People are wondering who is to blame for the drug abuse and suspension of the wrestlers. I have a suggestion.
We, the wrestling viewing public, are partially to blame. We live in an instant gratification world. We want it NOW. Our fast foods, our information, our entertainment must be available immediately or we lose interest and desire. We demand that the athletes be ready to perform at our convenience, regardless of their physical health, job pressures, or home life. In this, we are to blame.
But, Vince McMahon and the WWE are also partially to blame. Vince McMahon has made 3 brands of wrestling for public view 3 days a weeks (not counting any re-broadcasts or pay-per-views). He has the wrestlers on tour more than 250 days a year (my estimate, which according to the wrestling books published, is low). How many of us regular, working people would be away from our families for that long.
Yes, they get to go home, but they don't get to stay there for long. This schedule pushes the wrestler's body beyond the limits of endurance. So, why are we surprised to find them taking "a little something" to get by. Their bodies do not get time to rest and heal. Their families do not get time to enjoy them. Their spouses feel like they are single parents, which they are due to the wrestler being gone. When a wrestler comes home, he or she has to try to "fit in" to a family that has to make due without them most of the time. And they are tired- emotionally, physically and probably mentally. They have learned to work thru the physical pain of performing nightly or at least 3 nights a week on the road. How many spouses out there would not be resentful of having to be mother& father all the time. The wrestler wants peace, the family wants time, the spouse want attention-does anyone see that there is conflict here?
Also, the wrestler themselves are the blame as they are the ones who take the meds they feel they need. They cannot escape blame. They know that they are doing wrong, but are caught in a career trap.
We, the public, want wrestlers with a super body. Where do they get the time to workout with the schedule they have? Is it a surprise that they need "enhancement"? Also, Vince McMahon rarely shows a wrestler that is not "ripped to the max" or, in the case of the women, breasts like over sized coconuts. Why?
If you look at the wrestling past, the great feuds were not built in a single day. With a pay-per-view every month, no good feud has a chance of growing. The writers have 4 Mondays (in the case of Raw) to build a good plot line. Is it any wonder that they have trouble doing this?
Mr. McMahon, Mrs. McMahon, please stop pushing the wrestlers so hard.
Consider this:
Each brand has a pay-per-view every 3 months and twice a year the brands meet on a pay-per view. There would still be a WWE pay-per-view monthly, but this would give more brand loyalty. And as all brands are WWE, this is not bad. You could build up rising stars quicker this way. And this would give the writers time to build the kind of storyline we saw in the early 80's.
After the brands meet (like at WrestleMania), then have a lottery on Monday Night Raw. This gives at least two days (weeks) worth of storyline trying to fit in the line-up and start feuds.
After every pay-per-view, let the champion speak or do a run-in, but not compete that night, especially if they are on Raw.
Lessen the schedule for house shows. This will actually build excitement for when the WWE comes to the fan's town. Now, if you miss a show in your area, you just wait for the next time, ti won't be long. Lessening the schedule will have a big effect on lessening the injury level. These past few months we've seen so many wrestlers get injuries-the kind that aren't gone by next week. Lessening the schedule also gives the wrestler some "down time" with their family. They can enjoy their family without being injured just to see them. Their families can have meaningful time with the wrestler and the wrestler comes back ready to perform again.
If you doubt that this would be popular with the audience, let the independent wrestling newsletters take a poll. See what the people say. You might be surprised.
By doing these things, I believe you will see a lessening in the drug problem in the WWE. You can't say there isn't one when 10 wrestlers get suspended. But this is a problem that in self-created. So, let's un-create it. The fans benefit, the wrestlers benefit, the WWE benefits- win/win situation.
Mr. McMahon, you can make things like this happen. You have made money from wrestling, just as your father did. Make a health care system for wrestlers and their families. With proper health care, the company will not see much in the way of drug problems. Include in the health care, family counseling and psychological counseling. Make this a better than Blue Cross/Blue Shield, I believe that many of the past wrestlers lost to suicide or other unexpected death would not have happened if this would have been instituted. Yes, I know that it cost money, a lot of money. But the workers in the WWE Corporate offices have health care- so should the athletes.
Mr. McMahon, please, care for these men and women work give their bodies as sacrifice for our entertainment. We, the fans, do. So should you.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wrestling's Dark side
Once again, a wrestler has died. Once again, drugs are either blamed or involved. Yet no one has thought to blame the sport itself or it's fans.
The sport, i.e. those in charge of the companies, tell the wrestler that he or she must look a certain way.
If you are a woman, you must add inches to your breasts and subtract inches from your waist. You must look like a Hollywood model and still be able to fight. Or, in my opinion, play fight. But look at the great women wrestlers like the Fabulous Moolah. She was not in the "perfect" shape (no offence to her meant), but she was quite able to fight and fight anyone. She showed toughness and tenacity. She was blessed with ability and worked hard for what she won. Today in the most watched wrestling rings, we watch "Hollywood model-types" wresting in skimpy outfits and the "fighting" is similar to that seen in a school yard. Not all the women are like this, but most are. And if they are honest with themselves, they know that their "fighting" is nothing more than pandering to men's desire for near nude women competing for attention. Let any one of those ladies come out in a singlet, like Moolah wore, and listen for the boos and watch her get fired.
The men have it no better. They must look extremely muscular and risk their health every time they get into the ring. They can't be wiry and and agile. They must have "rippling muscles" even if their body types are not designed for that kind of look. They need to workout in a gym for hours a day, yet they have to travel and preform daily. There is not enough time for adequate rest and gym time and travel time. Their families suffer the life of having a Dad about 3 times per month. Then Daddy leaves again. Many wrestlers are addicted to pain pills, so we are being told. No kidding. If we, as normal human beings, went thru what they do for even 2 days, we'd be in the hospital.
And both sexes have NO HEALTH CARE INSURANCE. Few have life insurance. Why? Well, healthcare insurance is not offered by any of the companies that make a profit off of these men and women's LIVES. Independant healthcare companies are afraid to insure them, due to their "high risk" lifestyle. Life insurance is almost as big a joke. Again, most companies won't touch them. This insurance should be provided by their employers, you know, the ones who make the most profit for the least amount of money. But it is not offered. So, they must go on wrestling, even when they are hurt, just to pay their bills.
In his first book, Mick Foley refers to this a "bleeding for dollars". A very apt description for the lifestyle they must live. Yes, they could leave and get other jobs. But this is their profession that they love. Why must it not provide for them? If they worked in any corporate office setting as a mail clerk, they would have all the insurance and even paid vacation. But wrestling is not office work.
Lastly, we, the fans, are to blame for much of this. We want to see these men and women looking like they do and wrestling as often as they do. We "suspend" reality to enjoy the matches, but we don't consider the lives of those we watch. Let's face ourselves. We want "high risk maneuvers" and rippling muscles. The men (and some of us women) want to see the "Hollywood model" wrestling in high heels and have large breasts. We want them to go from town to town without rest. All because of entertainment.
I have been a wrestling fan since 1982. I've seen them come and go. I've seen them die way too young. It's time that we all see them for who they are-people. People who, if they want to keep their jobs, can't ask for a union or healthcare. It is up to us as loyal fans to start the fight for healthcare, for insurance and for time off. Does this mean that the wrestlers will wrestle less? Yes. Does this mean that we, the public, will not see them as often as we want. Yes. But this may mean that these men and women may live to see there children grow up and have children of their own. It is definately worth it.
The sport, i.e. those in charge of the companies, tell the wrestler that he or she must look a certain way.
If you are a woman, you must add inches to your breasts and subtract inches from your waist. You must look like a Hollywood model and still be able to fight. Or, in my opinion, play fight. But look at the great women wrestlers like the Fabulous Moolah. She was not in the "perfect" shape (no offence to her meant), but she was quite able to fight and fight anyone. She showed toughness and tenacity. She was blessed with ability and worked hard for what she won. Today in the most watched wrestling rings, we watch "Hollywood model-types" wresting in skimpy outfits and the "fighting" is similar to that seen in a school yard. Not all the women are like this, but most are. And if they are honest with themselves, they know that their "fighting" is nothing more than pandering to men's desire for near nude women competing for attention. Let any one of those ladies come out in a singlet, like Moolah wore, and listen for the boos and watch her get fired.
The men have it no better. They must look extremely muscular and risk their health every time they get into the ring. They can't be wiry and and agile. They must have "rippling muscles" even if their body types are not designed for that kind of look. They need to workout in a gym for hours a day, yet they have to travel and preform daily. There is not enough time for adequate rest and gym time and travel time. Their families suffer the life of having a Dad about 3 times per month. Then Daddy leaves again. Many wrestlers are addicted to pain pills, so we are being told. No kidding. If we, as normal human beings, went thru what they do for even 2 days, we'd be in the hospital.
And both sexes have NO HEALTH CARE INSURANCE. Few have life insurance. Why? Well, healthcare insurance is not offered by any of the companies that make a profit off of these men and women's LIVES. Independant healthcare companies are afraid to insure them, due to their "high risk" lifestyle. Life insurance is almost as big a joke. Again, most companies won't touch them. This insurance should be provided by their employers, you know, the ones who make the most profit for the least amount of money. But it is not offered. So, they must go on wrestling, even when they are hurt, just to pay their bills.
In his first book, Mick Foley refers to this a "bleeding for dollars". A very apt description for the lifestyle they must live. Yes, they could leave and get other jobs. But this is their profession that they love. Why must it not provide for them? If they worked in any corporate office setting as a mail clerk, they would have all the insurance and even paid vacation. But wrestling is not office work.
Lastly, we, the fans, are to blame for much of this. We want to see these men and women looking like they do and wrestling as often as they do. We "suspend" reality to enjoy the matches, but we don't consider the lives of those we watch. Let's face ourselves. We want "high risk maneuvers" and rippling muscles. The men (and some of us women) want to see the "Hollywood model" wrestling in high heels and have large breasts. We want them to go from town to town without rest. All because of entertainment.
I have been a wrestling fan since 1982. I've seen them come and go. I've seen them die way too young. It's time that we all see them for who they are-people. People who, if they want to keep their jobs, can't ask for a union or healthcare. It is up to us as loyal fans to start the fight for healthcare, for insurance and for time off. Does this mean that the wrestlers will wrestle less? Yes. Does this mean that we, the public, will not see them as often as we want. Yes. But this may mean that these men and women may live to see there children grow up and have children of their own. It is definately worth it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
First Day
"In the beginning was the Word.." St. John 1:1
So it has started. This is my first attempt at the strange and fancinating world of blogging. I'm not sure how it will go.
Words are powerful. Nations have gone to war and millions of lives have been lost due to a misspoken or miswritten word. I am on the journey of "Think before your speak". I am about half way there.
Perhaps we should also, think before you blog.
Suffering is supposed to produce patience and , at least for me, it did and does. Patience is a wonderful thing as it allows a person to reflect on both joys and pains and find meaning it both. What? Meaning in pain? You mean pain is useful. Of course. With pain, we find out that our tooth needs filling or a cut needs a bandage. Pain can save our lives, as with the first signs of a heart attack or serious illness. Pain is really useful in many ways.
It reminds us that we are yet alive. And that we should stay so. For if we choose to die, we knowingly cause others that we care about untold pain.
Stay Alive.
So it has started. This is my first attempt at the strange and fancinating world of blogging. I'm not sure how it will go.
Words are powerful. Nations have gone to war and millions of lives have been lost due to a misspoken or miswritten word. I am on the journey of "Think before your speak". I am about half way there.
Perhaps we should also, think before you blog.
Suffering is supposed to produce patience and , at least for me, it did and does. Patience is a wonderful thing as it allows a person to reflect on both joys and pains and find meaning it both. What? Meaning in pain? You mean pain is useful. Of course. With pain, we find out that our tooth needs filling or a cut needs a bandage. Pain can save our lives, as with the first signs of a heart attack or serious illness. Pain is really useful in many ways.
It reminds us that we are yet alive. And that we should stay so. For if we choose to die, we knowingly cause others that we care about untold pain.
Stay Alive.
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