Post by Jess Fowler on Mar 9, 2020 5:23:36 GMT
I've seen a lot of things in my day. I've seen tyrants, I've seen scumbags, I've seen the worst that the world has to offer. And I've seen the best too. I've met the best people I've ever known, the person I love more than anything else in the world, through this business. And there was a time I was ready to say I'd done my part. Made my mark. But here we are. I look back at the place where young men and women dream of competing, and I see a decay. I see an implosion of those who can fight the good fight. There are still soldiers, manning that wall against the worst parts of the world. But they're few and far between.
So like a good warrior, like someone who knows the weight of duty even if they struggle against its call, I'm going to get out of bed. I'm going to kiss my loved ones goodbye. And I'm going to make the walk I thought I might never need to make again. Wear the boots that I thought would stay in the closet for the rest of my life. Because sometimes...sometimes you just need to make that call. You need to look in the mirror and ask yourself "what will it take?" How many more times will you see some tragedy, some miscarriage of justice played out before you until the wake-up call actually wakes you up and gets you moving? I've found my answer. And it was too damn late.
But you can make up for lost time. Recover from your lapses. And that's the plan. I'm going to stand back up on my feet, shake the aches out, remember the bite of the rope across your shoulderblades as you run it, and remind myself what it is to fight with a fire in your belly again. There are those who complain about recognition. There are those who say that good deeds are worthless without accolades, without praise and deference. I ask them this: why? We don't do charitable works because we need to be told we're good for doing it. We do it because it's right. And if you can't see why what's right isn't always glamorous, then you need to take a step back and open your eyes. Being good sucks. It hurts, it leaves you in a bad place, and it can feel like it's just not worth it. But it is.
Because it's not all about us. Sometimes, it's about the ideas that we inspire. It's about forcing those around us to step up. The World Champion should be an aspiration, and does anyone in the year of our savior Dean Harper 2020 really believe that Steve Awesome is someone you should want to be? Steve Awesome, deep in his heart, doesn't even want to be Steve Awesome. Why would anyone else want that curse? He did what he always does. He finds the most vulnerable, the most desperate people he can, preys on whatever angle he can, and then reaps the rewards of their hollow shell. It's how he's always worked. It's who he is. A vulture. A parasite, picking the bones of society. But he's going to find out that his victims aren't quite as dead as he wanted.
I'm not perfect. I'm not all-confident. If I was, I would just address the world directly. You learn things about yourself sometimes, things you don't want to know. Limitations, weaknesses, vulnerabilities of the heart and body. But when the time comes, no matter how awful you feel about it all, you need to grit your teeth, plant your feet, and fight the good fight. That's all we have. It's all we are. We are the sum of all of our flaws, and our efforts to be better than them. All we can do is try. All we can do is be our best, and we can expect nothing more...and demand nothing less than that effort. Without it, we fail ourselves. And Steve Awesome fails himself. He has the capacity to be a better man. Everyone does. But he has looked that capacity in the face and spit on it. So if he won't be the man we need, the champion we deserve, we need better.
This match is a crucible. Thirty men enter, and one man emerges, battered, bruised, suffering, but triumphant. And that man had better be the sort of man that can seize the moment and not be blinded by the spotlight. It takes a special kind of person to walk into that kind of scrutiny and not break under the pressure. To whoever wins, I wish you fortune. But until that moment, until the final bell is rung, everything is in play. So brace yourselves. Either you'll come out of this purified and strong, or you'll be burned away. This is going to tell us all a lot about who we are. End of the day, you just have to ask yourselves one question...
Are you ready?
So like a good warrior, like someone who knows the weight of duty even if they struggle against its call, I'm going to get out of bed. I'm going to kiss my loved ones goodbye. And I'm going to make the walk I thought I might never need to make again. Wear the boots that I thought would stay in the closet for the rest of my life. Because sometimes...sometimes you just need to make that call. You need to look in the mirror and ask yourself "what will it take?" How many more times will you see some tragedy, some miscarriage of justice played out before you until the wake-up call actually wakes you up and gets you moving? I've found my answer. And it was too damn late.
But you can make up for lost time. Recover from your lapses. And that's the plan. I'm going to stand back up on my feet, shake the aches out, remember the bite of the rope across your shoulderblades as you run it, and remind myself what it is to fight with a fire in your belly again. There are those who complain about recognition. There are those who say that good deeds are worthless without accolades, without praise and deference. I ask them this: why? We don't do charitable works because we need to be told we're good for doing it. We do it because it's right. And if you can't see why what's right isn't always glamorous, then you need to take a step back and open your eyes. Being good sucks. It hurts, it leaves you in a bad place, and it can feel like it's just not worth it. But it is.
Because it's not all about us. Sometimes, it's about the ideas that we inspire. It's about forcing those around us to step up. The World Champion should be an aspiration, and does anyone in the year of our savior Dean Harper 2020 really believe that Steve Awesome is someone you should want to be? Steve Awesome, deep in his heart, doesn't even want to be Steve Awesome. Why would anyone else want that curse? He did what he always does. He finds the most vulnerable, the most desperate people he can, preys on whatever angle he can, and then reaps the rewards of their hollow shell. It's how he's always worked. It's who he is. A vulture. A parasite, picking the bones of society. But he's going to find out that his victims aren't quite as dead as he wanted.
I'm not perfect. I'm not all-confident. If I was, I would just address the world directly. You learn things about yourself sometimes, things you don't want to know. Limitations, weaknesses, vulnerabilities of the heart and body. But when the time comes, no matter how awful you feel about it all, you need to grit your teeth, plant your feet, and fight the good fight. That's all we have. It's all we are. We are the sum of all of our flaws, and our efforts to be better than them. All we can do is try. All we can do is be our best, and we can expect nothing more...and demand nothing less than that effort. Without it, we fail ourselves. And Steve Awesome fails himself. He has the capacity to be a better man. Everyone does. But he has looked that capacity in the face and spit on it. So if he won't be the man we need, the champion we deserve, we need better.
This match is a crucible. Thirty men enter, and one man emerges, battered, bruised, suffering, but triumphant. And that man had better be the sort of man that can seize the moment and not be blinded by the spotlight. It takes a special kind of person to walk into that kind of scrutiny and not break under the pressure. To whoever wins, I wish you fortune. But until that moment, until the final bell is rung, everything is in play. So brace yourselves. Either you'll come out of this purified and strong, or you'll be burned away. This is going to tell us all a lot about who we are. End of the day, you just have to ask yourselves one question...
Are you ready?
Well howdy there pardner.