J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q

This is going to be a busy weekend around the Ross household. My wife Jan and I will be enjoying the company of a close, old friend by the name of Steve Austin in our home and we will be taking the Texas Rattlesnake to the OU-Texas Tech college football game this Saturday night in Norman. My good friend Toby Keith is providing us tickets in his suite for the event which is greatly appreciated. OU, like many stadiums, does not sell cold beer to the fans but alcohol is permitted for the suite holders. That means football, cold beer and BBQ is on the agenda this Saturday in Norman. That’s not a bad deal wouldn’t you agree? Steve has started following the Sooners because of my incessant ramblings about my favorite team. Don’t misunderstand, Steve is still a Texan through and through but he has allowed the Sooners to be on his TV from time to time out in Southern California. This is another BIG game for OU as they attempt to run the table and finish the season at 10-2. Last year Texas Tech, coached by former OU assistant coach Mike Leach, beat OU in Lubbock on the basis or a controversial official’s call that gave Tech a touchdown they never scored. Tech will probably throw the ball about 40-50 times in this game IF they have the football which I hope the Sooners do something about. Long drives by OU while running the ball and using the clock will help the Sooners earn another Big 12 victory in Oklahoma’s last home game of 2006. OU defensive back coach Bobby Jack Wright married a girl from Stone Cold’s hometown of Edna, Texas and Coach Wright also recruited Steve from Wharton Junior College to attend North Texas State. So there is a little more of an OU connection with Austin than with just good old J.R. After three days of enjoying Steve’s company and perhaps drinking one or two cold beverages, I am then scheduled to fly to Manchester, England on Sunday morning. This time my route will be Oklahoma City to Chicago to Manchester arriving EARLY Monday morning. That means breakfast, a nap and on to the arena for what I hope will be a great Monday Night Raw. There is no doubt in my mind the sold out crowd will be ready to rock and all we have to do is provide the music. No matter how tired one is, when the red light goes on and the WWE fans start raising hell any one who works for the WWE with a pulse has got to get excited about being a part of Monday Night Raw. If they don’t, they need to find work elsewhere. Hopefully we will see some great in ring action with great competition and intense physicality this Monday night in Manchester. I like the “sizzle” of the talking aspect of wrestling but I must admit I am a “steak” man and still get into the physicality and athleticism of the art form known as pro wrestling. My tastes might not be in style any longer but I am just being honest. Traveling to the UK is always a lot of fun because the fans there make one feel wanted in a big way. The enthusiasm one experiences in the UK is infectious to say the least. It might be a long flight plus all the issues one incurs traveling but at the end of the day working in front of the UK fans is well worth the effort. I am constantly amazed at how over analyzed all TV wrestling shows are these days. Every minute seemingly of every show is dissected. Mistakes are magnified, nice moves are down played, and everyone becomes a critic perhaps not because they are trained and educated in the biz but because they are simply fans who have access to some internet sites. I encourage fans to voice their opinions but I do feel strongly that these “news items” should be handled as opinion and not news or fact. Everyone has a right to their opinion, without question. Some fans’ opinions I have read have been on the money as it relates to the way I perceive certain issues or trends. Nonetheless, all of us should make sure our readers know this is our “opinion” which makes what we write extremely subjective. The bottom line is that there seems to be a great deal of negativity out in the ‘rasslin world these days which is perhaps as it always has been but with the advent of the internet it seems more pronounced. The bottom line, IN MY OPINION, is that things are not as bad as some report them to be from a creative standpoint and they will never be as good as everyone wants them to be from a creative standpoint either. Pro wrestling is entertainment. It isn’t life or death. It’s supposed to be fun. If it isn’t then perhaps one should seek their TV fun elsewhere as I have said before. However, the best medicine might be simply riding the perceived “storm” out and see how things change. I assure you after being in the business for over 30 years, things WILL change. Trust me. Until then, watch all the shows you care to and enjoy them for what they are, an entertainment oriented TV show that will be better some weeks than others. It’s really that simple. J.R.