by Mindy Crump

Created on: March 07, 2008

Why do I watch wrestling?

Throughout my life, I have been asked by many people "What is your greatest interest?". My answer, "music, writing, animals, politics..........oh and wrestling". This is when you definitely have to see the expression on these people's faces as soon as I mention wrestling. They look at me as if I am some alien from the planet Jupiter and they start to say "really?" over and over again. Once these people come back to reality once or twice in my life, okay maybe more like a hundred times, those people always say "but you're a girl" as if to say that I am probably not feminine enough in my life, if I watch wrestling. What shocks them more is when I mention that I have been watching wrestling since I was 3 years old, so about 17 years out of my life. I believe these people are shocked by this as they see me as a quiet young lady who keeps to herself and never gets into trouble. I'm not seen as the aggressive type to watch wrestling, as some of them mention and at the end of all the discussions I've had over it I am always asked the "why?" question.

Why do I watch wrestling? I was introduced to wrestling at an early age by my father. It was much different back then as it was now. Hulk Hogan would tell me to eat my vitamins, Undertaker was just starting out and well to be honest I do not remember a much from when I was that young. I do remember Reba McIntyre singing the American national anthem at the very first Wrestlemania I have ever saw. When I was younger I liked the glamor of wrestling. Coming out to a bunch of fans cheering you on, or in some cases booing the hell out of you, while wearing those shiny clothes how could you not like it at such a young age. As I became older, I was beginning to understand the story lines and how the wrestling world functioned. I was still amazed by the outfits all those wrestlers wore and probably my favorite entrance of all time was when The Undertaker came out. The very first wrestling show I ever went to was with my father and his friend and watching The Undertaker come out was remarkable. There is just something about the constant dinging of the bell, the darkness and all that fog that just made my eyes focus on him.

1996 came rolling and that was when The Rock began his career. Instantly I became a fan of his even if the whole crowd was booing him constantly. Something about his personality attracted me to him and to this day I am and will always be a huge fan of The Rock. From 1996 on, were the best years in wrestling. I remember the duel between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, another favorite wrestler of mine. Even the duel between Austin and Mr. McMahon, the CEO of WWE, was quite entertaining but not at all as entertaining as the best group in wrestling history known as Degeneration X. I would rush to the t.v every time a show was on just to watch what DX was about to do next. Those times were the best because of the great performers/wrestlers they had.

Wrestling has definitely changed since then and has become a market that has softened up on their story lines as of late. However, I still find myself tuning in each and every week to watch this generation of wrestlers do their stuff and try to entertain me. I feel as if I am much a part of a growing family of fans that will support them through thick and thin. They have entertained me over many years in which not one other show has been able to do for that long of a time. So, in short, they are my entertaining life in which I cannot let go of which is why I watch wrestling.

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