pro wrestling is for maniacs

there's a certain amount of alienation that comes with being a fan of pro wrestling. based on my own experience as a wrestling fan, i find it safe to assume most people aren't watching. sure, millions of people tune into monday night raw each week, but that's not the majority of people. once you break it all down worldwide and stretch it out, there's probably two dudes in my office (and i'm one of them) who watch it. no news outlets report on it. no comedians write jokes about it. barring something extremely crazy happening, no one outside of the odd little universe of wrestling fans ever know what's going on inside the ring.

so when wrestlemania arrived this past weekend, it felt really awesome and somewhat liberating to find myself surrounded by thousands of fans (80,000+ for wrestlemania, 15,000+ for raw the following day). we showed up early and tailgated. we made a weekend of it. for a solid 4 days, everyone in this area knew that wrestling came to town. maybe they didn't know much else.... but if they weren't into wrestling, they suddenly realized they knew someone who was. people in the area started coming out in public as wrestling fans en masse. no more wrestling fan shame. not when mania's in town brother.

for us, this is the mecca. this is comic con meets the superbowl meets the circus. in the only stadium that is home to TWO nfl football teams, for just one night, wrestling would be king and all else seemed insignificant. don't believe me? ask michael strahan cuz he was there. when the introductions were made and the initial bell rung, nothing but wrestling mattered and it was all worth it and it all made sense and who wouldn't wanna be a part of this? it was amazing!

and it really was. i guess if you're not a wrestling fan, it's a hard sell. i guess it just looks like two dudes in underwear rolling around and fake punching each other to a script with predetermined endings. and sure, it is that to a certain degree... but there's a lot more going on. and i could try and try to preach and convert or at least shift your opinion just a little. but i'm not gonna do that cuz it's exhausting and you could just google something like, 'pro wrestling is cool,' and probably come across an endless amount of internet that defends pro wrestling's awesomeness.

i do know this. there's nothing like wrestling fans. they're the best... or the best i've been around. i've been to a shitload of sporting events and concerts and all other sorts of live entertainment and there is nothing like a pro wrestling crowd. they're fun and insane and there's costumes and signs... holy shit so many signs... and there's good guys and bad guys (and good women and bad women, let's not forget), and everyone's rooting against each other but when it's all said and done, we're all there for the same good time.

and when i think about how intense wrestling fans can be and what a great time that can be had, i'm sorta glad that it's not more popular. i don't want everyone in the world suddenly into wrestling. cuz it'd probably water down the experience. this is for people who know how to get into it and be silly and let loose and have a good time cuz the audience is as much a part of the show as the entertainers themselves. and the entertainers in the ring would probably be the first to agree with that statement. a great crowd will make a great night and a weak crowd could very well ruin what might've been an awesome show.

so if you're not a maniac, then watching pro wrestling may not be for you. and that's okay cuz i suppose it's alright to not be a maniac. but after the weekend i just had, all i can say is, being a pro wrestling maniac is a fucking blast!