Monday, February 15, 2010

Great Report from Vance Nevada "Breaking News on outing of the FIXED EVENTS AT OLYMPICS

Last evening I had the opportunity to watch some of the CTV coverage of the 2010 Olympic Games from Vancouver. Certainly there is a great deal of excitement and patriotic fanfare around this event. It was great to see that Canada has already secured at least one gold medal early in the games much to the delight of all. Other athletes - including women's hockey are already showing some strong performances early on which could lead to a gold medal in the coming weeks.

I was particularly entranced by the pairs figure skating competition last evening. There was a lot of grace, style, and the years of training and sacrifice put in by these athletes was immediately apparent. However, after watching a few duos take to the ice, I started to get a sneaking suspicion that what I was witnessing might be choreographed. As I watched some more, I was certain ... these Olympic level athletes had pre-planned their performance. They knew before they left the locker room last night EXACTLY what they were going to do out in front of the paying audience. I am sorry to have to be the one to break the news on this one, but ... FIGURE SKATING IS FAKE!!

I know that there are surely some passionate skating enthusiasts out there who are upset and perhaps a little disillusioned right now. By all means, figure skating is a big business and entertains thousands, perhaps millions of people each year ... but the routines are scripted, the moves rehearsed, and the sequences designed to illicit a desired reaction from the paying audience at select moments of the show. Wait a minute ... this is starting to sound an awful lot like PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!

Let me remind you all that professional wrestling has come under scrutiny from the public and the media for decades who have attempted to discredit the merits of the ring sport. Even today, when a casual observer of the mat game wants to challenge the authenticity of the combative sport, invariably the challenge becomes ... "But it's all fake, right? I mean, everything is pre-determined."

So let me ensure that I understand this correctly. For the Olympic Games, a performer will train with a dedicated partner for a year or more, rehearsing the same five minute routine over and over on a daily basis to ensure a picture perfect delivery ONE TIME in front of an audience ... AND, they'll set it to music. This not a recreational dance ... this is an OLYMPIC SPORT. In professional wrestling, a performer may be paired with another athlete that he has never met, often have no opportunity to "rehearse", and get sent out in front of an audience on the same evening, but this is NOT a sport?

Someone explain this to me.

I think that to many attempting to dismiss professional wrestling, they haven't weighed wrestling on its own merits. If one is trying to measure professional wrestling based on the model adopted by boxing or mixed martial arts, perhaps one could argue that wrestling, as it has evolved, falls short of the mark. However, if one suspends their pre-conceived beliefs about professional wrestling and grades it in the context of a sport like pairs figure skating or synchronized swimming, it 's a whole new ball game.

Consider this: Maybe the measure of the talent of a professional wrestler is not based on their win-loss record. Perhaps the industry rates these wrestlers on their ability to deliver a great match against a variety of opponents. Put this in context, how well would a pairs figure skater do if they were sent to the rink with a partner that they had just met that day and had 30 minutes to assemble a routine for their adoring fans. Hmm ...

Recently, I was conversing with an administrator for a Canadian sports hall of fame. When I suggested a nomination for a reputable professional wrestling alumnus, I was curtly told "We don't recognize professional wrestlers". Excuse me? Professional wrestlers, at the top tier, endure a schedule of more than 200 dates per year with a travel schedule more aggressive than any other professional athlete, against a variety of opponents night after night, and observe no "off season". How can mainstream sports museums disregard the contributions of athletes who spend more than 25 years in their field because they don't understand the sport? It's even worse when you consider that some of these administrators will discriminate against athletes in a field which is regulated by a Provincially sanctioned athletic governing body as a "Combative Sport". You gotta be kidding me!

I, myself, am not an enthusiast of figure skating. However, I do respect the training and skill of these athletes. I am a casual observer and could not tell you the difference between a Biellman spin and a Charlotte spiral. I can't distinguish a gold medal performance from a silver medal outing, but I can appreciate that this is an artform unto itself. And though I am not a fan, I still hope that the Canadian athletes in this competition do well.

I also believe that it's high time that professional wrestling, and in particular those Canadian athletes who are plying their trade at all levels of the industry, are extended the same courtesy and respect which is bestowed upon other "choreographed" sports.

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