I sat down before writing this, and thought about how to thank those of you that too bothered to write me concerning my last column. All your comments, both positive and negative, are much appreciated, and I'm glad some of you are still taking the time out of your day to read my work.

Suffice it to say, I'm pretty happy to be writing again, and I'll try my best each week (or as my schedule allows) to have something here that's interesting, and hopefully a little bit different than you're used to reading. And remember, I'm writing these for YOU people, so feedback is always welcome.

Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let's get to it, shall we?

In order do my part for promoting topic diversity here on the net, and also because I like to stand out from the crowd, I'd like to talk about something that's almost the polar opposite of the WWF/WCW corporate megalith of sports entertainment. That 'something', is the ever-controversial subject of "Backyard Wrestling". (Oh, boy. Here we go...)

If you're a backyard wrestler, and this column offends you because you don't fall into the niche I'm about to describe, I'd like to apologize ahead of time. If you're in a wrestling club in school, actually competing some legit collegiate-style wrestling matches, that's different. And if you're training with profesionals to become a legit pro wrestler, I'd very much enjoy hearing any stories you have to share.

But if you're a "blood and guts, chair-toting" or "yardcore" backyard wrestler, then get your pencil ready. No doubt, you're going to be adding another name to your "shit list". And that's cool. But be sure to spell it right. That's A-A-R-O-N M-A-R-C-O. 'Aaron' has TWO A's...

To start with, I'm no doubt a bit older than most of those that engage in backyard wrestling, so on first glance, I may seem to be out of touch with it's appeal. Which is not true. Myself and a few friends used to get together and have mock matches in basements and backyards when I was younger. I suspect that most older fans of today did this as well. Looking back, I seem to remember a LOT of holds being used, and some REALLY bad commentary on audio tape. But for the most part, we kept the action pure, and stayed away from the hardcore elements.

But a simple wrestling match apparently isn't interesting enough for the youth of today. They prefer to emulate the more extreme, or hardcore wrestling styles. They watch people being put through tables, hit with chairs, cut open by barbed wire, leap from frightening heights, and even sometimes set on fire. They see highspot after dangerous highspot, and try to do the same in their local backyard feds. And all the while, they never stop to think of the potential risks they take in doing so.

For those that are of my relative age group, consider this for a moment. Do you remember each and every little detail about all the matches you held in your neighborhoods? Not really? Well, neither do I. But if we were growing up today, that wouldn't be a problem, due to the relative affordability of home video cameras. We could pop in a tape, and watch the things we used to do, over and over again.

And that's exactly what the backyard wrestlers of today do. If their friend did a moonsault off a picnic table onto another friend, and all lived to tell about it, they could watch it again, and again, and again. And with every repeated viewing of a dangerous spot, they falsely give themselves the confidence to repeat the stunt again the next time out to the wrestling ring neighbor's yard.

But they're not just watching themselves these days. Back in the day (geeeez, Marco!), when we all used to get together in my neighborhood, usually the only spectators were our fellow friends/wrestlers, or siblings and friends. But in the backyard wrestling of today, the world of viewers is substantially bigger. And I'm not just talking about the kids in the next block over, people.

With the advent of the Internet, these backyard "feds" can take their home video footage, and broadcast it for all the world to see. The more people that see these kids living through some of these dangerous stunts, the greater chance that others will try to emulate it. Nothing like a younger, streaming video version of trying to "outdo the Joneses" for increasing the number of hospital visits. Not to mention cramping Internet bandwidth. But that's another column, altogether.

However, if I can digress (What? ME?) for a moment, I think that all this hoopla about the attitude of backyard wrestlers themselves, is just a reflection of the younger generation's attitude toward life in general. I remember when I was the age of the average backyard wrestler. I had a lot more respect for myself (and others, for that matter) than I see them having for themselves.

The kids of today think they're indestructible, and that any action they have will have little or no repercussions later on in their lives. "OK, Marco. But how does this translate back to backyard wrestling?" Simple. It's not so much that the backyard wrestlers of today have no fear of injuring themselves. It's more like, it never even croses their minds that they could even be hurt, let alone hurt seriously or fatally.

These backyard wrestlers don't have any real formal training on how to be safe. They simply learn the moves they attempt from the wrestling they watch on TV, and from videos they buy or rent, and from the shows they attend. But the bigger promotions aren't to blame for the disregard of safety these kids exhibit. Who is? In my opinion, most of the blame lands on the wrestlers themselves. From where I stand, if you're dumb enough to let someone else whack you over the back with a metal folding chair, then you more than likely deserve to be hit with one. HARD.

But some of the blame for injuries realted to "Backyard Wrestling" must also be placed on the heads of the parents of the participants. Not for allowing them to watch the wrestling they emulate on TV. But for standing idly by, while their children actually perform these moves and shows in their own backyards. That's right. This is "backyard" wrestling, after all. Has to be in someone's backyard, right?

Think about this: Just a few short years ago, most parents didn't even want to own a trampoline! After all, some crazy friend of yours might jump too high, and fly off into the windshield of the family car. "We'd get SUED for everything we have!" Anyone out there remember that old parental admonition? I ask you: When the fear of LEGAL ACTION against you by your very own neighbors isn't enough to curb your kids' behavior, what is?

Recently, there was an article in our local newspaper about backyard wrestling. Big, full-color pictures of all the "thin, but surprisingly agile" wrestlers, putting each other through their paces, surrounded the text. Also included? Pictures of and statements by their parents, standing around in the background, holding beers, eating potato chips, and laughing. All while, their children apparently attempted to impale each other on lawn chairs and swingsets.

For me, this is all a bit hard to swallow. Well, considering that my own father would have knocked me STUPID, if he saw me jumping off the garage, onto one of my friends, all the while while holding a chair under my ass. Seriously, are all these parents actually that IGNORANT of the dangers of some of these backyard feds, that they just stand around and watch this stuff? Or is the fact that their child made the local news enough of an ego stroke for them to simply look the other way to the risks?

I guess I've been kind of hard on the backyard wrestling scene in this column. And maybe in my ripe old age (I'm 31), I simply lack the understanding to look at backyard wrestling for what it is. And maybe this is all just a part of growing up today, with the "Monday Night Wars", and all. A modern day, wrestling-oriented, rite of passage. Maybe these kids aren't hurting ME with their actions, so I should just leave them alone.

And after all, it does look like fun. And if I were growing up today, things might be different. Maybe my own parents would be like these kids' parents, and wouldn't be smart enough to pour piss out of a boot either, let alone have enough sense to stop me from maiming someone with a barbed-wire baseball bat. Hell, I'd probably be doing moonsaults, and brainbusters, and DDT's on the front driveway like all these kids, and posting video of it all on my WEBSITE~!

Especially if my local TV station sent a CAMERA CREW out to film the whole thing. Now, that would be REALLY cool! We'd be, like, SO popular. We could get ALL the girls with that kind of exposure. Maybe eventually I'd even meet a really nice one. One that would like me for myself, instead of just my wrestling ability. We'd go for long walks in the woods. Maybe go out dancing, or whatever. All the things you see people in love do on TV, you know? Well, assuming I could still WALK, that is.

Oh, well. Paralysis wouldn't be THAT bad. At least I'd have my videotapes...

That's it for this week. Feel free to hit me with feedback, and as always, thanks for reading!