panasonic" in Japan. I'm not sure if he has actually replaced Hamasaki Ayumi who was doing it before (she is a Japanese Pop Star for anyone who doesn't know her), but I haven't seen so many of her ads lately.

Tiger
 
To me Bob Sapp' s just a killer with a feel for big money. And with the rate he's appearing on commercials and television shows in Japan, he must have found heaven. But yes, he does seem to confirm a lot stereotypes of the african-american man: he is a huge black gaijin with low japanese skills. Probably just the way Japanese media want him to be, an exotic species with a nose for money. I might be too much of a cynic here, but hey, as Bob Sapp himself probably knows best: it's all entertainment. Go for the money, Bob! I know I would! Too bad skinny white guys like me wouldn't stand a chance in that ring....I'd probably be called 'The Poodle'! :)
 
Bob, the "challenger". ;)

Bob 'The Beast' Sapp is conquering Japan

Mr Sapp's drive for success has touched the hearts of ordinary Japanese, who are struggling to energize themselves in the midst of a decade-long economic slump. "Bob Sapp had experienced various failures and difficulties in the U.S. but never gave up," says Yasuhiko Ando, an official in Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The ministry recently hired Mr Sapp to appear on billboards encouraging the Japanese to start their own businesses. The ad shows a close-up of a determined-looking Mr Sapp, with the tagline: "Japan doesn't have enough challenges."
Click to expand...

=> http://www.nj.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0024_BC_WSJ--Japan-Comedian
 

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