I turned 35 years old in 2011. Much of those 35 years were spent in front of the television watching professional wrestling. Every Saturday morning of my youth I would plop down and watch WWF Superstars before I would go out and play for the day, but I wasn’t the typical wrestling fan.
While most kids flocked to the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, I instead rooted for the heels (bad guys). That alliance is still alive today. I can’t stand the uber-popular John Cena, instead my allegiance lies with a CM Punk or an Alberto Del Rio. Back then I had the toys, the magazines, and I lived in an age when the Good Humor WWF ice cream bars were prevalent.
Good Humor WWF Ice Cream Bars
Fast forward to my son being born. My passion for wrestling was still there, and I looked forward to sharing my loves with him as he grew older. Sadly, the wrestling product at this time was not very kid friendly (TV rating of 14). As the weekly broadcasts displayed bloodied faces and chants of “Suck it”, my wife’s displeasure was evident. I had to change the channel when she entered the room. With that disdain in place, the bonding of father and son over a healthy dose of “saying our prayers and eating our vitamins” was to be put on hold.
The boy is now 10 and the wrestling is now TV-PG. The wife still hates it but she understands. It’s just natural for him to be mesmerized by the pageantry and grace of an “RKO” or a “619”. He is now officially hooked. All summer we have gone to our local Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the monthly pay-per-views together. These events were usually reserved for my friends and I, so to be able to bring him along and watch him connect with my friends and absorb the spectacle brings a smile to my face.
The culmination was his purchase of a wrestling ring and some figures with his birthday money. I even let him adopt some of my collection (yes, I still have all my wrestling toys) to add to his growing roster. We have been to Kmart, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and Target…twice (please restock your shelves). He now watches WWE Raw and Smackdown and gets pretty peeved if I delete one of them. Earlier today we were at Party City looking at the Halloween supplies being stocked. He mentioned that he might want to be a wrestler for Halloween. The wrestling fan in me was sad when he mentioned maybe being John Cena, but the father in me couldn’t be more proud.
Update: we are now leaning towards CM Punk or Rey Mysterio!
Chris Tanski lives in Rochester, NY & manages a movie theater. He just got mentioned in a tweet by John ‘Freaking’ Carpenter. During his free time (when he isn’t hanging with his wife & 2 kids) he wines & dines on pop culture. Being a child of the 80s, nothing gets him going more than a daily dose of movies from his childhood. They are his muse & inspire him to be a better human.
