Hey all, it's been a while, I know. Life happens. Sucks sometimes. This is essentially three different ...AMOs that have floating around in my head for the past week or so without any text. I either need to send CRZ shorter articles or stop being so darn lazy. I'll eventually figure out which. Anyway, on with the show!

Together Again for the First Time!!!
If you haven't already, go check out OnlineOnsluaght.com. *I*, for one, never thought I'd see CRZ, Scaia, Scott Keith and Y-Pac on the same site at the same time. Wow. Very cool and very weird all at the same time. Definitely worth your leisurely browser time. Hey, it's your boss' money, right?

On Booker T and the R-Word
Everyone has been debating (read: flaming) each about the hot-wiring segment on RAW last week. Racism? Funny? A little bit of both? WHO CARES?!? I mean, of course some people care, but I'm not gonna touch that R-Word stuff. Those discussions, no matter how well intended, always end ALL wrong.

I think a bigger point is why do we have to jump start a feud with a car-theft?!?!

I can think of a gazillion different reasons why feuds have started and car theft is not in the top ten. If the writers actually took the time to develop these on-screen personalities as well-rounded, viable entities with REAL motivations that viewers could actually care about, then MOST of these stupid segments would end, I think. Feuds over name-calling, spilled coffee and car thefts all seem pointless to me in the long run. How about a feud because Y-Pac is jack shit in my eyes, got where he is by fucking the boss' daughter and I don't appreciate it because (1) I'm jealous because she's HOT and he's a stud; and (2) I've worked hard for years and have been overlooked. Those kinds of issues just make more sense to me. Booker could buy his own car if he wanted, right?

Were I a wrestler and had I a choice, I would not have participated in the angle, but Booker doesn't have that choice. And at this point in his career, he doesn't have any backstage pull or control over his character. He can only do what they say, be on TV and be employed or collect unemployment. Tough choice, huh?

Hazing
Billy Silverman's accusations are another topic of Net discussion. Billy Silverman needs to shut up. If Kurt Angle isn't upgrading to First Class, then the newer guys shouldn't be either. He knew the rules and brought a lot of this on himself, I think.

I'm not saying it's right to be hazed. Or that anyone enjoys it. But, you know, million dollar athletes do the same exact thing all the time. These are traditions that start on high school sports teams and don't stop. They carry over to most Fraternities and their in-take processes. They tape people to goalposts. They tie people up and dump them in metal basins of ice water. They blindfold guys and make them squeeze bananas in toilets, while telling them its shit. They make rookies buy them dinner and pour them drinks and countless other inane acts that go unspoken. Hazing is like an endless curse because those that were hazed will haze those who come later because, hell, it happened to them.

The general rule is that newbies pay their dues. Either way, they always get hazed.

It happens. And if you agree to be a part of a business when you know full well in advance that this happens, they what are you so bitter about? Charles Robinson got over it, didn't he? Why? I'd speculate because (a) he wanted to be employed, (b) he knew it wouldn't last forever and that he had to earn his way just like everyone else, and (c) it would be worth it in the long run. Charles Robinson still has a job in the profession he loves. Billy Silverman does not.

I do not wrestle. I do not travel away from my family for 200+ days in a year. But that's my choice. I chose a different profession (one where kids with disorders curse, spit, bite and hit you when escalated). How many among you read that and think: "I could NEVER do that"? Well, that's how I feel about all those arenas where hazing is prominent. I could never be apart of that, but hey, if wrestling or football is what you really want, this is a necessary evil.

There are rules and traditions here that I just don't think we really have that much right looking down upon, especially when we see them elsewhere all the time and say nothing.

Jericho Backlash?
I stand firmly with CRZ on the "What the Hell is Everyone Complaining About" platform. I was more than excited when Jericho debuted on RAW by interrupting the Rock. I spilled beer and popcorn when he defeated HHH for the WWF Championship on RAW with the APA at ringside. That crowd went absolutely bonkers. YOU went absolutely bonkers. I was ecstatic to witness his Last Man Standing Match against HHH at Fully Loaded 2000 as it seemed to finally be his moment of arrival. But alas, the Jericho train derailed. Or maybe it just got stuck in Union Station, as a lot of trains tend to do.

I any event, I am BEYOND HAPPY that he went over both Austin and Rock in the same night. You should be too. I'm WAY BEYOND HAPPY that he didn't lose on RAW. Jericho stood to gain the most by the win and he will (I doubt the he'll blow this opportunity). Heel champs that can and should lose all the time, but don't for whatever reason piss people off and sell tickets (think 80s Flair). It was, as Keith said, the right thing to do. We should be happy, people. It's what we've always wanted. It boggles my mind that we beg and beg for something to happen and then bemoan it when it does. What?! Shut the hell up, already. Let Jericho have his moment in the sun. He deserves it. We deserve to enjoy it and relish in it after waiting for it for so long. Find something else to complain about, please.

And what do you know? That means I'm agreeing with CRZ, Scaia, Keith and Y-Pac. For the first time.

Until next time: Be a fan. Drink a few. Mark out a lot. Have no shame.

Send feedback to drinkingbeersandmarkingout@yahoo.com. Must be 18 or older to eMail.

I'm out.

Drop
[slash] wrestling