We arrived in the village on a Wednesday. After taking a really long time to cook pasta (because we weren’t experts yet on how to make water boil here) I decided to join my family in the living room. I tried to sit on the floor, which didn’t go over well at all, and found myself sitting next to a stranger on the couch. I entered at just the right time- as in it was one of those awkward moments in a local soap opera where two people are lying in bed together, probably indisposed. A Buddhist monk once told me that to rid yourself of pain, you needed to say a mantra “Pain. Pain. Pain,” over and over again. At this very moment, I was saying to myself “Awkward. Awkward. Awkward,” hoping that it would go away as well. The soap ended, and the family switched the tv to none other than WWE Wrestling. I turned to my sisters and explained to them that they did not need to switch it to wrestling for us (because I mean, seriously, who really watches that fake stuff?) and that we would be happy to watch something local. I honestly thought they had changed it to an English-speaking program for us. The 12 year old girls told me that they liked to watch wrestling, and with a skeptical eye, I turned back to the television to see fake-baked hulky men throw themselves at each other.
As it turns out, the girls were rooting for Big Show and Ezekiel Jackson. They appeared to know these guys by name. I thought it was ridiculous. I seriously just couldn’t connect the dots. By this time, our extended family had left the house, and I was sitting next to kokwana, my grandmother. One wrestler slammed another to the ground, and grandma lets out a deep, victorious chuckle, and that’s when it finally clicked. Grandma loves wrestling. I nearly laughed ‘til I cried. It was the best surprise ever.
Even today, as I write this, my cousin came home straight from church to turn on a re-run of wrestling. I don’t have the heart to ask them if they know that it’s not real. I watch it and think it’s dramatic and clearly not real, but I’m pretty sure these people at my house buy into the show. I now look forward to switching the tv at 8:30pm on Wednesdays to WWE Wrestling just to watch my family cheer them on and hear my grandma (who’s a pastor) get such sweet satisfaction from watching these men beat each other up.
I love the innocence of it all. It’s similar here in Indonesia as well. There’s an innocence… and I don’t mean that in a white man superiority way. Not sure what it makes us. What’s the opposite of innocence? Not guilt… but you know what I mean. We lost our innocence in the west long ago and we’re too grown up. Maybe that’s what it is. Love live WWE. (It was WWF in my day)
Who would have ever thought that wrestling would be popular in SA?!
Sounds like there’s loads more WWE in your future this summer :-) Thankfully you have your local soap (minus the awkward moments with the family) to balance it out :-)
HA! Now that’s a story with a twist. My grandpa actually became quite a fan of ‘rasslin’ as he aged apparently watching it daily when he was committed to a nursing home.
I have to admit I used to watch wrestling when I was a kid. Glad to see The Big Show is still in the game :-)
Oh wow that is freakin fantastic! I love hearing small snippets like these. You just need to let out a large hoot or something. :P
I enjoy watching wrestling and guess its know different to the people in SA. It like most other shows its fake but keeps you entertained. I grew up watching it with my uncles and it was just always just something fun to do together. Heck my grandmother loves wrestling as well…lol
LOL, that’s pretty freaking hilarious!
When I saw the picture of the wrestling dudes, I really could not imagine where you were going with this post :P
Wrestling is really entertaining! With all the excitement, thrill and fun, watching a match of your favorite wrestlers is surely an enjoyable experience. That is why a lot of people from the different parts of the world loves wrestling.
I started to love wrestling when I was a kid. It was during the times when I didn’t have the right to touch the remote control. I had no choice but be influenced by my father and my uncles to watch wrestling too. I remember sitting with them and having to watch those big men wrestle. I used to think that it was for real, not staged. It was real fun back then. Back then when Undertaker ruled.
The best part of wrestling, when it is done well, is that you can enjoy it and speculate on what the storyline will be. Then you can get shocked when something exceeds your expectations. Of course, you have to appreciate the ability for the performers to be athletic yet still showmen. That is something seriously lacking in the other main sports, and is what gives wrestling its appeal to many!