As I said just yesterday, my weekend wasn't very much of anything. With my wife working, my son and I basically didn't do very much of anything, but I also said that things were going to pick up very soon.
And I meant that they would pick up literally the very next day.
After a long day at work--and I do mean a very long day--my son and I took in WWE Raw at the Nassau Coliseum.
This is the show that is broadcast live on the USA Network, and it is the flagship show of this multi-billion dollar corporation based in Connecticut.
The show for us was actually nearly four hours, as they also put on a web-only WWE Superstars show prior to Raw going live.
Anyway, we were sitting in the rafters yesterday, and although we were pretty far away from the action, we could see everything pretty well. There was some obstruction with all the gizmos they have above the ring, and sometimes the lights that they used to illuminate the ring for TV got in our way, but generally, we were OK with the sight lines.
Honestly, I was bushed yesterday, and I felt myself yawning through just about the entire thing.
This started when we got to the Coliseum, and we were charged $25 for parking, up $5 since the last time we were there six months or so earlier.
And this is for a place that is going to be torn down in 2015 yet.
Then, the next indignation is that security had us line up outside before they would allow us into the Coliseum.
It was a bitter cold night, and the only things that saved us were that 1) we were dressed appropriately for a late autumn night in New York, and 2) there was little or no wind, which was starkly different from the previous night, when winds upward of more than 50 miles an hour were charted in our area.
When we got patted down and finally entered, it was warm as could be, which was fine with my son and I, and this followed throughout the next four hours.
As I have said before, this really is the modern circus, and WWE treats its fans better than any other sports organization I know. For the four hours we were there, it was really non-stop entertainment all the way.
For me, I don't get personally involved, like when I see the Yankees or Knicks in person. I generally cheer for the bad guys, my son for the good, so it makes for a fun evening.
We even saw several people there that we knew, and we exchanged pleasantries before the jumping, punching, slapping, and brawling took place.
And yes, there were so many kids there--and, I mean, little kids--that if clowns would have come out, I would not have been surprised.
Instead, we got to see John Cena, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton, and the like.
I guess they are like clowns, too, as the entertain the crowd, but much more athletically than anything most clowns could do.
The show was over by about 11:15, and we were home slightly past 11:30. We were in bed by 11:45, and I woke at my customary time of about 4:40 or so.
As I write this, my wife just woke up, and my son will be soon to follow.
Back to the mundane, I guess, until next time ... which should be soon.
My dad and his buddies got a bus to take us to the big Wrestling matches in Winnipeg when I was a kid. It was a battle royale with Andre the Giant. I will never forget that time with my dad and neither will your kid.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a bonding experience, that is for sure. I never went to wrestling with my father when I was a kid, but I actually took him a few years ago to a show, and, well, he fell asleep right in the middle of the matches. But it was great having him there, and my son was there, too, so three generations were there that night. And yes, I do remember Andre the Giant. I have a sort of R/X-rated story about him that I don't think I have told, and I won't tell now, but it involved my father, his taxi cab, and Andre. It's both a funny and sad story at the same time, but as they say, another story for another time.
ReplyDelete