On the journey

Both me and my wife were fanatic followers of WWE (previously know as WWF), when we were kids. I believe I was in 6-7th Grade when I first got exposed to WWE, thanks to the advent of STAR TV Network. We both lost interest in it gradually. I don’t know about her but I was very disappointed after figuring out that it was not real. The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart etc were suddenly no more heroes to me. I still followed some episodes of WWE while I was in college, but this time I wasn’t the fanatic like I used to be. I watched it for the showmanship and of course the WWE Divas.

I haven’t followed much of WWE action since. But, when I heard that WWE RAW was coming to my town I couldn’t resist. I wasn’t interested in wrestling, but I wanted to absorb the atmosphere, feel the sound, enjoy the fireworks, and take pictures. I purchased tickets which would allow us to be about 100 meters from the stage, not bad for $30 value.

When my printed tickets came in mail, it said “no laser and video cameras”. I had heard before that some venues might have different camera policies so I browsed through internet to see if WWE has any specific camera policies, I couldn’t locate any. The day of the event I called Cajundome (venue of the event) to ask if the event had any camera policy. They said: no professional camera (meaning camera with interchangeable lens), no camera with high zoom, and no camera with movie capabilities. What did that leave me with then? I was real angry, this would probably be the last time I will be attending any WWE shows and I really wanted to take some great pictures as a souvenir. Despite making millions of Dollars WWE are still worried that someone might make few extra bucks selling the pictures of their actors/athletes?

I had to choose a cheap disposable camera over my DSLR. To my fury, once inside the arena, I saw almost every one with digital camera. I am sure most of them have movie capabilities. I saw a lady two seat to my left with 18x optical zoom Fuji, I even saw a guy with SLR with telephoto lens, but he was using it discretely. The bottom line is normal digital cameras were definitely allowed, the lady from Cajundome on phone to me said something different, so I had to settle with a cheap disposable camera and ultimately bad pictures.

The wrestling matches were boring, very predictable, like a routine. If you simply want to see match ups, watching in TV is much better bet than live. The crowd atmosphere however was electrifying; I have been to concerts & football games but this vibe was different. WWE staffs (announcers, athletes, and cameramen) in the arena were expert crowd energizers. The sound was very impressive and so was the firework. I enjoyed the entrance of a wrestlers much more than the match itself. If you ever were a wrestling fan, I would recommend you to go experience the show live once when you get a chance. Like I said above, you might not enjoy the matches but you will love the atmosphere, sounds and fireworks.

Though it’s unlikely that I will ever go to another show, I have to confess I did have fun even when I decided to leave before the main event to avoid traffic.