Students obsess over martial arts master

and cAgainst All Odds: My Story d in 2004 . Sources: en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Chuck_norris and www.chucknorris.com/html/biog.html Chuck Norris cFacts d 1. There is no theory o+ evolution.<br><br> Just a list o+ animals Chuck Norris allowed to live. 2. Guns don 9t kill people.<br><br> Chuck Norris kills people. 3. The chie+ export o+ Chuck Norris is pain.<br><br> 4. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.<br><br> 5. Chuck Norris doesn 9t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is. 6.<br><br> Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink. 7. Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.<br><br> 8. Chuck Norris does not get +rostbite. Chuck Norris bites +rost.<br><br> 9. Chuck Norris counted to inf nity 3 twice. 10.<br><br> Chuck Norris doesn 9t read books. He stares them down until he gets the in+ormation he wants. Source: www.chucknorrisfacts.com Students obsess over martial arts master Alison Bowen Managing Editor Chuck Norris has called Barbara Dixon cBabs d to her face.<br><br> Twice. The fountain on the Mall springs from Chuck Norris 9 tears. Too bad he never cries.<br><br> Similar Chuck Norris cfacts d that celebrate the invincibility of the actor and martial arts black belt are circulating the Internet, and Truman students are not ex- empt from infatuation with the cWalker, Texas Ranger d star. Norris, a master of Korean martial arts Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do, rose to fame in the 1980s af- ter starring in a string of ac- tion movies. He later starred in cWalker, Texas Ranger, d which aired for eight years on CBS and still enjoys heavy syndica- tion.<br><br> Although Norris could not be reached for comment as of press time, on his Web site, www.chucknorris.com, he writes that he neither takes offense at the jokes nor takes them seriously. After a parody of Norris on cLate Night with Conan O 9Brien d became a popular segment, cfacts d about the star began to emerge on the Inter- net, and Norris soon began to surface around Truman 9s cam- pus, from event fliers to church services. Senior Garret Grimm, a Nor- ris fan, said he heard about the jokes from a friend.<br><br> He since has sent the jokes to other friends and posted them on his Facebook wall. Before the jokes, Grimm said he knew about Norris 9 pre- vious movies and his starring roles in cWalker, Texas Rang- er d and Total Gym Fitness com- mercials. He said Norris is easy to make jokes about because he al- ways tries to be so masculine.<br><br> cHe 9s into martial arts and stuff, being buff and having a beard, d he said. cHe never changes his look. d Grimm is not alone. Norris 9 face graces different promotional fliers around cam- pus, and the cfacts d abound on various AOL Instant Messen- ger and Facebook profiles, in- cluding five separate Facebook groups at Truman alone devoted to Norris.<br><br> Sophomore Chris Betts said he put the fact cChuck Nor- ris doesn 9t need air. Air needs Chuck Norris d on his Instant Messenger pro- file. Some of Betts 9 friends, sophomore Tim Claudin and junior Kyle Brown, said they had heard of the jokes since the be- ginning of this semester and attributed Nor- ris 9 popularity to the combina- tion of karate kicks and cowboy hats.<br><br> cHe 9s such a bad actor and yet has done so many movies, d Brown said. Sophomore Tony Dwiggins echoed the sentiment that Nor- ris 9 appeal lies in his round- house kicks. cHe 9s a Texan, he 9s a mar- tial artist, he 9s like, amazing, d Dwiggins said.<br><br> cHe 9s like a Texan Jackie Chan. d Norris even has been inte- grated into campus life, includ- ing a Campus Christian Fellow- ship Sunday worship service last month. Senior Matt Hei- mann used a photo of Norris last month as part of a conversation prompt during greeting time. cIt 9s one of those thing where you can take anything that sounds ridiculous and just apply Chuck Norris to it and make it fun- ny, d he said.<br><br> Heimann said he grew up watching cWalker, Texas Ranger d with his father and thinks a college-age generation can re- late to Norris 9 era of fame. Fans around the world have devoted numerous Web sites to Norris, and Googling the phrase cChuck Norris facts d brings up more than a million hits. Ian Spector, freshman at Brown University, created one of the more popular Norris Web sites 3 the Chuck Norris random fact generator at www.4q.cc.<br><br> Spector said he created the site last April after similar jokes circulated parodying actors Vin Diesel and Mr. T. cI thought, 8Oh, these are really funny, wouldn 9t it be in- teresting if there could be a site where anybody could go and read or submit these things, 9 d he said.<br><br> cSo that was the start of it. d The Web site soon integrat- ed Norris, and Spector said the Chuck Norris random fact generator receives be- tween 500,000 and 800,000 hits each day. He said he has more than 5,000 submissions, which must be screened to en- sure only the top-quality facts are represented. cI have friends, people on my floor, who help me go through facts, d he said.<br><br> Making it onto the site, which has about a 5-percent accep- tance rate, requires a joke that is unique and makes whoever is reading it laugh, he said. cI 9ve found that the funni- est ones are the short and sweet ones that hit you from an angle, d he said. cYou 9re not expecting it at all. d Spector met with Norris dur- ing winter break, after Norris 9 wife called Spector and invited him to one of Norris 9 World Combat League events.<br><br> See CHUCK, Page 13 Real Chuck Norris Facts (These are actually true.) Cartoon by Perrin Carrell Design by Tina May/Index cHe seems to portray this guy who is always calm and collected, but the next time you turn around, he 9ll come and kick your ass. d Ian Spector Chuck Norris Fan

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