Franchised

Franchised-Issue 6 (Updated 6/12/00)

"The Franchise" Casey Gallagher here welcoming you to the Sixth Edition of "Franchised". On this, Monday, June 12, 2000 we will be discussing short and to the point some thoughts and opinions on the Nature Boy Ric Flair.

Everywhere in America and even in Japan, the name Ric Flair is synamous with excellence. In every arena from The Elks Lodge to Madison Square Garden to the Tokyo Dome, everytime a wrestler performs the infamous slap on another wrestler's chest, the arena fills up with 20,000 fans all yelling "WHOOOOO" in unison. That famous battle cry was made famous by the wrestler of the 1970's and 1980's. Hulk Hogan may have been mainstream but Ric Flair was the apitimy of excellence in the ring and throughout the country when it came to wrestling.

Last Monday, Vince Russo promised a Nitro we would never forget. Even though Russo's Nitros are about as memorable as a night with a Chinese whore ( C.J. comment #1 ) he did deliver on an unexpected finish which saw the Nature Boy become the first and probably the only 15 time World Champ in the history of sports entertainment...no check that, professional wrestling. As we enter the twilight of an illustrious career that is Ric Flair's decades of excellence in this sport, we should all take a moment to say "thanks Ric" for all the great memories the man has brought to our home.

From the opening "MEAAAAAAN, WHOOOO, BY GOD, GENE..."His mic skills are unparrall and uncontested. The Rock may be able to grip the fans attention with the raising of an eyebrow and Y2J might spew humorous comments that make us die laughing but no man can show the confidence, the intensity, the fire in his eyes that only Ric Flair brings to the table. That man lives and breathes professional wrestling. Before the days of titan trons and pyro, there was the most recognized symphony tune and when you heard the opening notes you knew the leader of the 4 Horsemen would be stylin' and profilin' down his way in his gold plated red robe and his strut to the ring.

The naysayers cry "Flair is flab" and "Flair is too old and out of shape". I look at them and respond "The man puts on a show in the ring that 20 year old roid-infested wannabe's with millions of catchphrases can't even match in another 40 years of wrestling." The man is a symbol of professional wrestling. The dawn of sports entertainment was predicted as the end for guys like Flair but Flair is still a ratings draw and his pops still rival those of the most elite in this business. The man is a living legend and even though his days with the sport are numbered due to various injuries and backstage politics, we should take a moment and look back not only at his unprecedented fifthteenth title win but all the memories that he has left us and the ones we will leave when one day we take our kids to a wresting event and the name Ric Flair is brought up. I bet the sound of "Whooo" will still be heard throughout the arena decades after his greatness has left the sport.

There might be a mainstream hero to follow up Hogan, Austin and now The Rock but there will never be another Nature Boy Ric Flair. Never. And that is a fact.

Some random ramblings: