So I never really watched much wrestling as a kid. But I do have this one memory. I was probably about nine, and was invited to stay over at a friend’s house. For our enjoyment, he had rented a video (yes, that’s right, a VHS cassette tape…I am that old) of WWF wrestling Thanksgiving Smack Down (it was called WWF back then before that wild life group threw a hissy-fit). I’m not really sure if it was a “Smack Down” but I do remember that it was Thanksgiving themed, and that it was a rumble of sorts. This was my first exposure to wrestling. I had never seen it before, but my friend was way into it. He couldn’t wait to show me the “Undertaker” and the “Ultimate Warrior.” We turned it on and I fully expected that I would not be interested in it. (Alright, I admit it…I was a sensitive kid…)
But then I saw him, all dressed in yellow. He was so good! So positive! He told me to take my vitamins and say my prayers! He was a hero! He was HULK HOGAN. I watched in amazement as he came back from behind to defeat wrestler after wrestler, until finally he emerged victorious! He had come back from such a deficit! It was amazing! Now here’s a guy I could look up to! Thwarting bad guy after bad guy all in the name of good! I have to admit I really enjoyed the wrestling Smack Down (or was it a “Royal Rumble?”) I enjoyed it enough that I didn’t object when my friend suggested we watch it over again.
Since that day, I haven’t really watched any wrestling. I know that the man who brought “Hulkamania” to life has had his share of problems and poor decisions. But I still hold dear the thought of our heroic wrestler from the 80s. Maybe it’s just my nostalgia for the 80′s, or maybe it’s just my fondness for a more innocent time (it certainly isn’t the spandex), but I look back on that time and wonder if we all wouldn’t be a little better off with just a little more innocence in us…a little more good…a little more Hulkamania.