Mourning Bruno

[DGS49]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

/---/ Real wrestling or the fake, staged stuff?

 

[mdk]

A great man and a great ambassador for the wonderful city of Pittsburgh.

 

[Cellblock2429]

A great man and a great ambassador for the wonderful city of Pittsburgh.

/---/ So it's the fake wrestling, making him an entertainer not an athlete. That's OK, sorry for your loss.

 

[mdk]

A great man and a great ambassador for the wonderful city of Pittsburgh.

/---/ So it's the fake wrestling, making him an entertainer not an athlete. That's OK, sorry for your loss.

We was a professional wrestler, but he was also a world-class weightlifter. He was an althlete and also an entertainer.

 

[Auld Phart]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

/---/ Real wrestling or the fake, staged stuff?
View attachment 188874

Guess

 

[Votto]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

/---/ Real wrestling or the fake, staged stuff?
View attachment 188874

Not to worry, I'm sure his death was faked as well.

In fact, I plan on sending some fake flowers to the funeral.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

/---/ Real wrestling or the fake, staged stuff?
View attachment 188874

Guess

/----/ The fake stuff. Thanks for confirming.

 

[DGS49]

Regarding the adjective, "fake" as applied to wrestling.

Well, the stuff they do in the ring (and out of it) is actually happening, and the wrestlers are doing some fairly impressive stuff. But as I said above, they are not trying to hurt the other guy. Indeed, their objective is to try to make it look like they are hurting the guy, without actually hurting them.

I used to point out that at the end of the match, these guy had nary a bruise or a cut (other than staged cuts) despite all of that violence.

I say, Professional Wrestling is analogous to porn movies. They are really doing what it looks like they are doing, but they don't really love/hate the other person.

 

[Marion Morrison]

A great man and a great ambassador for the wonderful city of Pittsburgh.

/---/ So it's the fake wrestling, making him an entertainer not an athlete. That's OK, sorry for your loss.

We was a professional wrestler, but he was also a world-class weightlifter. He was an althlete and also an entertainer.

George Steele was a teacher. Bruno was alright.

 

[toobfreak]

Pittsburgh's own Professional Wrestling icon, Bruno Sammartino, died yesterday at age 82. In Pittsburgh, he is HUGE, and this sad news renders the death of Ms. Bush almost unnoticed. Honestly, in the Pittsburgh Pantheon of sports-related people, he is right up there with Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Terry Bradshaw, and Mario Lemieux.

As a PERSON, Bruno always conducted himself with dignity and class, and he made countless appearances for various charities and schools over the years. He somehow managed to avoid the grotesque showmanship of Professional Wrestling, while holding some of its most prominent "championships" for many, many years. He was always a humble man, respectful of his immigrant Italian roots, living in a normal middle-class neighborhood and always willing to stop what he was doing and spend some time talking to whoever happened by and wanted to speak with the Great Man. My father-in-law - also an Italian immigrant - lived across from Bruno, and they developed a great friendship over the years, with Bruno appreciative of my father's companionship and home-made wine, and he thrilled to speak with the guy he cheered on every Saturday evening for those many years on "Studio Wrestling."

But what is the meaning of this? Professional wrestling is not actually a "sport," in the sense that the combatants are trying to hurt or defeat the other; it's merely an exhibition of athletic strength and pretense, wrapped up in a silly morality play where hero's and "heels" compete for audience support.

A great guy has died. A great entertainer, analogous to a, say, Gary Cooper or Bobby Vinton. We shall ignore the fact that it was all kind of a joke/fraud, eh?

RIP Bruno.

Bruno was perhaps the last of the old world wrestlers where real wrestling holds and moves predominated before the sport was transformed into overt showmanship with outrageous costumes and the like. Sure, a lot of the stuff was choreographed, but a lot of it was real too, real emotions, real injuries, real athleticism, tremendous physical prowess, and sometimes egos degenerated into real fights. I always heard that Bruno originally worked in the steel mill as a laborer before being discovered and I always wondered if that was true.

 

[BULLDOG]

Regarding the adjective, "fake" as applied to wrestling.

Well, the stuff they do in the ring (and out of it) is actually happening, and the wrestlers are doing some fairly impressive stuff. But as I said above, they are not trying to hurt the other guy. Indeed, their objective is to try to make it look like they are hurting the guy, without actually hurting them.

I used to point out that at the end of the match, these guy had nary a bruise or a cut (other than staged cuts) despite all of that violence.

I say, Professional Wrestling is analogous to porn movies. They are really doing what it looks like they are doing, but they don't really love/hate the other person.

More like a ballet dancer performing a routine than an athlete.

 

[OldLady]

The forces are mounting that will eventually overwhelm most Americans and send their standard of living to unknown depths. Americans that have only known the post WWII prosperity are ill equipped and educated to deal with depression level living. Easy credit and instant gratification have created a nation of whining, self absorbed, entitlement minded people with no moral or mental toughness.

Read and the rest of the article HERE

I beat everyone to it.
The last time there was a Great Depression here, not many people noticed, because everyone was living on the edge anyway. I assume that is what will happen next time.

Next question?

 

[ding]

The forces are mounting that will eventually overwhelm most Americans and send their standard of living to unknown depths. Americans that have only known the post WWII prosperity are ill equipped and educated to deal with depression level living. Easy credit and instant gratification have created a nation of whining, self absorbed, entitlement minded people with no moral or mental toughness.

Read and the rest of the article HERE

I beat everyone to it.
The last time there was a Great Depression here, not many people noticed, because everyone was living on the edge anyway. I assume that is what will happen next time.

Next question?

Ok...

What would it take to trigger a depression here?

 

[OldLady]

The forces are mounting that will eventually overwhelm most Americans and send their standard of living to unknown depths. Americans that have only known the post WWII prosperity are ill equipped and educated to deal with depression level living. Easy credit and instant gratification have created a nation of whining, self absorbed, entitlement minded people with no moral or mental toughness.

Read and the rest of the article HERE

I beat everyone to it.
The last time there was a Great Depression here, not many people noticed, because everyone was living on the edge anyway. I assume that is what will happen next time.

Next question?

Ok...

What would it take to trigger a depression here?

Ask the OP. Do I seem like someone who would know the answer to that question?

 

[ding]

The forces are mounting that will eventually overwhelm most Americans and send their standard of living to unknown depths. Americans that have only known the post WWII prosperity are ill equipped and educated to deal with depression level living. Easy credit and instant gratification have created a nation of whining, self absorbed, entitlement minded people with no moral or mental toughness.

Read and the rest of the article HERE

I beat everyone to it.
The last time there was a Great Depression here, not many people noticed, because everyone was living on the edge anyway. I assume that is what will happen next time.

Next question?

Ok...

What would it take to trigger a depression here?

Ask the OP. Do I seem like someone who would know the answer to that question?

You said... next question.

 

[Ringel05]

The forces are mounting that will eventually overwhelm most Americans and send their standard of living to unknown depths. Americans that have only known the post WWII prosperity are ill equipped and educated to deal with depression level living. Easy credit and instant gratification have created a nation of whining, self absorbed, entitlement minded people with no moral or mental toughness.

Read and the rest of the article HERE

Soooooooo, trying to drive traffic to your (?) article?

 

[Zander]

The legendary wrestler has died at age 82.

Bruno Sammartino, an Italian immigrant who was heavyweight champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation for a record 11 years in the 1960s and ′70s, long before the federation admitted that its matches were scripted and largely choreographed entertainment shows, died on Wednesday at 82.

Bruno Sammartino, Durable Champ in WWE Hall of Fame, Dies at 82​

 

[skye]

Never heard ...

RIP all the same

 

[candycorn]

If Bruno had been a novelist or magician but had reached the same social standing by doing so; would we be saying that he was perpetuating a fraud in those vocations? I mean, a novelist conveys a make-believe world and certainly there is no serious argument to be made that magic is real. But for some reason, professional wresting is saddled with some requirement to be legitimate violence to be entertaining? Why?

As for Bruno, never met him. I did want to say though that as a youth when I was in school, I was privileged and honored to receive numerous scholarships to continue my studies in academia. Among others, the Knights of Columbus or maybe it was the Kiwanis Club’s local chapter was honoring me and several other far more deserving HS students at a dinner ceremony one night to give us our scholarship certificates. The key note speaker was none other than James J. Dillon who was cast as a manager in the theater of the ring. I don’t recall many of the other speakers that evening except for he and Paul Bosch (sp?) who was the local wresting promoter, a member of the club, and the man who introduced him with this gushingly appreciative preamble. That Saturday night, the two were butting heads on TV. I knew then and there it was all an act.

Anyway, JJ got up and talked for what seemed like 3 hours (it was probably 30 minutes in reality—I was just overwhelmed by the whole scene) about commitment, following through on what you said you’d do, and at the end of the day ( recall this specifically) being able to look at yourself in the mirror. He had note cards he was obviously reading from as he announced us to come up to the stage and get our little plaques. I remember earlier in the evening, the greeter at the Hall escorting us to the table asking my family their first names and making sure that she knew how to pronounce our last names correctly. I have a name that is one of those that is borderline; like TOE_MAY_TOE and TAH_MOT_OH. That information had made it to Dillon. He got it perfectly, called me to the stage and shook my hand like he was pumping water out of the earth, posed for a picture with a photographer and came to our table after the desert course to meet my parents. He did the same for the other 12-15 students as well; often sitting at a spare chair and spending 5-10 minutes with total strangers, puffing on a big cigar but being very mindful about it. That Saturday night, he was the scum of the earth on Channel 39.

From what I have heard, Dillion and other wrestlers from that era did this sort of thing all the time for a small fee and a free dinner. It was part of how they made their living. I would imagine that Bruno was cut from the same cloth.