Take a peek at your calendar.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I know, because there are now pecans in the house. It's traditionally a time where we pause to express our gratitude for the things that have happened to us.

But in a year of wrestling as wild and eventful as any year we've had in recent memory, what, as wrestling fans, do we have to be thankful for?

I posed this question to some friends, and here are some of the answers I got.

Butch said:

I'm grateful Edge & Christian finally got the mic.

I'm thankful for the WWF putting on mostly good shows so I can obsess about nitpicky shit.

I'm thankful for WCW sucking copious amount of fat dick because it makes for better comedy.

I'm thankful for that push ECW gave Jerry Lynn--oops, it's over.

I'm thankful I've got cable and a cable modem, the better to watch wrestling, register my disgust throughout the world and proclaim something "worst episode ever."

I'm thankful for Trish, period. Which reminds me...

I'm thankful for towels.

I'm thankful I'm an Oracle, and a pacifist one, therefore I've never been blamed for anything ever.

I'm thankful you guys will understand that sometimes I work, and sometimes I don't. Mostly don't. :)

Scott said:

I'm thankful Sid is no longer shitting his pants in arenas around the nation.

Charlie said:

I'm thankful Vince Russo is thisclose to unemployed.

I'm thankful WCW's still around. (ECW is NOT ready for 2nd place.)

I'm thankful ECW's still around. (XPW/OVW/WOW/pick a fed is NOT ready for 3rd place.)

I'm thankful "Don't hate the playa, hate the game!" is getting to sing-along levels with the crowd.

I'm thankful they thought enough of Crowbar to give him a belt.

I'm thankful most women in wrestling don't dress like Ivory.

Nate said:

I'm thankful that Vince McMahon decided to use tactics against other wrestling promotions in the 80's that sharks are too kind to use against other fish in the seas. Without Vince devouring all of the other companies like he did, there would be no WWF at the moment.

Boon said:

I'm thankful that wrestling is considered a guilty pleasure instead of the stomping ground of rednecks.

I'm thankful that on any given week, I can watch at least one fair-good match on free TV.

I'm thankful that I've managed to meet a bunch of wonderful folks thanks to "that fake shit."

I'm thankful that despite backstage politics, screwjobs, racist bookers, and global warming, I can still get my Funaki fix.

I'm thankful that wrestling got popular enough for some of the more badass videogames to get an American port.

I'm thankful that guys like Jeff Hardy still have their spinal cords more or less intact.

I'm thankful that the business, although vicious, cruel, and self-serving, can still make room for a wrestler who can successfully overcome his drug problems.

Rob said:

I'm thankful for LITA~! of course. (Markout chicks rule.)

I'm thankful that the WWF is doing well.

I'm definitely thankful that Vince Russo is still on the sidelines, thusly maybe giving WCW a chance to improve.

I'm thankful for CRZ. Without him, I wouldn't be a midcard IWP. :-)

I'm thankful for OW.com and RC.net and the people that contribute to and (and in RC's case) run them. If either one or both shut down tomorrow, I'd be immensely proud to have been a part of their running and success.

I'm thankful for Scott Christ. Hilarious as hell and the only person I know you can trust to provide an unbiased opinion of ANYTHING, positive or negative.

and... I'm thankful for my friends (and even the nTo too. *smiley*) for making the Internet world a fun place (on some days) to interact. From close friends like Martin, Shazza and Butch, to Jet, and even Shappy and his nTo pals, it's been a hell of a half-year and change, has it not?

But....most of all....

I'm THANKING GOD Mae Young is off WWF TV.

Jet said:

I'm thankful that there's quality wrestling product to watch.

I'm thankful that the WWF has had one of the better 12-month periods in the history of wrestling from a viewing standpoint.

I'm thankful that despite years of watching workrate and stuff more closely and reading the Net, I'm still not a cynical wrestling fan.

I'm thankful that the storylines are more realistic and able to be related to.

I'm thankful that there's now females like Stephanie McMahon that can be serious characters AND hot at the same time.

I'm thankful that I have stuff to be thankful for.

Horsemen4Ever said:

I'm thankful that as I type this, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and/or Vince Russo are not running WCW.

As for me...

I'm thankful for Thunder recappers everywhere, past and present. From CRZ to Good Ol' E.C., Scott Keith to Jeff McGinnis, to whoever the guys at Rant Central conned into doing it this week, they provide(d) an invaluable service - watching the worst wrestling show on TV so the rest of us don't have to.

I'm thankful for THE MOTHERFUCKING RADICALZ. Not just because they managed to get out of a horrible situation, but also because they stuck to their guns in the process.

I'm thankful Booker T finally got a shot.

I'm thankful that a guy like The Rock hasn't become complacent despite all of his early success.

I'm thankful that CRZ still puts up with me after nine months. :)

I'm thankful for the feedback and encouragement I've gotten over those nine months.

And last, but not least, I'm thankful that Butch Rosser, Charlie Owens, Nathan Loney, Mr. T, Scott Christ, JetMet, Boon, and Horsemen4Ever thought this was a good enough idea to contribute.

Happy Thanksgiving, people.

Matt Spaulding
Oracleswar.com