Wrestlemania: good for economy, but not a sport
By Jack Fitzpatrick March 29, 2010 at 6:49 pm 
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It’s that time of year again when half-naked men pretend to attack each other. Isn’t it heartwarming?
Wrestlemania XXVI came to the Valley Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. With it came fans from around the world.
Last year, 72,744 fans from 50 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and 24 countries attended Wrestlemania in Houston, generating $6.9 million in ticket sales, according to World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) corporate Web site.
It is the Super Bowl of wrestling, a lucrative economic stimulator for the Phoenix area.
It’s also really weird.
Men in tights? Glorified violence? Bad acting? Is this really what we want?
Valley Metro light rail commuters are sure to have seen the Wrestlemania “wrap” advertisement, encasing a portion of one of the area’s light rail cars. The first thought that comes to mind when seeing shirtless, angry WWE star John Cena plastered onto the side of the light rail is, “Uh, I could just wait for the next train.”
Despite the financial advantages of such an event along with the attention it brings to the area, it’s hard to deny that Wrestlemania is creepy.
The annual event inevitably brings up the question of whether or not WWE wrestling is a real sport, which inevitably brings up the answer: no.
Wrestling requires athleticism and skill, but it’s still not a true competition. A wrestler like Triple H, The Undertaker or anyone else with a meaningless nickname is no more of an athlete than Jackie Chan — they’re all just pretending to fight.
So why was Wrestlemania held in the Arizona Cardinals’ new, space age, $455 million stadium? What’s the big deal?
Wrestlemania may not be a sport, but it’s still awesome — not awesome in the sense that we all enjoy or even respect it, but awesome enough to fill stadiums and bring millions of dollars to the area.
Beggars can’t be choosers, and while Phoenix police officers are straggling to keep their jobs, the Valley needs all the help it can get. The tourism and attention of Wrestlemania is just what the local economy needs; it won’t fix our problems, but it couldn’t hurt — other than the headlocks and body slams.
Not everyone can embrace Wrestlemania, but we can all agree on one thing: We need the money. On some level, it’s an honor to host the event.
Fantasia Barrino even sang the opening National Anthem. (I guess they didn’t think Clay Aiken would fit in.)
So if you’re disgusted by the fact that you live near the site of wrestling’s biggest competition, remember that your city government may have gained millions from it. If that doesn’t help, take solace in the fact that it’s not coming back any time soon. Note that Wrestlemania XXVII will be in the Georgia Dome and steer clear of Atlanta next year.
Jack’s wrestling nickname is “The Giraffe.” E-mail him at jlfitzpa@asu.edu
Tags: glendale university of phoenix stadium wrestlemania xxvi Wrestling
It is not at all creepy and it is not sport, but spectacle. You should respect what these men do, putting their bodies on the line what they do. Pretend to attack each other? Thats overstating a bit. What they do can still cause them bodily injury….maybe they should put you in a crossface so you would shut your seemingly uneducated and ungrateful mouth. Learn some respect for the men who entertain the world and boost your economy.
Agreed. These guys put it all out there for entertainment's sake. Unfortunately due to some bad incidents, WWE gets stereotyped as full of steroid users, when in fact there's plenty of guys in the business who have just worked their butts off to get in top shape so they could put on a show.
I think the writer of this piece needs to examine the other events that WWE held during the week including an auction of art work for charity and a Reading Challenge to promote reading amongst youngsters. They not only helped the economy but promoted good causes. Is that creepy?
I'll readily agree that wrestling, at least WWE wrestling is more theater than sport. But to say wrestlers, or Jackie Chan for that matter, aren't athletes? These people practice their skills daily and are in exceptional physical condition. They may present their skills in a theatrical way and the rules may be nonsensical or non-existent, but it still takes a high degree of physical skill to perform. That makes them athletes in my eyes.
I'm not a fan of the event, but this seems like an incredibly condescending way to look at it.
He wasn't saying they aren't athletes, you ding dongs. I see clearly he wrote “Wrestling requires athleticism and skill”.
The fact that the whole ordeal is just a big ruse is what draws the question about whether it is a true sport. Sports shouldn't have a planned winner. When a baseball game or a basketball game is rigged you feel cheated knowing there was no real sense of competition, right? Same thing with wrestling except you go in knowing that X is actually better than Y, but Y will win cause he has a bigger fan base. That's no fun.
Jack, I think this was a wonderful article. :)
Ok, “uneducated” i and “ungrateful” s a bit of an overstatement, considering that he DID mention the economy boost that came from it. How is that either of those things? Wrestling doesn't appeal to everyone. This is an opinion column. So if he wants to think it's creepy, that's cool.
I liked it.
Of course WWE is not a real sport. In fact, don't refer to it as “wrestling”, lest readers associate it with the real sport of wrestling, which is a pure sport – no silly ball or stick or anything- just man against man in a test of strength, endurance and strategy.