"You know it's fake, right"" It's inevitable that I will hear that comment once a day, usually as a startled mockery of my response to, "What'd you do last night, man"" Save for a few nights a week when the perks of the teenage social scene override the antics in the squared circle, my answer will always be: "I watched wrestling."

For many, wrestling is a joke. An unappreciated art form, that is cast off as nothing more than a redneck's attempt at fooling an audience. Pro wrestling has been a phase in most peoples' lives--our parents likely have stories of Whipper Watson, or Chief Jay Strongbow. Children in elementary school may still have their Stone Cold shirts stashed in the bottom of their drawers, collecting dust. Why is it that that wrestling has only been able to hold our attention" It's seemingly something special to be a wrestling fan in the new millennium. The curious, glamorous hey-days of the 80s have past, and the resurgence that came a decade later via Steve Austin and The Rock has fizzled away as well. But to be part of the current wrestling community is to be part of a family, and in short, that is why I hold wrestling so close to my heart. It's irrelevant to bring out the old arguments that I'm sure each and every one of us whipped out after various "Secrets of Pro Wrestling" shows and articles came out. But they're incredible athletes! But those falls still hurt like hell! We know that. And to those that don't understand it now, they won't learn to appreciate it. Beyond simply enjoying watching the sport, and appreciating athletic talent, being part of the wrestling community is what gives me passion for sports entertainment. Seeing fathers taking their sons to the matches, in matching t-shirts, teaching them to chant, and rile up the heels. Sitting beside a senior citizen at a local indy show, with no more than 100 people in attendance. For him to be there, claiming to have been watching wrestling for "50 years now"--that is what keeps me watching. As scarce as wrestling fans are these days, and I know, we've all had our troubles finding people in the area to talk to about wrestling, belonging to such a scarce, dedicated community, is something that is perhaps beyond description.

I've tried explaining this to my girlfriend for months. I decided that pictures would speak louder than words. So I took her on the most exciting date that our year together has seen: to a RAW house show. Five minutes after arriving in the parking lot, I had already struck conversation with several people about the wrestlers arriving, Matt Hardy, and Samoa Joe. Maybe he's not insane for drumming on me and yelling 'The Champ is Here!' After the show was over, her comment was: "I didn't believe you that everyone knew those chants."

And chants we do know, but it is more than our jingles that we treasure. As fans, we value tradition, respect, and dedication. Each wrestler, we know, is a step above even our rabid commitment as fans--they love it enough to get in between the ropes, and do it. We wait anxiously to shake the hands of our larger-than-life heroes, and we celebrate the ones who have fallen. The men and women in the ring are bigger than us, because they were once one of us. However, they are giving to us, what they once felt as they were perched atop their seats. A few weekends back, I decided to do nothing but watch non-stop wrestling all weekend. Go through all of my DVDs and all in all, have a great time. I found myself pausing the video twice. In Beyond the Mat, as an aged Terry Funk rolls out of bed slowly, gets changed, and is met by his wife to tell him, "the branding iron is in the trunk, honey." And, during ECW One Night Stand, as the little old lady, who seemingly attended every ECW show in New York, leaned over the guardrail to hug and thank Tommy Dreamer. As I pressed pause both times, I simply said: "That's wrestling."

That is why I watch wrestling.

by Corey Erdman ..