|
/wrestling /guests /Carlin |
|
|
/wrestling /guests /Carlin |
| Guest Columns | Chuck Carlin |
MainBLAH |
HAVE A NICE DAY REVIEW I'll start with a few notes, before getting into the meat. Mankind on Conan last Thursday was awesome. Especially when he gave the Mandible Claw to Braves reliever John Rocker (well, a look-alike). Speaking of Rocker, looks like the old Braves haven't really been able to use him yet, have they? (Take THAT Andy Moseley.) While I watched Heat tonight, I noticed that they've really gone back to the old format, which just proves that ratings aren't only thing that counts in this game. The ratings for Heat never really dropped that much, but the WWF creative team saw that the show's new format, well, sucked. They weren't driven by ratings, but rather to give a good show. Now that's dedication to the actual product. I like that. Now for the actual column. Mick Foley / Mankind : Have A Nice Day - A Tale of Blood And Sweatsocks Let me just start by saying that this is the first book in about 5 years to actually really captivate me to where I couldn't put the damn thing down. When I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be. The last time this happened was when I read the unabridged Les Miserables in a week. I got it on Friday, read it until 5am Saturday when I forced myself to put it down, then read it on the train ride to NYC, read it in NYC, read it on the way home, watched Heat, the Simpsons, and the World Series, then finished the book. As expected, the book covers all the main events we know about, the missing ear, the death matches, Hell In A Cell, you name it. It also goes into great detail about Mick's beginning, the time period between the Dude Love video and his WCW stint, as well as a whole lot of personal things that I'm sure no one knew about before this book was put out. The book reads almost as a time line of events, from his schooling to the present, with occasional out of place interjections thrown in, mostly about Owen, as this was written directly after his death. Some of these stories most internet people and really big Mick Foley fans already know, but most are new. I got a real kick out of reading about Mick and Steve Austin picking on poor DDP while they all worked for WCW. Also, he seems to hate J.J. F'in Dillon, and gives good reason to. Of course, the book is just riddled with Al Snow jokes, and fewer, but still repetitive, Mean Street Posse jokes. Foley wrote this book using character names of most of the wrestlers where their names are still important to them. The only time this felt a little odd was when Mick talked about a conversation he had with Kane right after the '97 Survivor Series screw-job. A conversation with Kane. I keep saying it, and it just keeps not clicking. Whenever Mick describes one of his matches, he walks an interesting line, on one side staying in total kayfabe about the match and it's psychology, on the other side, giving a behind the scenes look at just what happened, who said what, and what he was thinking. If he can remember it. Sometimes, he can't (KOR). This book is a lot more than just a first person account of matches and stories of travelling from town to town, as throughout the whole book, you really get to know Mick, his wife, his kids, and his friends. This makes for an interesting dilemma while reading about things like the death matches, where on one hand it's a whole hell of a lot easier to read about those things than to watch them, but on the other hand, you stop thinking of the wrestler as some guy who can take pain and start really thinking of him as you would a friend of yours getting the shit kicked out of him. The book is amazing in that by the end, I really knew what Mick has gone through to get where he is, and while I've considered myself a Mick Foley fan for a long time, now I can honest;y say that I really admire and respect him. Plus, he's such a damned nice guy! Even when he says something bad about someone, he backs it up with a nice comment. Except of course for J.J. F'in Dillon. This book is simply outstanding for any wrestling fan, and I would assume it to be intriguing for any non-fan. Like I said, I couldn't stop reading it. I strongly suggest that everyone reading this review (which consists solely of me, CRZ, and my friend 'Banks) buy this book as soon as you can find a copy. And if you can't spare the $25 (as I truthfully couldn't, but did anyway), borrow it and read it. But I suggest buying it, it belongs on the NY Times Best Seller list. (Hey Chuck [and everybody], it's $17.50 at Amazon.com - CRZ) Hey, don't forget to email me if you agree / disagree with what I say. Us poor [slash] writers get so lonely in this vacuum that we work in. I know that somebody has to love me out there. Speaking of loneliness, I still have a spare ringside ticket for this Tuesday's Smackdown taping in Springfield, MA if anyone (meaning - single, hot chickies) wants to go. I have plenty of blank posterboard and markers... Later, Chuck Carlin Master of the floatover DDT for [slash] wrestling Mail the Author Visit my happy little funland |
.. |
Main |
||