Foley at Knoebels

I don't know if anybody here is a wrestling fan, but while at Phoenix Phall Phunfest I ran into Hardcore wrestling Legend Mick Foley! He was extremely nice and I got a picture with him and two of his kids!!!

Despite his physical appearance, Foley is a class act, for sure. His matches are unforgettable because he seems unconcerned with causing himself pain, so long as it entertains the fans. He is truly one of wrestling's greatest and most original performers.

And apparently he loves coasters as well!

(BTW, I'll save you all the trouble- I'm well aware wrestling is fake)

You gotta remember that coaster junkies come from all walks of life. You'd be just as likely to see a rocket scientist as you would a chef or a truck driver at a park.

Deep down, we all want to scared poo-less once in a while.

Fake yes. But Foley was incredible. Hard to call some of his cage matches fake as he put so much into them.

We saw him first thing on Sat. morning also. We also saw him last year two days in a row. It was late at night the first day and we saw them get on the log flume. My wife loves to shoot off the water cannons, I had to talk her out of a direct hit. We gave them courtesy shots just as they passed.

Also saw him 8-10 years ago at Kennywood. It's pretty well documented, he loves his coasters.

He was at Stark Raven Mad, the precursor to HoliWood Nights, the year they held a dance for Mrs. Koch (who had missed her prom). Mick and Mrs. Koch were the first two to start dancing and I was the one who tapped Mick on the shoulder to cut in.

Nice guy.

Fun said:
(BTW, I'll save you all the trouble- I'm well aware wrestling is fake)

Pro wrestling isn't fake - it's controlled.

The athleticism and injuries are very real.

Yes, that's very true LG- however it's just easier for me to call it fake than to qualify all the real things about it. Most people still just don't care for pro wrestling and are quick to throw out the "fake" card. My hope was to just get that argument out of the way quickly.

I know. Just fighting the good fight. :)

Is mentioning Kristy McNichol getting off topic? Anyway, she was a big teen star in the early 80's and I remember her saying on TV she wanted to ride every roller coaster in the world. I wish I could find that TV clip on youtube. I'm pretty sure they interviewed her riding the American Eagle when it was new (I might be conflicting different tv shows, but it was cool!)

Maybe we need a celebrity coaster geek topic.

(PS - Let's not bash fallen celebrities, it's lame.)

I go to church with former wrestler Eric Embry...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Embry

His daughter and I are friends, and their family often goes on youth trips to Holiday World with the congregation. Just thought I'd mention this. :)

Can you be a "legend" in something that's essentially a soap opera for teenage boys?

I think that depends on who you ask. You would be hard pressed to find a single wrestling fan that wouldn't call him legendary. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you can't deny that some people think he is a legend.

Now Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, they're more ledgenday than Foley in my book.

^Yeah! And Superfly Snuka! Remember him!?

It's so wierd with today actors and performing 'acts' - I just can't help but think how they don't make em like they used to. Are people really gonna remember lady gaga and the Jonas brothers?

Jeff said:
Can you be a "legend" in something that's essentially a soap opera for teenage boys?

You hit the nail on the head... teenage boys (and some middle aged men as well). They idolize sports "legends" no matter what the sport.

We say Mick as well... right about the time that Carrie broke the Wipeout (didn't think I would forget that one do you?)

Mick was at PPP last year too. They made him a judge for the costume parade. I only saw him walking around this year, last year I saw him riding Twister.

Okay let's get back to what defines a ledgend.

1. Outstanding performance

2. Someone who defines the ideals of a sport or break barriers

3. Somebody who has changed the sport for the better

Using those criteria, I'm gonna give a few examples.

Baseball: Jackie Robinson and (as much it pains me, being a Red Sox fan), Babe Ruth

Hockey: Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky

Basketball: Micheal Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird

Football: Vince Lombardi and Joe Montana

NASCAR: Richard Petty and Dale Eanhardt SENIOR

Coasters: H. P. Schmeck

Get the picture?

I wouldn't call "pro" wrestling a sport in the first place, but to each his own.

Jeff said:
Can you be a "legend" in something that's essentially a soap opera for teenage boys?

I suppose you could in the way that anyone is considered a 'legend' in any field that matters to the people who follow it.

Kinda funny how pro wrestling doesn't get respect when pretty much no matter what metric you to choose to measure/compare it by, it lands towards the top most of the time.

Some of the best athletes in the world making and generating huge sums of money being watched by the largest live crowds, among the highest cable TV ratings and even merchandise and Pay Per View numbers that other endeavors can't touch.

I've always classified wrestling right there with similar geek pursuits - sci-fi, fantasy, coasters, computers/tech, and on and on - niche things that have a loyal core audience that takes it seriously enough that it seems ridiculous (often to the point of mockery) to people from the outside.