Chuck Norris is more than cheesy TV acting
Since recent news around NDSU has been somewhat slow, other than the men’s basketball team’s triumphant victory over the Badgers, I thought I’d stop for a moment and write something about the greatest martial arts fighter/actor in American history. A man who is also a personal hero and the celebrity I can’t get enough of. No, I’m not talking about Steven Seagal — I mean Chuck Norris.
He’s starred in movies including “The Delta Force,” “Missing in Action,” “Firewalker” and “Lone Wolf McQuade.” It’s fair to say that the actor and retired undefeated martial arts star has achieved legendary status in the United States. When the country was afraid we would never hear from him again, Conan O’Brien brought him back on the air with hilarious clips from the TV show, “Walker, Texas Ranger.” This also led to hundreds of Chuck Norris facts posted on the Internet and Facebook walls across the country.
But these facts didn’t exactly stop at Chuck Norris. They’ve spilled over to include Mr. T and Vin Diesel. I wouldn’t stop there either. I want to see Seagal facts and Jean Claude Van Damme legends as well.
While humorous, I feel the other facts don’t hold a candle to the Chuck Norris legends. Especially when you consider that in March, Norris will celebrate his 66th birthday.
I don’t think Chuck Norris gets enough credit.
His sterling career has spanned numerous decades. He has no shortage of impressive accomplishments.
According to the Web site imdb.com, Norris has founded two of his own martial arts: Chun Kuk Do (“The Universal Way”) and American Tang Soo Do. He’s also a six-time world karate champion and a card-carrying National Rifle Association member (not that he needs a gun).
Many will argue that his movies and his long-standing TV series are littered with bad acting and ridiculous plot lines. I’ve often wondered to myself how in every episode, when Chuck Norris gets into a fight, his cowboy hat doesn’t fall off.
Or the fact that after he’s done fighting off bad guys and drug dealers, his character Cordell Walker still has time to woo Alex, answer all Trivette’s questions and eat a bowl of chili without breaking a sweat.
What exactly makes Chuck Norris such an icon?
It could be the fact that he has one of the greatest beards on earth, or that his selfless acts are contributions to America’s youth, which make him a fantastic role model.
I’d also add that he can beat anybody on the Total Gym.
But this begs the question: how much longer can Norris keep this up?
Most actors his age are gray-haired and are taking on less-active roles in movies.
I’m willing to wager that Norris will never stop.
He may have retired from competitive martial arts fighting, but he’ll still be in the public eye.
I’d bet that Norris will have enough air in his tank to appear in movies for another 15 years.
Whether or not his roundhouse kicks will be as powerful then remains to be seen.
Chuck Norris should not only have a star on Hollywood, but he should have a statue of himself in every U.S. city with a population greater than 500,000 people (with the exception of Texas, which I feel should rename Dallas to “Norris”).
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum