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Chris Brooker

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THE BROOKER MAN
Time For A Boycott?

I'll admit I was a little stuck on what to write about for my very first column here at CRZ'sville. Not, as you might think, because I've nothing to talk about. Far from it. I've spent more than one occasion talking at friends and family about wrestling until their ears bled and they actually considered suicide as a way to end the conversation. I've got so much to talk about I'm not sure where to start.

Any ears bleeding yet? No? Good...

Then last weekend help arrived from an unexpected quarter and, thanks to the words and actions of one of the more recognisable grappling writers on the web, I found a little inspiration. For the very first time in my life I found salvation in the words of a Mr Mark Madden. His words on WCW.Live to be precise.

I've currently given up listening to WCW Live. Partially because the state of WCW at the moment has turned it into something of a cracked record. Mainly because waiting until 3am to get through it had started to turn me nocturnal. Not a great idea as my skin was hardly overloaded with pigment to begin with and I need all the natural light I can get. I do make a point of reading the Recaps on 1Wrestling.com as more often than not there's a nugget or two of readability in there. Mark's comments on last Friday's show really caught my attention.

He hates the online wrestling fanbase.

Bless him, he's not one to mince words is he? Talk about biting the hand that feeds him. It constantly amazes me that so many of the successful people in this word are never short of a jibe or insult at the expense of the people that put them where they are. In this guy's case I find it even more amazing. Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't he spent the last few years deliberately rubbing people up the wrong way in his own attempt to make a name for himself online? Why is he now acting all prissy and offended when the people he's spent years rubbing up the wrong way are starting to backlash? A mystery to me...

Well, it's possible that the Mark Madden we all know and love is actually a Mark Madden (tm) as much as the Vince McMahon TM is or the Bret Hart TM is. A character created for the audience to believe in and either adore or despise. The thing is that these two prime example, like so many others, are facets of the real men. I suspect that for all Marky Mark's comments about being the best "bad guy" writer on the net that he's started to take his character a little too seriously.

Anyway, I for one have had enough of his little diatribes against the very same folk that put food on his table. ( A fair amount of food by the looks of things. ) As of this moment I'm doing something I've never done before.

I'm stopping reading his columns.

True it's only one little blip on the supposed millions ( And millions... ) of hits that the MM trademark attracts. I strongly urge as many people as possible to follow my example. This is not because I bear some sort of malice towards him personally. It's because I think he takes far too much for granted and that at least a few of his the "Controversial and outspoken" things he says should come back to haunt him.

Sometimes a celebrity acts like they don't need people to buy their record, watch their film, read their book or even exist at all. The irony of having their entire fanbase stand up as one and say "Sod this for a game of soldiers" and vote with their feet is delicious. Let's not forget who bestows celebrity status in the first place.

So there's my thought for the day. Boycott Mark Madden's site, boycott his columns, boycott his T-Shirts if he ever makes any. I'd suggest boycotting Nitro while he's commentating but in fairness to him he does a pretty solid job. Besides, there's hardly anyone left for me to suggest boycotting. ( Sorry WCW, cheap shot. )

I wouldn't worry about him missing you. After all, didn't he say he hates you? I'm sensing a lot of anger there...

On a final note I'd like to push the UK Grappler club on Yahoo. Starting very shortly we'll have a weekly chat on a Sunday for any UK based wrestling fans that feel a little left out from the usual chat rooms. It'll also be a great place to meet, greet and trade thoughts, ideas and tapes. Look us up sometime soon.

Chris Brooker
freelance

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Guest column text copyright (C) 2000 by the individual author and used with permission