RESPECT.....
Once upon a time, there was a wrestling promotion that had the smartest fans in North America...they were educated to the various types of wrestling that existed...North American styles, Japanese styles, and Mexican styles. This crowd was appreciative of the product that was being offered to them, and of the talent roster from around the world that was second to no other. They were respectful of the considerable effort being put out on their behalf by those working for this company. That was then...this is now.... You probably know which company I mean, and some of you may be the fans I’m speaking about... Let’s see if you recognize this picture: ....Fans, drunken even before entering the building, leaving broken beer bottles all over the parking lot, the street and even piled up in the stairwell entering the wrestling venue.... ....Hundreds pushing forward in a stampede to enter the building, with no attempt made at establishing a line...with no regard given to those who had been there as long as three hours before the show....no concern for the women, children, or others that were being hurt in the crush of humanity at the door.... ....Supposed "fans" throwing a infantile tantrum because they’d been asked to move from bleacher seats early in the evening.... throwing it during a 10 bell memorial count that was given for Brian Pillman... disrupting the ceremony that has been unique to wrestling and boxing for decades.... ....The sound of the chant “you f---ed up” when a chair shot was thought to be "too light"... a chairshot by a worker who was in the ring with a orthopedic cast on a broken foot... a man whose heart is far bigger than his body... believed to be working frequently while on the same type of painkilling drugs that killed one of the business’s superstars only two weeks before.... doing it because he actually believes in the fans of the business that just showed him their disrespect.... ....The biggest crowd reaction of the evening given to a woman and her boyfriend, who thought it appropriate to flash the crowd and pull her top down; rather than having given that kind of reaction to the man who was memorialized earlier in the evening, or another man, one of the top workers in the world who had worked a match just minutes before, even with a knee that will require major surgery.... Recognize those situations? If you’re an ECW fan, and were at the Arena on October 18, 1997, you might even have found yourself in one of those examples. The conduct of many in the ECW Arena crowd on that night was no less than disgusting in many instances. The pre-show public drunkenness that seems to be endemic outside the Arena is a major cause for the behavior that goes on the Arena show after show, night after night. It showed itself later that night in the exhibition of the boyfriend who flashed the crowd with his girlfriend’s breasts. It is not funny. It is pathetic. The lack of adequate crowd control, and self-policing by the crowd itself in the line waiting to enter the building is a disaster waiting to happen. There was a very real risk of someone being trampled on October 18. Any of you reading this site, especially from outside the United States, are aware of the castastrophes that have occurred in football (soccer) crowds in Europe, with people actually killed in crowd panics. Then there’s the reaction to Tommy Dreamer, who should simply not be working until his body has had time to heal. Two and three times per week, Dreamer works hurt from taking the psychotic bumps that are part of his and ECW’s style. He does it because he cares about the business. Yet he’s treated (as, it seems, are most workers) with the lack of respect shown October 18th by fans who have been spoiled for so long they can’t appreciate true commitment in the ring any longer. Finally, there were the infantile morons who felt obligated to disrupt the Brian Pillman 10-bell count with chants like “security sucks...” because they were asked to move a row down from the new bleachers that are somewhat questionable in their safety.. Such disrespect for Brian Pillman, his family, his friends, and his co-workers that night was beneath contempt. If you were there, or if you’re just reading this site, and that behavior offends you... Good. It should. If you were one of those engaging in that behavior that night, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You should do something about it. If you are part of ECW’s management, and you are offended by seeing these happenings in print, you have a responsibility to undertake the necessary steps to insure that many of these types of incidents do not happen again. Until next time....
Bob Magee is a columnist for Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets - for comments or opposing viewpoints please e-mail to magee@uscom.com