2008.03.29

I did not buy WrestleMania. I did not watch WrestleMania. I haven't watched any of the build up. I simply do not watch WWE.

I was consciencous of Ric Flair's "I lose and I am done" situation. Flair is not a young man. Flair is or should be a grandfather by now. His grandchildren should be approaching their teens, seriously.

Wrestling is a young man's game. Ric Flair has been wrestling since before I was born. I grew up watching and hating Ric Flair. He was stylin' and profilin' in the mid-1980's when I started watching wrestling. He was NWA heavyweight champion. He was the man.

I am not going to recap Flair's career. I am sure there are a million places that you can find a Flair biography. Really, this is more just me feeling like one of the few remaining pieces of my childhood is at its end.

When I was a kid, I assumed Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Joe Montana, and Dan Marino would keep going forever. It was bizarre for me when Joe Montana retired. It was equally odd to see the likes of John Elway and Dan Marino retire. Pro-wrestling is different than the NFL. Hogan and Flair may show up and wrestle on WrestleMania 30, 40, and 50.

Ric Flair as an every day wrestler is no more.