FAKE IT SO REAL, I LOVE ME SOME WRESTLING!

I’m a child of the early 80’s so by default, I was a child of the WWF generation.  For as long as I can remember watching wrestling was a huge part of my media consumption, and I guess I never really stopped watching. Strangely, it’s always been a part of my life, even subconsciously. For example, this will be the third time I mention John Cena in a blog post. (WHY?!)

My Dad was (and still is) totally obsessed with the WWF (or now the WWE), and so was my brother. My Mom thought it was “trashy” and called it “garbage”, but for some reason she tolerated us watching it. She had a huge crush on Rowdy Roddy Piper, and now that I think about it, her crush on Roddy was obviously the reason she tolerated us watching. I oddly remember her crying when Miss Elizabeth and Macho Man Randy Savage got married at SummerSlam.

1980-something. My Dad is wearing the appropriate Christmas morning attire, a “Hot Rod Rowdy Roddy Piper” Sweatshirt. He still wears it. And I have a perm for some reason.

My brother had all the WWF action figures, but I enjoyed playing with The Junkyard Dog one the best. He was real rubbery and had an odd plastic smell that I really, really enjoyed sniffing.  I’m 100 percent positive the only books my brother read as a teenager was Man Kind’s “Have A Nice Day” and The Rock’s “The Rock Says!”. Once my Mom even helped my brother construct a huge homemade sign that said “Can You Smell What The Rock Is COOKING?!”,  and my brother proudly displayed it at a WWF event in Buffalo. I have the fondest memory of my Grandpa laughing uncontrollably anytime Yokozuna, the sumo style wrestler, sat on some poor unknown wrestler’s face.  As you can see, this is a family affair.

Fun Grandpa memories!

I still watch WWE when I can, especially when I’m visiting my family. My Dad and I even watch the WWE Studio’s direct to DVD movies like “The Marine 2”. In terms of current WWE wrestlers, my brother loves “The Miz”, which really annoys my Dad for some reason, and my Dad’s favorite current wrestler is Shawn Michaels. I love John Cena, (all American, occasional freestyle rapper) but was heartbroken when the Tag Team “Cryme Tyme” (JTG & Shad) decided to split ways. “And you KNOW they got street smarts ‘cause they’re from BROOKLYN!” an announcer once proclaimed as they entered the ring.

I was really excited when Fake It So Real was selected to play at Rooftop this summer.  The film is funny, heartbreaking and obviously entertaining. Even if you’re not fan of the sport, there’s something incredibly endearing about people who never give up on their dreams. Everyone with a dream has to start somewhere, and Robert Greene’s portrait of a group of North Carolina wrestlers is addicting to watch. So join us tonight for one of the most enjoyable films we’re showing this summer – oh yeah – did I mention there is going to be LIVE WRESTLING 2 NITE!!!!!!!  BUY TICKETS HERE.