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WAI‘ERLOO CHRONICLE . Wednesday. December to. 2003 . a 3 l l C OMMNT l . l l? fifi'h ‘ F ‘ h â€"*“__Av‘fim‘ W N‘ffikfi‘l { I a , a. a w s a l Liz] llzliblO THE CHRONICLE i l t__.F_..M__â€"______â€"._____.hfim_.acÂ¥c_‘__l ’ . WhatwillBt-aiddoif eggaegeeaeerea ea easons eatmgs l . edification of the author Conservatives fall? of that letter. 36.1 per cent is not a Dan Emanuele majority, but a plurality. About 64 Maple Falls, Wash. iven my reputation for being a huge fan of pro wrestling, In his recent SUCCESSfUl election per cent of those who voted cast Gl've found myself in several discussions comparing pro campaign, OUT WWI)” elected their ballots against the winner â€"â€" wrestling to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Champi~ j gteemtéer (hf Parliétmetztt in Ottawa. now that is a majority. Who will decide onship), ever since fortner pro wrestler Brock besnar won the l ter rai . use 35 is main arguâ€" Furthermore, on] '58 rcent of UFC Heavyweight Championship on Nov. 15. ment that “Waterloo bhOUId be TCP' those registered actuyally Showed up well p miCCtS are For me, comparing pro wrestling to UFC is like comparing l resented by an MP who is on the at the pol]s_ , worth tax dollars? apples and oranges. The UFC is a legitimate sport that pits ath- side or the government," a thinly That means another 42 per cent letes of different disciplines against one another in a full-con- veiled allUSiOH t“ a government of all voters were not in favour of the Waterloo taxpayers must be duly tact fight. Pro wrestling, on the other hand. is a unique form of technique known as pork harrelling. winning candidate. enraptured by city chief finan- scripted entenainment that combines athleticism and Show In 6358 thf‘ (bnSt’WfltiVE Party Of Perhaps what Ms. Munz meant cial officer Bob Mavin's propensity manship. 1‘ Canada EOVCl'nml’m gets replaced by "excellent results" is that the to disburse generously with their i wanted to speak with someone who has excelled in both. I by a Liberal-led coalition, Will he Conservatives got enough people to money ~ he was quoted as saying, so I tracked down formerWWE pro wrestler and the only UFC stay true it) his "m’hlt‘" PUNK)“ and stay away to give them a hair's "If a project is really worth doing triple crown champion Dan “The Beast" Severn this past week step down (0 make way for a new. breadth win. then it is worth a tax increase" in the at his training facility in Goldwater. Mich. | government affiliated MP? Or would she regard all of those Dec. 3 edition of the Chronicle, but The UFC Hall of Famer, trained in Greco-roman and 1 who did not support the winner (64 who decides what project is "really freestyle wrestling. with black belts in several fighting disci- ‘ Michael Palmer per cent plus all of those who didn't wonh doing?" plines, compared the world of sports entertainment to mixed ‘ Hitter/00 vote) the "well read " individuals One person's worthy project can mania] arts. “I found it more diflicult to do pro wrestling than who made the “informed decision?" be another person's dud. MMA (mixed mania] arts)," Severn said over the phone. “in . For my pang I have moved to the But, in this respect. council MMA, all i had to do was walk out there and get results. In pro The conservative Us. and am no longer entitled to members and cityémreaucrats are wrestling, you have to put your body t ' vote because lam no longer a rest presumably infalli Ie. as it befits the in someone else‘s hands. and pray to { WI“ was 1.101. really dent of(;anada_ Not beinga US. cit- leaders ofthe most intelligent city of God they don't hurt you." l \ ] ‘ \ l j S] I \] I! a malonty izen. I didn't get to vote there, thC world. Transitioning from pro wrestling to l \}, , N either. MMA, Brock besnar lost his UFC \ I . ' Rlegarding the recent Chronicle But my children are dual citizens Tom Fahldy debut back in Febntary against former . are ”a?“ etter to the editor titled Democ- and got to vote in both elections. librerloo UFC heavyweight champion. Frank 1 a e?“ Mir. Severn shared with me his insight 3 a,» , on the match, which ended when Mir ' ' “t ‘ managed to secure a kneebar and f _ Tory band led by unpopular conductor force a eubmreerare ar use area firea i ‘ . round. l In my world a and I am fully aware it is a fantasy make a deal with them. effectively handing over veto “Brock made a tactical error. and , world â€" our elected officials do things because it's power. was just plain stupid. you see. he is an NCAA (amateur l. m the right move to make. And I still don't understand what the Liberals were wrestling) champion and he was fac- l ‘lhcy make decisions based on the best interest of thinking. Did they believe Stephane Dion would ing a lui litsu expert, and had I been MARSHALL the country and their constituents. magically tl'dnSmet into someone many Of US COLlld Brock's coach, I would have told him WARD . one. despite mt- fact that l have become remark» have some faith in? Really'?What were they smoking? that Mir had to come to him." Severn a... , , , , m, fl. ably cynical about politics in this country. I think our i understand the NDP's motives. (It had, contrary enthusiastically explained. “lui litsu system is outdated. and that. for the 7 to what they might say, absolutely nothing experts are lacking in the take-down area, “1 were Brock] most part, out Neil‘s and MPPs do not 7 7 to do with working families.) It did. howev- would be just bludgeoning Mir in the first round, round and have the power to make dramatic j l] j ( "j ( )| er. have everything to do with taking out three quarters. I would be hitting him with striking combos. changes. Truth is. the economy will ‘ ' , . the Liberals as the second party. I'm sure forearm shivers. throw up a knee _ splitting open an eye. generally rtm itselfand there is not a . Bl “1 R l\ l lack Layton was quite excited at the breaking him down and taking a physical toll. Then in the final 1 whole lot any govemment can do to prospect ofbeing pan ofa coalition. finally minute. ifthings are going his way. knock him on his can and ‘ improve the lot of people caught in the 4 g g on an equal footing with the other two par- take him down.” downturn right now. (Conversely. l 1" 1 g ties. And when the time was right. I am Clearly. mixed martial arts can be a bmtal sport, It's that believe govemments can do an awful 13: . ’ g. quite sure he would have taken every brutality that former professional wrestler Bret “Human” Hart lot to get in the way of business, but a, - ' opportunity to highlight his party. 1 don't said makes UFC much [00 real: “I'd never do UFC. i wasn't that is a discussion for another time.) ’ "Y ,, think Layton has ever meta camera he good enough and I was smarter than that." Hart said in an Over the last week or so. i didn't see {i didn’t like. interview with Canadacom earlier this year. “i have a lot of - any politicians in Ottawa making deci~ 25. And before you start sending offa nasty respect for UFC guys, but i still think they're not getting the sions for the right reasons. {31 email about how biased l am for the (no money they deserve, especially when I see them taking all I did see a lot of people either lust- kc“ b i servative party, just wait. those head shots. You can see the brain cells just vanishing mg for power or making every effort to ‘ ' ’ They are not WithOUt blame as well when they get hit five. six times. It's the kind of brain damage hang onto it. BRIAN Stephen Harper is, l think. the most dicta- you carry around forever. I can‘t come up with any other teaâ€" BOURKE torial prime minister we have ever had. He “1 have a lot of respect for it, but it's not something I would son for the behaviour of the Liberals comes off as someone who really doesn't have done. since I put too much value on my brain cells I don't and the NDP. The liberals came Off have a lot of time for anyone else‘s opin- mind pretending to bash somebody; brain cells out.“ their weakest showing in 100 years of general elec- ions. thoughts or ideas. The utter foolishness of preâ€" On the surface. pro wrestling and mixed martial ans may lions, while the Ni)? was coming off one of its best. I senting an economic Statement without some klltd look alike. But whereas mixed martial arts is the realm of real expected both parties to go into the session of Parliaâ€" of words on the current economic Situation was violence, pro wrestling is an elaborate. scripted spectacle ment with every plan to he an effective opposition unbelievable Again. I don't think the federal govern» founded on the illusion of violence. To judge one against the . force. In the case of the Nl)l’. I figured this might be merit can do a whole lot right away. especially when other is a mistake -â€" just ask “The Beast." their chance to step beyond the liberals while they WP'rl“ Still waiting for the United States to make a “Pro wrestlers are incredible athletes, working without the were mgmuping. move. Brit a recognition of the difficulty and some aid of a safety net." Severn said, “There is a psychological leor the liberals. it made sense to me that their kind of statement of the plans they might have would aspect required to tell a story, every crowd is different. and pro M Pa would spend the next few months raising their have gone a long way toward blunting the opposiâ€" wrestlers have an uncanny ability to improvise â€" and that's profiles. and keeping issues front and centre prior to tion. Poor strategy and poor execution as well. the beauty of it." a leadership convention in the spring. The Conservatives have become a one-man hand, People often $5qu that pro wrestling fans' like me_ will . But no We get two parties so desperate to and. sadly. an awful lot of people don't like the cone abandon the pseudo-sport now that a "real" altemative. mixed takeover power that they were prepared to sign a deal doctor I martial ans, is on TV and pay-per-view. But the “pseudo" part \ With tht‘ (lcVil in this 085? the Bloc Qut‘hf‘mig Pflhal" lhiS month away Will it“ all "f them tn is what we fans love most about wrestling: the strange blend of lhc Bloc has a very simple philosophy. They will give their heads a shake. and "Y to remember Wit." drama. vaudeville and athleticism. get whatever they can for Quebec, and if they don't they WW? TN to Ottawa in the hm place. l-or my money. I'd rather watch two athletes perform a draâ€" get it they will start rattling their separatist threats. It is said the first job of every politician is to get to magic physical spectacle than watch two men pound the brain . . Don't get me wrong. I don't think for a minute the (‘Icctcd We'd be a lot thti‘t Offilthfl' “Wilt“ “hm" rolls out ofeach others skulls. N Bloc has [hp clout r or for that matter the courage â€" that, and move on to acting in our best interests. to ever make an attempt at separation. It appears the “‘ ‘ threat of separation is effective enough in wringing Brian Bottrke. a member nflhe I 05.3 KOOL PM Marshall Word is a visual artist and independent filmmaker ‘ g concessions out ofOttawa. Once you separate. you morning crew. can it? ”(15th by PM” at Email it welcome at marshal! tmrdfihotmailcnm. ‘ lost- that power But for other mainstream parties to hMurl‘efi‘kmlfm, mm. N . i .. __ . so. W ..a,_,,c, _,_‘, M7; â€" .,,. eke»â€"â€"«â€" ~â€"â€"â€" aâ€"â€" ~â€"â€"- . egeffhe . 7 , . . 71 J