Welcome to another edition of Kay’s Korner.
Fans are the backbone of wrestling. I mentioned that in a previous column and for some reason, couldn’t seem to get that out of my mind. It is a strong statement to make and a bold one; but it is also a very true statement.
There are different kinds of wrestling fans from all over the world. There are fans that watch for the ‘wrestling’, while some watch for the ‘entertainment’. There are some that watch for the women in the skimpy outfits, while some watch for the men in tights. For whatever reason, wrestling fans are a unique group that can’t really be compared to any other group of fans for any other sports event.
I know there are a lot of people who think wrestling is fake and phony. (I’d like to see them take a few bumps in the ring. I bet money that would change their minds.) There are also people out there who can’t see the attraction of watching wrestling, such as my poor husband. However, wrestling fans are everywhere and they all watch it for different reasons.
I was introduced to wrestling at a very young age. My dad was a huge fan, along with my mom’s dad. Saturday mornings were not just about cartoons at our house. It was about getting to watch wrestling. I can vividly remember waking up on Saturday mornings and the first thought in my head was, “Wrestling comes on today!”
There were times when I watched wrestling with my dad, times when I watched with my grandpa, and times when I watched with both of them. Either way, my childhood is filled with happy memories of watching wrestling with my family and enjoying every minute of it. Wrestling, in our family, was as American as fireworks on the Fourth of July.
On many occasions, our Saturday suppers would be spent discussing what had happened on wrestling that day. I can remember my dad mentioning something that he thought would happen and I would sit in awe of his extensive knowledge when it came true. I thought my dad knew everything about wrestling and for good reason.
My dad never missed a Saturday show. My dad bought almost every wrestling magazine available to keep up with the other wrestlers in different territories (in hopes that some of the wrestlers would be coming to the NWA). My dad even took me to my first live show at the Greensboro Coliseum. My dad taught me to embrace wrestling and to believe in wrestling. (I can also tell you that my dad is still a fan of wrestling to this day, as is my grandpa.)
When I grew older, my passion for wrestling only grew. During my teenage years, I can remember vividly watching WCW and the WWE, formerly known as the WWF at that time, with wonder and excitement. Growing up in my family, wrestling was a much-loved ‘sport’ in our house. Sure, there were things that we didn’t agree with in the story lines but it was still wrestling. (We were an ‘old school’ house and still are to this day but we couldn’t stop ourselves from watching.)
Granted, I don’t live with my dad any more and I don’t get to see my grandpa as much as I would like. Every once in a while, I’ll get the opportunity to watch wrestling with my dad but due to the distance between our households, it doesn’t happen as much as I would like for it to. I live two hours away from my grandpa and that makes it even harder to watch wrestling with him.
Of course, wrestling has evolved and changed in ways that I couldn’t have even imagined as a child. The ‘family oriented’ wrestling is gone and replaced with a more ‘edgier’ product. While society has made it possible for these changes, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with all of the changes that has occurred in the wrestling world. The ‘edgier’ product is a result of the emphasis being put on the ‘entertainment’ side, which is one of the things that I don’t agree with.
There are a lot of other things that I don’t particular agree with but I continue to watch week after week. If I am not there sitting watching it, you can bet money that my VCR is set and I will watch it. There are times when I can’t even explain why I am as passionate about wrestling as I am.
Then I think back to my childhood when I believed everything I saw happening to be true. I never thought, for one second, in my childhood, that ‘rassling’ was fake. I would argue with an unbeliever, even at a young age, until I was blue in the face. If they still didn’t believe it, I would take a deep breath and start all over again, bound and determined to make them believe.
Then Vince McMahon, in his infinite wisdom, announced to the world that the outcome of the matches were predetermined. I can remember actually crying the first time I heard it. All that I had believed in and argued for was not true. Imagine how crippling that was to myself. I was devastated to say the least.
Eventually, I made peace with it. I still loved wrestling and that wasn’t going to change just because it was all predetermined. Once I became older and moved out on my own, (with no cable) my dad took pity on his struggling daughter and would tape the wrestling shows for me. We had two VCR tapes that we exchanged each week. I would watch the tape, return it to my dad, and pick up the other one to watch. (I don’t think I ever really thanked my dad for that, so I’m going to take the opportunity to do that now. Thanks dad.)
In my mid-20’s, I turned my best friend into a wrestling fanatic. Tammy is my best friend (since high school) and I couldn’t imagine watching wrestling with anybody else. While she too watched wrestling while growing up, she never really paid attention to it that much. She watched it more to see her Pa-paw talk to the TV, get agitated, and throw air punches. She’s told me more than once that she can remember those memories and now that her Pa-paw is no longer here with us, the memories mean that much more. (By taking her to her first live show for her birthday on September 27, 1999, I created a wonderful, wrestling partner-in-crime.)
The point that I’m trying to make is that wrestling fans become fans for different reasons. Some are like myself, who were raised watching it, while some were just flipping through the channels on the TV and happened to see it. Curiosity made them watch and the wrestling made them want more. Some watch because they have friends that watch it. Seeing the twinkle in their friends eyes intrigued them just enough to watch, just to see what it is all about. Others watch because they’ve heard something on the news that wrestling is responsible for and want to know what it’s all about.
While I long for the days of ‘rassling’, I do take what I can get. Watching wrestling is like breathing for me in a lot of ways; I just can’t seem to live without it. To be honest, I’ve never tried. I enjoy it too much to deprive myself of what I consider my ‘dirty little pleasure’; I’ve never been ashamed to admit that I am a wrestling fan and I never will. Wrestling has allowed me the opportunity to leave the real world (and my problems) behind, even if only for a short period of time. I’ve always been able to tune everything out when wrestling is on. While I may roll my eyes or shake my head at times, I still watch it every week.
To pinpoint one thing exactly that I love about wrestling is virtually impossible. I love wrestling for many different reasons. I love to watch the wrestlers shine in the ring with their athletic abilities. I love to watch the promos being spoken to a live crowd and hear the reactions that only wrestling fans can provide. I love the outrageous clothes, the entrance music, and the gimmicks. I love the referees and the ring announcers. I love the response of the crowd, on a high spot or a close call. In short, I love it all.
I’ve spent a lot of my time watching other fans at wrestling events and have always noticed that they are just as passionate about wrestling as I am. There is a feeling of kinship with these strangers at the events. It doesn’t matter who your favorite wrestler is and if the person sitting next to you is pulling for their opponent. At the events, we’re not just ordinary people; we are wrestling fans.
We are vocal with what we like and don’t like, and trust me on this, we are not shy about it. We are adamant about the wrestlers that we love, and even more adamant about the wrestlers we love to hate. We scream and shout at the top of our lungs to the point that we can’t speak the next day. We carry signs and display them proudly for the whole world to see. We cause actions and reactions in the ring with every shout of encouragement or boo. We watch every second because we know if we blink, we’ll miss seeing something really special.
Wrestling is a sport that is unlike any other sport in the world. There is no other sport that has fans as passionate as wrestling fans. Wrestling fans embrace the wrestling world and suspend the thought of the ‘pre-determined’ outcomes to enjoy wrestling the way it should be enjoyed. Wrestling is a sport that should be admired and enjoyed to the fullest.
However, wrestling would not be half as enjoyable, if not for the fans. The fans are the backbone of wrestling. The fans make wrestling a live, breathing creation that feeds off of them, making something good into something special. The fans are what make wrestling so unique and so different from anything else in the world. The fans are the ‘secret’ ingredients when it comes to wrestling.
That’s another edition of Kay’s Korner. Thanks for reading! All feedback can be sent to lilwrestlegrl@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
| What Did You Think About WWE Backlash 2008? |
|
|