Wrestling Forums : WWE, TNA, ECW, E-Fed, Wrestlemania, Live Wrestling Streams - View Single Post

Zeeboe · 05-01-2009, 08:47 PM

On Saturday, July 12th, 1997, the World Wrestling Federation came to my hometown of Austin, Texas for a house show. I was fourteen-years old, and I had a front row seat.

Bret and Owen Hart teamed up to take on Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind, and even though the Hart Brothers were the "bad guys", and I was an American, I was still a huge mark for The Hart Foundation. Bret Hart had always been one of my favorite wrestlers, and I just couldn't see things from the other fans point of view. From my perspective, Bret "The Hitman" Hart did not change in 1997. He was still the same old Bret. Everything he was saying was a reaction to the overwhelming amount of booing he received from the majority of American wrestling fans all across arenas in the U.S.A. To me, it was the people who changed. Bret never turned his back on them, they turned their backs on him. They were the ones that made the "heel turn", so I saw most of them as the "bad guys".

Texas is Stone Cold Steve Austin/Shawn Michaels country, so it didn't surprise me when Stone Cold and Mankind both got the loudest pop of the night, while Bret and Owen got the most heat.....needless to say, I was litreally the only Hart Foundation fan in the Frank Erwin Center that summer night, and in a sea of Austin 3:16 t-shirts, I sat among them, and wore a Bret Hart t-shirt, and waved a Canadian flag, and I was cheering VERY LOUDLY for the Hart Brothers. (Looking back, I was lucky I didn't kick my butt kicked.)

All my cheerleading for the Harts did not go unnoticed by Bret Hart. He was just across the ring from me, standing on the ring apron, while Owen was in the ring, wrestling. As I waved the Canadian flag and cheered, Bret looked RIGHT at me, and watched me. He didn't say or do anything, but he did give me a warm smile of genuine appreciation.

Four years later in 2001, I came across The Calgary Sun website, and I found some of Bret Hart's old columns from 1997, and read how he actually really hated being a bad guy wrestler, and he never wanted to be a heel. He also mentioned on his site that he knew he still had some American wrestling fans, and that if you listened carefully, you could hear them in the audience on Monday Night Raw, and that he was very grateful for all his loyal American wrestling fans who still cheered for him while he did an anti-USA gimmick.

I know being a hero meant a lot to Bret, so it makes me very happy that in a building full of Bret Hart haters all those years ago, I was able to bring a smile to the face of Bret, and let him know that he was still a hero to at least one person in Austin, Texas.

05-01-2009, 08:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zeeboe New Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 10 vCash: 500 Rep Power: 0	Bret Hart story. On Saturday, July 12th, 1997, the World Wrestling Federation came to my hometown of Austin, Texas for a house show. I was fourteen-years old, and I had a front row seat. Bret and Owen Hart teamed up to take on Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind, and even though the Hart Brothers were the "bad guys", and I was an American, I was still a huge mark for The Hart Foundation. Bret Hart had always been one of my favorite wrestlers, and I just couldn't see things from the other fans point of view. From my perspective, Bret "The Hitman" Hart did not change in 1997. He was still the same old Bret. Everything he was saying was a reaction to the overwhelming amount of booing he received from the majority of American wrestling fans all across arenas in the U.S.A. To me, it was the people who changed. Bret never turned his back on them, they turned their backs on him. They were the ones that made the "heel turn", so I saw most of them as the "bad guys". Texas is Stone Cold Steve Austin/Shawn Michaels country, so it didn't surprise me when Stone Cold and Mankind both got the loudest pop of the night, while Bret and Owen got the most heat.....needless to say, I was litreally the only Hart Foundation fan in the Frank Erwin Center that summer night, and in a sea of Austin 3:16 t-shirts, I sat among them, and wore a Bret Hart t-shirt, and waved a Canadian flag, and I was cheering VERY LOUDLY for the Hart Brothers. (Looking back, I was lucky I didn't kick my butt kicked.) All my cheerleading for the Harts did not go unnoticed by Bret Hart. He was just across the ring from me, standing on the ring apron, while Owen was in the ring, wrestling. As I waved the Canadian flag and cheered, Bret looked RIGHT at me, and watched me. He didn't say or do anything, but he did give me a warm smile of genuine appreciation. Four years later in 2001, I came across The Calgary Sun website, and I found some of Bret Hart's old columns from 1997, and read how he actually really hated being a bad guy wrestler, and he never wanted to be a heel. He also mentioned on his site that he knew he still had some American wrestling fans, and that if you listened carefully, you could hear them in the audience on Monday Night Raw, and that he was very grateful for all his loyal American wrestling fans who still cheered for him while he did an anti-USA gimmick. I know being a hero meant a lot to Bret, so it makes me very happy that in a building full of Bret Hart haters all those years ago, I was able to bring a smile to the face of Bret, and let him know that he was still a hero to at least one person in Austin, Texas.