Friday, May 20, 2011

R.I.P. Macho Man


Back in 1988 I was a kid. Barely 20, but already leading major accounts in the marketing battlegrounds.

Guilty pleasures back then weren't sneaking in some KC and the Sunshine Band or Go-Go's songs, it was professional wrestling. My buddies would gather and we would watch the Hulkster, Andre the Giant, Superfly Snuka, and the "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Savage was the bearded lunatic with the gorgeous valet Miss Elizabeth who captivated the booger-eaters who thought this was all real. He had a presence that sold millions of pay-per-views at $39.99 a pop. 

Yes, Vince McMahan was right, the whole world was watching.

Today when he died at 58, so young like many of his contemporaries. The Macho Man lives on with a mystical slow-motion flying elbow on homage to my first real insight on consumer media. A moment of silence for Randy Savage.

Do yourself a favor and read ESPN's Bill Simmons' eulogy to the Macho Man.

RIP Randy Savage...Oh yeah!