Paul Guzzo of TBO.com recently posted a new article discussing how the holiday season in Florida used to be a big “season” for pro wrestling prior to the college football bowl games coming in and basically taking over. WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco and Brian Blair are fearured in the article. Check out some highlights below:
Blair on how the tradition ended after the arrival of college bowl games: “Wrestling and football share fans. You add a new event and attendance at old ones get watered down. It’s the same with television. As the number of bowl games people could watch on TV increased, the number of people who would attend wrestling shows on a holiday decreased, especially on New Year’s Day, when I think a lot of people prefer to watch a big game at home on TV than go out.”
Brisco on how when wrestling was a holiday family affair: “It was family fun and a family affair. Holidays are a time when people sit around their houses a lot. Wrestling provided a way to blow off steam at night when their family event ended. I’d look out and fans would be passing the giblets, whether I wrestled in Florida, Greensboro, or New Orleans, on a holiday we set attendance records.”