The Wrestler

Simmons has a story on the new indie film, "The Wrestler," starring Mickey Rourke: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3773747. I really want to see it.

Some day I'll put something together regarding the two or three years I accompanied my grandmother to the weekly wrestling matches at the old Sam Houston Coliseum. The first time I went, my dad sat me down beforehand and said, "Son, these things are fake but your grandmother thinks they're real. Make sure she doesn't get out of hand." That was heady stuff for a ten year old, to know that you were being called upon to look after an adult. Great entertainment, those matches of yesteryear. Not so obviously fake as they are now nor as vulgar, if you can believe that. My favorite was Fritz Von Erich of the "iron claw" fame. I used to practice the iron claw on my cousins and even my dog, Sparky. For some reason, I didn't achieve the same results that Fritz enjoyed.