Mark Mattis / Merth

First let me say, I have been surprised by how well the "Best of Mark Mattis" DVD-R is selling. Thanks to everyone out there who is supporting Indy wrestling!

I had an interesting conversation with a promoter last week. One of the best feelings in the world is being desired. It is a great feeling to be wanted/sought after.

Saturday was a fun day. I was not scheduled to wrestle. So, I could spend the whole day with my family.

My wife is 8 months pregnant with twins. We know the end is near. She could pop at any moment. With that in mind, we are trying to enjoy our freedom while we still can.

Saturday evening, Mini-Mattis spent the night at a friend's house. My wife and I attended "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. We had awesome front row seats. The show was fantastic. My wife had tears running down her face she was laughing so hard. I am a manly man - I shed no tears. But, I too laughed loud and long. A good time was had by all.

On Sunday morning, things did not start out well. We had to pick up Mini-Mattis by 10 AM. My wife was moving a tad on the slow side. I went to pick up Mini-Mattis without her. I arrived to find that Mini-Mattis (7 years old) stayed up until close to midnight. He had pop-tarts for breakfast. He was out of control. He continued to be out of control as the day progressed.

I had to attend a football coaches meeting at 3 PM. I took Mini-Mattis with me. I assumed he would get out on the field and burn off some of the "crazy". Mini-Mattis played happily with the other kids.

Meanwhile, I stood around in the 90° heat watching as three football fields were marked. I have no clue how to properly square and mark a field. My attendance for this portion was less than useful.

About an hour and a half into this... with the fields mostly marked... the director of the forthcoming camp started to walk us through the various camp drills. The dozen or so kids running about were used as guinea pigs.

This was dry stuff - the camp director was explaining to coaches a weeks worth of techniques. I was trying to stay interested in the discussion. Mini-Mattis was flat out bored. Mini-Mattis was quasi on task until... he lined up across from a 135lbs 5th grader. Mini-Mattis will be entering 2nd grade this fall. Mini-Mattis is a lean 65lbs. Mini-Mattis got knocked on his butt. He lost it. He started crying - not because he was hurt - but, because he couldn't beat the kid 3 years older and twice his size. Things slowly fell a part from that point forward.

Eventually, the kids got to play a "fast break" football game. Mini-Mattis was the only 7-year-old playing. There were a couple of 9 years olds, 10 year olds, and even a 14-year-old playing. Obviously, Mini-Mattis was NOT a high read for the QB. Mini-Mattis wasn't really involved in the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, he was having a difficult time catching kids who were 3 and 5 years older than him. He started tackling the big kids. I had to pull him out of the game. He was an emotional wreck. He sobbed the whole way home. He cried at home.

It turned into an awful - awful day. Ugh.

A tale of the two days