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You Fucked Up
January 24, 2005 by Daniel Eels

Disclaimer: While Online World of Wrestling's policy is to discourage the use of explicit profanity, we feel this column represents the exception due to its relevance within wrestling folklore as well as the hardcore aspects of the industry's culture. Please proceed with an open mind.

Ignorant. Selfish. Disrespectful. What am I talking about" A chant that has probably been used in every promotion. The chant" Three simple words: "You fucked up". I consider this chant extremely disrespectful, both to the wrestler that "fucked up" and his opponent. Why do I find this disrespectful" Because probably 75% of the people in the crowd that are chanting probably haven't even been inside a wrestling ring, yet alone woke up on a Monday morning after wrestling training hurting all over, like I have.

I know that wrestling fans in general are not cold-hearted people. But did the wrestling fans chant 'you fucked up' at Owen Hart when he gave the piledriver to Steve Austin, breaking his neck" No. These athletes are putting their lives on the line every single time they go out and wrestle, whether it's at a PPV, TV show or just a house show. As I've said, these wrestlers put their lives on the line, they risk injury with nearly every move, even more so with people like Rey Mysterio Jr. and Rob Van Dam. So should they be subjected to these kinds of insults" No.

I know that if I was being carried out of the arena on a stretcher due to a broken neck, with my career hanging in the balance, the last thing I would want to hear is the ignorant chants of 'you fucked up' These wrestlers love what they do, whether it's getting out in front of the crowd, showing of aerial excellence or showing their technical ability. They are doing what they love night after night, month after month, year after year and there are very few perks in the wrestling business so for the fans to chant this is utterly disrespectful.

I wouldn't even call these people fans. Hell, they are barely even civilised people. What I find stupid though is that these people pay �50 + for tickets, then they have to pay for travel and accommodation, so they are spending a lot of money, so that when someone botches a move they can have the simple pleasure of chanting 'you fucked up'. How respectful.

So this is my plea, the next time a wrestler botches a move, whether they be a jobber or a main eventer, please don't chant 'you fucked up'. Instead, sit back and enjoy the match as it was meant to be enjoyed. Also remember why these wrestlers are doing what they do, because they love to wrestle and they love performing in front of the fans.

You've been reading, I've been writing.

by Daniel Eels ..

EJO10488 wrote:
Well, while fans shouldn't chant You F'ed Up, I guess, there is no stopping them. From the first part, what I take is that you are saying the fans cant say the YFU chant because they have never been in a wrestling ring. Well, then people cant complain about video games if they have never made one, they cant complain about music if they never made any songs.......Get where I'm going" Again, that is just what I read it as. You may have been trying to say something different.

Now, I am not too sure about this, but back in the time when Owen botched the piledriver, I don't think WWF fans really said You F'ed Up to anything. Back then was a different time. Today fans may say that a wrestler F'ed up, but I really havent heard it that much.

I also doubt people pay for tix, travel, food and accomadation just to chant You F'ed Up to a wrestler. While it is good that you wrote this, I don't think anyone, or a lot of people, are going to listen just because you find it disrespectful. Fans are fans. You can't change or tell them what to and what not to say.

Brad Dykens wrote:
In 1997 (when the Austin/Owen accident occurred) the YFU chant was alive and well in ECW Arena.

keith learmonth wrote:
I totally agree with what you are saying, i'd hate it if the fans chanted something like that at me, but i'm pretty sure i'd never make it as a pro. oh well, i'd better keep on dreaming. and if you ever see "X, The Crimson Darkness" being used as a name, you know who invented it. Keith Learmonth.

Grizzle wrote:
Quote: "I wouldn't even call these people fans. Hell, they are barely even civilised people. What I find stupid though is that these people pay �50 + for tickets, then they have to pay for travel and accommodation, so they are spending a lot of money, so that when someone botches a move they can have the simple pleasure of chanting 'you fucked up'. How respectful."

I find it hard to believe that anyone in any crowd that chants "You f*cked up" spends all the money they do to watch a wrestling show, with the purpose of getting a chance to chant "You f*cked up." If that's the case, then promoters don't need to give us "barely even civilised people" wrestling matches and complex story lines, they just need to give us spot fest matches so we can hope that they botch every spot. Promote a show that does that, and see how many people walk away happy, their money well spent. This is an argument similar to a post on a message board I read, the guy was complaining that he can't watch movies in theaters anymore, because obnoxious people choose to yell out sarcastic comments during the movie, things that I personally find hilarious. One could argue that buying a ticket to any event is not a license to be an asshole and ruin other people's experience. In that case, if you said that, you would be correct. However, you would likely miss the point that the same freedom that grants a person the right to buy said ticket, also gives them the right to be who they want to be, and say what they want to say at whatever event the ticket is for. People need to stop being so sensitive and loosen up a bit.

Kirsty Quested wrote:
Amen to that.

Claymecc12 wrote:
I agree, but there is a time for chanting these phrases and a time you shouldn't. You don't taunt a performer who just broke his neck or suffered a career-threatening screw-up of some sort. Then again, when the storyline encourages it, then that's probably what the WWE wants.

Brian Betrrand wrote:
You can't really blame the marks on this one. As you said, they haven't been inside a wrestling ring. So why should any of the wrestlers care what the fans say" If there was a botched move or a botched landing then yeah they know they screwed it up. That's what made ECW more unique. If the YFU chants started and say Super Crazy or Stevie Richards screwed up in a match they already expected the YFU chants to start up. It wasn't a big thing. I don't think a lot of indy guys actually like that kind of fan participation but the big thing is that yeah it seems really disrespectful and yeah it's going to piss some guys off. But I think it's a reminder that there's things that the wrestlers need to work on. Trial and error if you look at it in a better perspective.

Curtis Mcmullen wrote:
blah blah blah blah blah since we provide the money for these people when we attend shows, we should be allowed to chant what we like.

EJO10488 wrote:
Brad, I know it was in ECW, but I am talking about in the WWF.

Grizzle, I agree with what you said.

Ronnie Miller wrote:
I totally agree that the YFU crap should stop. It seems like most of today's fans don't have as much respect for what these athletes as they did years ago.

The point I really wanted to bring up was that I was watching a ROH match between Amazing Red and Paul London. The two were going up for a really big hurricanrana spot (]they were both standing on the top rope) and the fans were chanting "please don't die". I really thought that was classy.

sfhardrock wrote:
Fans are fans! If they disapprove they WILL let you know and won't be shy about it. If you're going to argue and you're a wrestler go heel and find deeper problems. Now, I never once heard the "YFU" chant at someone every week for one move. Fans, no matter how "uncivilized" they are, are always willing to forgive wrestlers on their performance as long as they redeem themselves sometime later. I saw RVD, RVD!!, mess up on a springboard elbow on an ECW taper at Barely Legal and the crowd chanted the oh so famous "YFU." Y'know what though" It didn't stick with him, he's always willing to give a show and people saw that so they forgot all about it. There's only one guy who made that chant famous. It was in Mick's book, I can't remember the name, but the way I see it, it's a chant of honor. Final fact is fans are fans, you can't shut them up.. no matter how disrespectful.. that's jsut the way it is. Me, personally, I like to enhoy their honest comments.

Daniel M wrote:
I entirely agree with Daniel Eels, mind you I'm not a wrestler but I can definetly see where he's coming from. Just in response to the comment from "EJO10488". You can't make that comparison:

"Well, then people cant complain about video games if they have never made one, they cant complain about music if they never made any songs.......Get where I'm going""

I am in a band and sure if people yelled "you suck" or "you fucked up" at a live gig I wouldn't appreciate it, but if people said our music sucks, I couldn't care less, thats their opinion. But, the difference there is that I don't risk life and limb to entertain the crowds, sure we work hard to write and perfect our songs but at the end of the day it is not all that physically taxing. Sure, the fans can get stuck into wrestlers and their characters, but when they start to question their ability and dump on them for their performances, then they are being ungrateful swines.

Like Daniel Eels said most of them haven't felt the pain and endured the hard work of being a wrestler, nor have I, but I think it is just plain rude and disrespectful that they chant "you fucked up" at someone who is working their arse off and literally risking their lives to entertain them......

Don't bite the hand that feeds you folks..... ]

Nicholas Parker wrote:
If a baseball player were to make an error or have a horrible performance in a game, don't the fans chant some nasty sayings at said player. Wrestling fans are no different and shouldn't be expected to be any different. I can safely say that I've never heard that chant following a mistake that led to a serious injury, the fans should be given credit for knowing that wrestlers put their livelihood on the line every match. I've only heard it after a mistake that simply made the wrestler(s) involved look ridiculous in the ring. A previous post stated that fans used to show more respect in the past. I think we as fans simply got more intelligent as the secrets were revealed and the internet age came about. No one likes having there mistakes rubbed in their face. Everyone, being human, makes mistakes. However; if you choose to do something were your every move is scrutinized; be prepared to accept, what is in essence, constructive criticism. It's nothing personal, just an observation made by the fans to what they paid their money to see.

Brad Dykens wrote:
WOW! WHAT A DEBATE!!!

Rhey wrote:
Curtis Mcmullen: Try climbing in the ring EVEN ONCE and then saying crap like that...yes, we're all wrestling fans but very few people know how tough it is being in the ring. Unless you've been in a ring before you have NO RIGHT to start chanting crap like that at people who work WAY harder than you'll ever know. So I'm gonna' take a page out of Jericho's book and tell you to please SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XxXglassJAw21XxX wrote:
Indeed the "you f*cked up" chant is very disrespectful, but you also have to understand that this country supports the right to freedom of speech. Also the WWE promotes that the fans have the right to express themselves however they please. Now we can sit here all day and talk about how terrible that chant is, but no matter what, things won't change. I personally feel that the chant is very tasteless and I think the people that start these chants should show a little more compassion to the superstars, whether it be the WWE or any other wrestling company. These athletes are away from their families, away from their homes, for over 200 days a year just to entertain us. These wrestlers are talented human beings, not circus animals, so at least show some decency next time you see a botched spot while attending a live event. But then again, like I stated above, this is a free country, so if it pleases you to put these guys down, then go right ahead. Just think about how you would feel though if you were in that wrestlers position.

Sami Salonen wrote:
Okay i think you're blaming the wrong chant. I think that an even worse chant is ``boooring.�� I don't know if the wrestlers like it or not but i certainly wouldn't. I'm Finnish so i of course paid good money to see the event on the Live and Loaded tour. There was a match between Chuck Palumbo and Maven. I know that back then many new fans didn't even know who Maven was, but still. I don't think they should've shouted ``boooring�� when Maven got slammed to the mat with a devastating spinebuster. I think it's okay to chant ``YFU�� because that's not an insult if the really did fuck up. But chanting ``boooring�� is an insult when the match really is intense. I think the fans chant that to the wretlers because many of them are just regular air time fills. The bottom line: Chant ``boooring�� if the match really is boring but don't chant it directly at the wrestlers.

EJO10488 wrote:
Okay, maybe the ex. I used weren't that good. Point is-You can't tell fans what they can and what they can't say. If you are going to complain about the YFU chant being disrespectful, you might as well complain about the You Suck chants (not just for Kurt) or ______ Sucks chants because they are disrespectful as well. Sure, maybe the YFU chants aren't the best thing to say when someone messes up a move, but at least it shows that the crowd is being entertained and paying attention. Most of the time if I see a move messed up or something, I hear the 'Holy Sh*t! Holy Sh*t!' chant. The crowd can usually make the call on when it isnt a good thing to do the YFU chant, like if they know someone gets legit. hurt or something.

I dont think a fan would chant YFU if a wrestler was really legit hurt and they knew it.

Wrestlers risk their lives with every move they take. Exactly. They know that if they mess up a move, something bad will happen, and they should know that the fans will most likely chant YFU. Should that bother the wrestler" NO! Because if a simple chant pisses off a wrestler when they shouldnt care what the fans think since they have never been in a wrestling ring, most likely, they shouldn't even be wrestling. Sure, if you are a heel then you can pretty much play to the crowd about the chant just to get more heat (i.e., calling them ignorant in an interview and stuff".

Again, fans don't just buy tickets and food and crap just to chant YFU. Hell, if they did, the promotions and wrestlers should be HAPPY. THEY are making the money from fans who only want to see a botched move! What the heck is wrong with making money"

BrakY2J wrote:
I agree, the "You F*cked Up!" chant is very disrespectful to the wrestlers. Personally, I never chant it when the crowd starts. It's almost like the fans look to shout it sometimes. I was at an ROH show last year and they started chanting it for about 3 minutes after the sound guy messed up someone's theme music. The wrestlers are out there to entertain the fans; if they mess up, the fans shouldn't yell right back at them "You F*cked Up." They're putting their lives on the line, the fans should show respect.

Curtis Mcmullen wrote:
Look Rhey, the wages they receive comes from us. we pay their wages, so we can chant what we want in return. And besides, a negetive reaction is better than no reaction init. so listen to me Rhey, and this comes from Britain, why dont you just kiss my arse.

listen XxXglassJaw/21XxX, could you be more specific when you say "this country. This website is seen out of america afterall.(ie Im from Britain)

Daniel M wrote:
"EJO10488", The 'you suck' chant is a rib on Kurt Angle's character, whereas the 'you fucked up' chant is having a go at the wrestler as an athlete......

This article has made quite a splash eh......

Grizzle wrote:
"Try climbing in the ring EVEN ONCE and then saying crap like that...yes, we're all wrestling fans but very few people know how tough it is being in the ring. Unless you've been in a ring before you have NO RIGHT to start chanting crap like that at people who work WAY harder than you'll ever know."

Well, for starters, I have climbed in the ring. I've taken a couple bumps, I've botched a move once, and I've been on the other end of a botch twice. Thankfully and luckily, none were serious, no one was badly injured, a single broken rib was the worst injury. Anyway, so that little fact must give me the right to chant anything while at a wrestling show. Hmmm, but wait a second, the last football game I went to, a receiver on my home team, after missing a few already, dropped an easy pass in the endzone that he definitely should have caught, and I, along with just about everyone else in the stadium started to boo loudly, and I heard some small chants down near the field, things like "butter fingers" followed by that clapping that goes with some chants, you get the idea. But wait, I've never played football outside of small street games with family members and a nerf football, so I guess I don't have the right to boo somebody for dropping a pass in an NFL game then do I" Because I have no idea how hard it is to do all the training camp, and constant practice that NFL players do. My point is this, any sport that draws big crowds will inevitably depend on fan interaction and fan reactions as part of it. That being said you can't tell the fans what to do. Not only is it wrong, but I'd say it's damn near impossible. Try telling a guy decked out in all Baltimore Ravens gear that has seats behind the other teams benches that he won't be allowed to yell whatever obscenities he desires to Terrell Owens when the Eagles come to town. See what he does. Hell, try telling a Yankee fan that he has to be completely respectful the next time the Red Sox are in town. Despite the recent signs of the apocalypse involving those teams, that still just ain't gonna happen. So yea, try and tell a possibly drunk fan at a wrestling show, that if anyone botches a move or spot, he can't be the obnoxious fan that he might want to be (alcohol does make people obnoxious sometimes), and that he should give a golf clap while kindly saying, "nice try there champ, go get em next time", followed by a thumbs up and a smile. Nope, not happening. And besides, it's not like the fans are lying. I have never heard a YFU chant after anything other than a botched spot/move. YFU is part of the sport, it's as simple as that. But hell, I've been in a wrestling ring before, so I have my "right" to chant YFU, I shouldn't even be arguing then.

Rhey wrote:
I didn't mean it literally, smart one. I was trying to make a point; the wrestlers go through hell an bck i he ing each and every day for the fans, and, knowing that, theres STILL tons of fans who will scrutinize every move and be a total asshole whnever ONE move gets messed up. Granted, I don't expect them to be all polite about it (we are all wrestling fans, after all), but i think the YFU chant is a bit harsh.

Francisco Cartagena wrote:
I think the chant isn't so much disrespectful. I mean we pay our money to watch the show, and of course we're gonna give the wrestlers shit, because we are the fans, and we're not just going to sit there quietly. As for the boring chants, I actually got some heat on myself one day for that. I was at a TNA Impact taping and Kevin Nash was in the ring cutting a promo and I started a boring chant. He seriously got pissed right at me for starting it. But that's the whole fun in it, like when Dusty Rhodes was in the ring and I started chanting "We Want Russo (referring to Vince Russo)" and Dusty came up to me and said "Russo can suck my dick" Yeah I was reallllly shocked he said that.

Anthony Mcmullen wrote:
though it did provoke a lot of replies, I still think it was bad stupid subject. to put it bluntly, you fucked up.

wrote:

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