Wrestlemania Is Here! 35 Years And Counting!

It is the GranDaddy of the all! Wrestlemania! It is here and over 75,000 people will enter Met Life Stadium to watch sports entertainment at its finest.  I have been a fan since I saw my first event, WrestleMania 3 when over 90,000 people saw Hulk Hogan body slam Andre The Giant at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit.  I have been watching it ever since.

This isn’t the same wrestling that perhaps some of you grew up watching.  Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George.  It has become a mainstream event that welcomes fans young and old.  Celebrities are involved.  ESPN talks about it.  And for the first time…women will be the main event.  I am so excited.

Wrestling is a tough line of work.  But many pro athletes cannot handle the physical pounding that this sport requires.  Ask Lawrence Taylor how hard it is.  He main evented WrestleMania 11.  It is story telling, athletic competition, but at its core…its good vs bad and you hope Good wins over Evil.  There is a reason that this event has become a world wide event that over 15 countries broadcast for WWE.

Yes, the outcomes are pre-determined.  But it is NOT fake.  These are real athletes doing extraordinary things, taking real risks to entertain us and real injuries can occur.  But watch a live event sometime.  It is a fun time just like any sporting event you may watch, like basketball or baseball.  And as a fan…it is the culmination of the sports entertainment universe.  I have been in the audience for a WrestleMania before.  It is an experience everyone should have on a bucket list.  And if Becky Lynch wins the main event tonight…I will be cheering from my couch with a few good friends.  Happy Sunday!

~ Tim Thomas