My 5 Crazy Experiences That No Other Wrestling Fan Has Had
4. The Time When Mick Foley Complimented My Friend's Leggings
Considering the man has been involved in wrestling for over 25 years, meeting Mick Foley itself isn't such an achievement in this day and age. He's toured the world as a wrestler, a writer and now doing a stand-up show. Chances are, even if you're not a wrestling fan, you'll have seen him lumbering around either Disneyland or, if you're a big lover of all things Christmas, you may find him in Santa's Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. When Mick announced he was doing a tour of the UK in 2013, it was a chance to meet one of my heroes. He was one of my first favourites. I got crazy goosebumps when he morphed into Cactus Jack on that episode of Smackdown in fact, I still do. I cried when he was retired by Triple H following their Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out in 2000 - in fact, I still do. I bought his books, including Tales from Wrescal Lane. I bought (what I hope is) an original Cactus Jack t-shirt through eBay for some silly money, and then bought a flannel shirt. I even bought a lousy pair of plain white trainers, just so I could complete the look. The only thing I couldn't really commit to was tearing half of my ear off. But, yeah, to say he was a hero of mine was an understatement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_TPEPxSUbc Gearing myself up for his tour, I looked over the dates. They started in the north, up in Scotland, and slowly crept down I don't remember the exact locations, but it was likely Edinburgh, then Manchester, and on to Birmingham. And then two dates for London. I was happy to travel to London, but in the small print under the first London date, it said Town Hall, Reading. Two important things of note. The first being that Reading isn't in London, it's twenty-five minutes away by train. And secondly, if you hadn't guessed from that comment, it's where I live. Mick Foley was coming to my home town! Without hesitating, I bought two VIP tickets and a friend immediately volunteered herself to go with me to the show. So, I went along in my Cactus Jack t-shirt, with a checked shirt over the top, clutching my copy of Tietam Brown and being accompanied by a girl that instantly elevated me above most of the people there. I mean, who else would think to bring Tietam Brown? The show was fantastic, with plenty of fun stories and some cheap pops for good measure. After all that, we had the benefits of the VIP experience, which allowed us to go on stage with Mick, get an item signed and have a photo taken. My friend went first and she got up there with Mick, gave him a napkin to sign, posed for a picture and moved on. As I got on stage, she came back on and asked Mick what he was doing after the show and if he fancied going for a drink. Genuine offer for a drink, I might add, before anyone thinks I'm suggesting anything raunchy. Mick politely declined, and as she was leaving, he shouted 'nice leggings' to her. How does one follow that? That's a pretty special moment for my friend, and rather than try to create my own special moment with the 3 time WWF Champion, I chose to pose for this shocking picture instead..
