Ten Famous People: A Bucket List (Number Three)

CJ's note:  This is the Eighth in a series of eleven posts.  Comments are disabled until the final post, as there will be numerous surprises on the list! 

Unlike the previous two entries on my list, Number Three is an athlete in only the broadest sense.  In his profession, one is less an athlete and more a performer, a dancer, a showman, or in his case, Greek Chorus.  While certainly capable of holding his own in a physical capacity (by cheating), in his heyday he was more famous for his strategic and vocal contributions to his sport, and his ability to incite a crowd to madness.

He is simultaneously one of the most beloved and reviled representatives of his sport.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you... Bobby "The Brain" (or "The Weasel") Heenan!

Confession time:  I grew up watching wrestling.  I loved wrestling as a kid, when my dad, brother, and I would sit around watching AWA Wrestling on TV.  Eventually, the WWF/WWE supplanted the AWA, but I remained a fan well into my twenties.  Even now, I find myself tuning into a match, or watching old ones on YouTube.

Bobby Heenan was always one of my favourites.  You could always count on his doing something underhanded during a match to propel his charge to victory, and the hilarity that would ensue whether or not the trick was successful.  His pre- and post-match interviews were always something special.

Sadly, I may never get the chance to have a drink with The Weasel, as he isn't in the best physical shape these days.  But if we could, I'd love to have a few beers and reminisce about the old days of the AWA and the early days of the WWF/WWE.

I'd also like to find out if we have a distant familial connection... I used to remark, as a kid, that, at certain angles, The Brain sort of looked like my paternal grandmother.  I found out later that my granny's maiden name was Heenan... that would be odd.  But cool.