The Nature Boy

The Nature Boy.

One does not have to be a wrestling fan of close to 45 years to know just who that is.
Non or casual wrestling hear that nickname and know who that is- Ric Flair.

Arguably and most people's choice as the greatest pro wrestler of all time (Check my list out from 2011),
Ric Flair has almost become better known to a large chunk of the public for his refusal to give up the wrestling business and his occasional embarrassing outburst outside the ring.

When I heard of the ESPN 30 for 30 program deciding to film an episode on Flair, I was excited.
ESPN's commitment to making quality films about sports has been a strong one and many of these ranks with some of the best work that a filmmaker can do.
I was all prepared to love the film because I was a fan of Flair at his peak and was hoping he hadn't become too much like the washed up "Mountain Rivera" that was in wrestling because he had to or was there because that's all he knows.
And what I came away with after the film thinking Flair really was Mountain Rivera without the manager that he needed to bail out.

I found the film to be interesting yet uneven.
I didn't mind what I was surprised to see Flair criticized for in spots online-the taking of the Buddy Rogers "Nature Boy" gimmick.
In pro wrestling, there is almost nothing original, so I didn't have an issue with that and I thought Flair was more than respectful in giving Rogers plenty of credit.
I would liked to have seen more contemporaries of Flair given more spots to talk about his career and I thought the film would have been suited to more of those appearances and less from the "celebrity" fans such as Michelle Beadle.
I'm generally not a fan of appearances from those types and I think it takes time away from opinions from sources that have legitimate backgrounds.

I also thought that that the film showed Flair as wrestling's Peter Pan that never grew up despite being almost seventy years old.
There's only so long, no matter the subject or how much you like them, that you can be beaten over the head by the same topics- I got it, Flair had a lot of women, was a functioning alcoholic, was a philandering husband and an absent father, except to his youngest son Reid, who was more of a buddy than a son.
It belabored the point and almost dehumanized Flair a bit.

The wrestling part of the film was lighter than I expected and the personal half of the film made realize that as much as I was a fan of Ric Flair the wrestler, I didn't really like Ric Flair the man.
I knew the background of Flair, I had read his book, watched his shoot interviews and had heard all the stories, so I didn't really learn anything new, but the more I watched, the more I was torn- but either side wasn't good.
Did I feel bad for Flair or did I dislike him?
I felt bad for the loss of his son, Reid and no parent should have to deal with that type of pain, but he didn't make me feel empathy for much other than that.

I don't want to say that "Nature Boy" was a bad film, just a different one than I expected and I was
left a little empty by it.
What I wonder is this- was I half empty from the film or Ric Flair himself???

Back later with more and perhaps another inbox cleaning.

Confessions...

I quite enjoyed Confessionals when I first wrote about this back in July and I thought it was time to revisit now.

Keep in mind some of these are things I haven't written/told about and others are general knowledge...

1) I'll be doing a Ric Flair piece this week on his 30 for 30, but here's a sneak peek- I was a little disappointed in it...

2) If anyone comes to town to visit me and wants to go out to eat at a place that they can't visit at home-I only have two non-chain staples.
Washington Chicken and Vince's Pizza.
Vince's isn't for the pizza (I know you have to be tired of hearing me rave about Ohio pizza) it's for the terrific burgers that they sell...

3) I go back and forth over the last 10-15 years on my favorite comedy (non-premium channel) between The Office and Parks and Recreation.
Love them both and seem to give one a hairline edge over the other-When I am watching that particular one.

4) If we are in one of those "pick to save the world" scenarios- I'll take Parks for just one reason.
They didn't have a bad season as the Office did in the next to last season when they force-fed James Spader in as the new CEO as "Robert California".
The season is fine when Spader isn't in it, but when he is- not so swift.

5) If you follow me on Twitter, you probably see me follow lots of different people from lots of different areas, but I'd guess if I had to guess on what the most "liked" topic was (in amount of liking other people's non-sports posts on my timeline), I'd wager it's actress Amy Acker.
This is because of the people that follow me from the days of "Person of Interest" television and their Acker pics on the timeline are always showing up.

6) As much as I like Acker, her new show "The Gifted" isn't doing much for me so far.
It's not bad, it's just not catching my interest in the way that a first-year show should.
It's too bad because I was really hoping to love it.

7) I know that you know that my favorite football conference is the Big 10 and you likely know that I see a lot of Boise State and Houston along with rooting for Bowling Green, but this year, I've really enjoyed the Pac 12.
I know their champion won't be in the title chase this year, but the games are generally fun to watch and almost anyone has a chance of beating anyone else.

8) It's been at least 15 years since I cared enough even to be mildly interested in pro wrestling, but my YouTube guilty pleasure is wrestling from the NWA in the 1980's.
Other than music and odd TV clips, the Crockett promotion is my YT winner for most often viewed.

9) I know I've been quoted as saying that the next big female star in sports television is going to be Olivia Harlan and she may very well be, but I've changed my mind- it's Laura Rutledge.
Rutledge sits in on Monday's and Tuesday's on the Paul Finebaum Show (I know what's a Big Ten guy watching an SEC show for, but it's entertaining and the BTN attempts at this type of show have been dreadful) and she's incredibly knowledgeable.
Rutledge is going to be a huge star in the football television game and she's so good that I wouldn't mind seeing her give play by play a shot someday,

10) I'm stretching my stadium radius farther than I ever thought possible (25 + new stadiums between 2016 & 2017) and it's to the point that there won't be too much more that I'll add in a given year.
So when I'm asked these questions- Which new place (within possibility) do you want to see most in 2018 and which place would I like to go back to most, I have to think about it.

Here goes;
I'm going to go with one place that is most realistic for 2018 and one that I want to do but is unlikely.
Kingsport, Tennessee is the most realistic as it can be done in a day (Albeit a very long day) and would complete the Appalachian League for me.
My most wanted and unlikely stop is a tie between Myrtle Beach South Carolina (I've visited the stadium, but not for a game) and Dayton, Ohio.
Myrtle Beach would complete the Carolina League for me, while Dayton would finish the state of Ohio, so both have appeal.

For the place that I liked so much that I would like to return to again, it's a three-way tie.
I really liked Buies Creek North Carolina, the autographing was great and it's only going to be used for one more season before the new stadium in Fayetteville North Carolina is up and ready for 2019.
I also really liked BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem North Carolina.
I didn't get to spend as much time there because we had to hit Danville VA that night, but I liked it enough that I'd like to spend more time there.
The main AAA field was Louisville, I just loved the stadium and even though I didn't get one card signed, the ballpark was great and I really liked the city.