Home > Duluth.Talk > Archives > 2007 > June > 26
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I will miss Chris Benoit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have been a professional wrestling fan since I was six years old and it drives some people nuts.
“How can an educated man enjoy watching that stuff?” Say what you want about wrestling being scripted. For me, it is amazing to watch these athletes work every day as hard as they do. Most of us could never have the strength or agility to do what they do.
If you’ve been following the news, you heard about the recent Chris Benoit tragedy. I used to tell people that if I was ever cornered in a dark alley by a group of thugs, I would want Jet Li and Chris Benoit guarding my back.
Chris, like Jet Li, was not the biggest, nor the strongest. He was 5 foot 10 inches, weighed 220 pounds but in my opinion he was the best at what he did. He didn’t quit and he didn’t lose. And like Jet Li, you knew that when you watched him fight he’d do things that seemed impossible for the human body to do.
Chris was tough as nails. He was often injured — broken ribs, torn knee ligaments, elbows, arms, head — but he entertained his audience and gave a maximum effort every night.
Friends and neighbors, I can certainly understand if you don’t know what I’m talking about. I hope you’ll forgive me if you feel like I have wasted your time this week with my remembrances of this great athlete.
Next week I’ll get back to writing about all things Duluth, but today I had to express what I’m feeling. Maybe some of you out there will want to share your feelings in this blog too.
I hope you’ll forgive me, but I think we should reserve judgment until we know what may have been going on in his head. He was obviously troubled and sick but we don’t know why.
What happened to Chris Benoit and his family was tragic. But I hope he will be also remembered for the dedication to his profession and that he was just tough as nails. I, for one, will miss him.
And I still would want him watching my back in a dark alley.
Permalink | Comments (276) | Categories: Bill Allen
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
