Professional Wrestling Makes an Impact at IVCC
By Holli L. Rapp
Is professional wrestling just a craze?
At IVCC, pro wrestling seems to be something more than just a mindless time waster. Not only have students become interested in it, but some faculty members admit to being fans.
Of the 20 faculty members who responded to an Apache survey, 85 percent had watched wrestling on television and 25 percent had attended a wrestling match. And over 90 percent of the 150 students surveyed said they have watched wrestling.
Geology Instructor Mike Phillips ,who admitted to having watched wrestling on TV said "watching is a waste of time, but, like driving slowly past a car accident, it is sometimes irresistible when channel hopping."
Student Casey Hamel said, "It may be fake, but who cares. Monday night is the night." The freshman from Mendota continued, "It is awesome. There’s nothing like going to a match."
A student from Ottawa, who admitted to watching wrestling, described it as a male soap opera.
Among the people who aren’t fans is a student from Magnolia who described wrestling as stupid and pointless, but, she added, her boyfriend makes her watch it.
Dwight Lowe from Streator, who has watched wrestling, felt it is violent enough that it should be rated "R."
English and German instructor Jim Michael took a different view, describing wrestling as "a big act." Saying he hadn’t watch wrestling in years, Michael explained: "It doesn’t seem to be a real sport, like pro basketball or football. It is more like the gladiators of ancient Rome, but without weapons and nobody gets killed."
A television feature about wrestling that aired on Nov. 1 revealed a number of techniques wrestlers use to protect each other from injury. Noise created by the fans, for example, allows one wrestler to tell the other what move he’s going to make, so they can be prepared for the move and avoid serious injury.
The feature also showed that the violence is not completely fake; injuries do occur.
Accounting Instructor Mike Sankovich said, "I understand that wrestling is the number one rated show on cable, and its appeal, quite frankly, eludes me. I assume the fans know that outcomes are determined in advance, but they go for the mindless entertainment nonetheless. And maybe that’s okay."
Sankovich continued: "Perhaps the entertainment industry is cyclical too: wrestling was the most popular sport on TV back in the fifties. And now it’s back.
"I look for roller derby to be making a comeback soon," Sankovich said.
11/19/98 the Apache