[sumo] [off topic]what is Akebono up to these days?

Tue Sep 4 19:46:05 EDT 2007

> From: philnorm at webtv.net> To: sumo at webtrek.com> Subject: Re: [sumo] [off topic]what is Akebono up to these days?> Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 18:50:09 +0000> > Josh,> Another thank you. I think the List is happy to receive this type of article now.> What a great piece of work.> Thank you very very much.> Happy Sumo> philafuji> > PHIL> > > -----Original Message-----> From: Joshua Maciel> Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2007 2:22 AM> To: Sumo Mailing List> Subject: Re: [sumo] [off topic]what is Akebono up to these days?> > If Andre the Giant is your favourite Athlete, I highly recommend this> article<http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/10_06/10_06_andre_giant.html>if> you also like drinking:> > Do you have a favorite drunkard?> > Some amazing man or woman, past or present, who stands colossus-like atop> the Big Keg, the ground below littered with crushed empties and the> blacked-out carcasses of lesser beings? A verging demigod, whose prowess> with a bottle leaves you shaking your head in pop-eyed adoration? Lots of us> do.> > In addition to their wrist-raising abilities, we deify great drinkers> because they indulge their lust for intoxication while simultaneously> operating at the peak of their powers in whatever their chosen profession> In other words, great drunks are also great writers, actors, athletes,> scientists, statesmen, philosophers, and so on.> > I have a favorite drunkard. He was an athleteï¿½a professional wrestler in> factï¿½but he was also a gifted entertainer and a true artist. His parents> named him Andre Rene Rousimoff, but we knew him as The Eighth Wonder of the> World, Andre the Giant.> > For two decades, from the late 1960s through the mid 1980s, Andre the Giant> was the highest paid professional wrestler in the business and a household> name across the globe. Promoters fought tooth and nail to book Andre, as his> presence on a card all but guaranteed a sell-out. Fans cheered his every> move, and mobbed him on the street as if he were a great big Beatle.> > For proof of his drawing power, look no further than *Wrestlemania III* in> 1987. The main event was Andre vs. Hulk Hogan. The show drew the first> million-dollar gate in wrestling history, set a pay-per-view record that> lasted a decade, and set the all-time indoor attendance record for> *any*live event> *ever*ï¿½78,000+ butts in seats at the Pontiac Silver Dome in> Detroitï¿½destroying the previous record set by some rock band called the> Rolling Stones. His rematch with Hogan two months later, broadcast live on> NBC, attracted 33 million viewers, making it the most watched wrestling> match ever.> > [image: 119 Beers]Known to his friends simply as "Giant" or "Boss," Andre> was born on May 19th, 1946, in Grenoble, France, the child of Russian> immigrants. Shortly after his birth, he was diagnosed with a rare glandular> disease, acromegaly, which caused his body to over-produce growth hormones.> As a result, Andre grew to a height of somewhere between 6'11" and 7'5" and> a weight of over 500 pounds (his actual height and weight have been> speculated about for decadesï¿½the business is notorious for inflating> wrestlers' statisticsï¿½but Andre's illness sometimes made him slouch or bow> his shoulders, so he might well have been the advertised 7'5"). He first> wrestled as Andre the Butcher, but it was Vincent J. McMahon Sr., owner of> New York's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), who christened him "Andre> the Giant."> > While it can be argued that a miniscule handful of professional wrestlers> matched Andre's in-ring achievements (Gorgeous George back in the '40s and> '50s, perhaps; Dusty Rhodes in the '70s, and Hulk Hogan, without a doubt, in> the '80s), no other wrestler ever matched his exploits as a drunkard. In> fact, no other *human* has ever matched Andre as a drinker. He is the> zenith. He is the Mount Everest of inebriation.> As far as great drunkards go, there is Andre the Giant, and then there is> everyone else.> > The big man loved two things: wrestling and boozeï¿½mostly boozeï¿½and his> appetites were of mythic proportion.> > First, consider the number 7,000. It's an important number, and a rather> scary one considering its context, which is thisï¿½it has been estimated that> Andre the Giant drank 7,000 calories worth of booze *every day.* The figure> doesn't include food. Just booze.> > 7,000 calories.> > Every day.> > I don't know about you, but it makes my brain turn somersaults. Hell, it> makes my brain perform an entire floor routine, complete with colored> ribbons.> > When Andre arrived in New York to begin his long working relationship with> the McMahon family, his reputation as both a serious student of the> nightlife and an extravagant spender was already a topic of speculation and> wonder among East Coast wrestlers and promoters. Andre might make> $15,000-$20,000 for a single appearance at Madison Square Garden, and a> substantial amount of that went to settling the bar tabs he piled up as he> boozed his way up and down Manhattan until sunrise. Andre's generosity> matched his size. He often invited a gang of fellow wrestlers along for the> ride, as he disliked drinking alone, and picked up some truly staggering> tabs. Andre was going to have a good time and went out of his way to make> sure everyone else did too.> > Worried about his headliner, Vince McMahon Sr. assigned a "handler" to the> Giantï¿½long-time wrestler, manager, and road agent, Arnold Skaaland, whose> only job when Andre was in town was to keep him out of serious trouble and> get him to the arena in time to wrestle. Skaaland was an old-school drinker> in his own right, but Andre blew his mind. On one occasion he could only> watch goggle-eyed as Andre went about demolishing a dozen or so quarts of> beer as a "warm-up" for a match.> > With Skaaland on the job, Vince Sr. knew Andre was in capable hands, but the> promoter still worried about how the Giant would cope with the insane amount> of travel required of a wrestling superstar. Andre loathed flyingï¿½no> commercial airliner could accommodate such a massive man without resorting> to the luggage compartmentï¿½and his opinion of most cars wasn't much sunnier,> because aspects of his disease caused intense pain in his knees, hips and> lower back when he remained too long in a cramped position. When a tight> schedule left a plane or car as the only option, Andre eased his discomfort> by getting good and hammered.> > Vince Sr. pondered the situation and arrived at a novel solution. He wanted> to keep the big man happy, so he bought a trailer and had it customized just> for Andre. With plenty of room to spread out and relax, Andre could now> travel in a semblance of comfort, which allowed him to do some serious> boozing. During trips Andre consumed beer at the incredible rate of a case> every ninety minutes, with bottles of vodka or top-rate French wine thrown> in for variety.> > Sadly, the trailer wasn't available outside the WWWF territory; Vince Sr.> wasn't about to do the competition any favors. Andre didn't expect other> promoters to pony up a trailer just for him, so he commissioned a customized> Lincoln Continental. With the front seat now positioned about where the back> seat would normally be, Andre had a little leg room. He carried his luggage> and wrestling gear in the trunk and towed his necessities in a trailer.> Lined with plastic tarps, the rickety trailer was filled with ice and cases> of Budweiser tallboys. As he cruised the nation's highways, Andre kept a> case on the seat beside him, stopping only for food, more ice, and another> case or two if he ran low.> > As famous as Andre was in this country, he was even bigger in Japan. He> spent a few months out of every year over there, where he was treated like a> living god and pocketed five-figure payoffs for a single night's work. That> being said, Andre didn't really like Japan. Everything was too small. Hotel> beds were like bassinets and it was all but impossible for him to shower or> go to the bathroom in their Lilliputian facilities. He was known to rip the> door off his hotel bathroom and make use of the toilet by sitting sideways> with his legs sticking out into the main room.> Getting from show to show presented its own problems. Japanese promoters> preferred to transport the *gaijin* wrestlers by bus, vehicles which> steadfastly refused to house giants. In order to placate their star import,> promoters removed several rows of seats from the back of the bus, creating> something of a private cabin for Andre, a place spacious enough for him to> stretch out or catch a nap. Mostly, though, Andre used the space as a> comfortable spot to do his drinking.> > A very green rookie wrestler named Hulk Hogan toured Japan several times> with Andre and witnessed the Giant's alcohol consumption first hand.> According to Hogan, Andre drank, at a minimum, a case of tall boys during> each bus ride. When he finished a can Andre would belch, crush the can in> his dinner-platter-sized hand, and bounce the empty off the back of Hogan's> head. Hogan learned to count each *thunk*, so he could anticipate when Andre> was running low. Whenever the bus stopped, it was Hogan's job to scamper off> to the nearest store, buy as many cases of beer as he could carry, and make> it back before the bus departed, a sight that never failed to make Andre> roar his bassoon-like laugh.> > On one tour, Andre's Japanese sponsors rewarded him with a case of expensive> plum wine. Andre settled down in the back of the bus and started drinking> Four hours later, the bus arrived at the next venue, and Andre was polishing> off the last bottle of wine.> > Sixteen bottles of wine in four hours is a considerable feat, but it gets> better. Andre proceeded straight to the ring and wrestled three matches,> including a twenty-man battle royal. The 16 bottles of plum wine had no> discernible effect on Andre's in-ring ability. By the end of the evening,> Andre had sweated off the wine and found himself growing cranky. He> dispatched Hogan for a few cases of beer. Hogan hurried to do as Andre> asked, knowing from painful experience that a drunken Giant was a happy> Giant, and a happy Giant was less likely to fracture some vital part of an> opponent's anatomy in a fit of grumpiness.> > In 1977, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes wrestled Andre at Madison Square> Garden. Afterwards, the old friends went out on the town. They adjourned to> one of Andre's favorite watering holes and took stools at the bar (Andre> occupied two). Several hours and some 100 beers later (around 75 of them> were Andre's), they decided to head back to their hotel. Andre looked at> taxis with the same scorn as most other conveyances and announced that he> and Dusty would walk, which was problem because Dusty was having trouble> maintaining a vertical position. Andre studied the situation, and a> twinkling grin blossomed across his huge face. People who spent any time> with the big man quickly learned to watch for that grin. It was a harbinger> of danger. It meant that Andre was contemplating something risky, something> with potential legal ramifications, but also, most assuredly, something *> fun.*> > A moment later, the two huge wrestlers attacked a pair of horse-drawn> carriages. Dusty threw a handful of paper money at one driver while Andre> hauled the other from his seat with one hand. While one driver cursed and> the other scrabbled around on the ground collecting his windfall, Andre and> Dusty thundered off in the carriages. They raced through the Manhattan> streets, dodging cars and pedestrians for fifteen blocks before ditching the> carriages and lathered horses a block from their hotel. By the time the cops> arrived, Andre and Dusty were enjoying snifters of brandy in the hotel bar,> appearing as innocent as angels. The next day, they main-evented another> card at the Garden. Another sell-out. Two pros at the top of their> games.> > Another time, in the '70s, Andre was holding court at a beach-front bar in> the Carolinas, boozing it up with fellow wrestlers Blackjack Mulligan, Dick> Murdoch, and the inimitable Ric Flair. They'd been drinking with gusto for> hours when Flair goaded Mulligan and Murdoch into some slap-boxing with> Andre, who had poured over 60 beers down his gullet. One of the two> "accidentally" sucker-punched Andre. The Giant became enraged, grabbed both> Mulligan (6'5", 250 lbs.) and Murdoch (6'3", 240 lbs.) and dragged them into> the ocean, one in each hand, where he proceeded to hold them under water.> Flair intervened, and Andre released the men, assuring them he was only> playing around. Murdoch and Mulligan, who had nearly drowned, weren't so> sure, but neither messed with Andre the Giant again. They also picked up the> tab.> > On another occasion, Andre was touring the Kansas City territory and went> out for drinks after a show with Bobby Heenan and several other wrestlers> When the bartender hollered last call, Andre, slightly annoyed, announced> that he didn't care to leave. Rather than risk an altercation with his> hulking customer, the bartender told Andre he could stay only if he was> drinking, imagining, surely, that he would soon be rid of the big fella.> Andre thanked the man, and proceeded to order 40 vodka tonics. He sat there> drinking them, one after another, finishing the last at just after five in> the morning.> > When ill health forced Andre to largely quit wrestling in the late '80s, he> accepted the role of Fezzik in Rob Reiner's movie *The Princess> Bride.*Everyone on the set loved the big man, with the possible> exception of Reiner> himself. Ever the sociable fellow, he kept fellow cast members Mandy> Patinkin and Carey Elwes out night after night, drinking and otherwise> goofing around. The actors were incapable of matching Andre's intake, but> certainly gave it a serious try. As a result, they often showed up on set> still loaded or suffering from the sort of hangovers that make death seem a> pleasant alternative. Reiner tried to get Andre to leave the actors alone,> but Andre could only be Andre, and the other cast members continued to pay> the price.> > The shooting schedule required Andre to be in England for about a month.> When his part wrapped, Andre checked out of his suite at the Hyatt in London> and flew back to his ranch in North Carolina. His bar bill for the> month-long stay?> > Just a shade over $40,000.> > Now, if everything I've described so far isn't proof enough that Andre the> Giant was the greatest drunkard who ever lived, these last two stories> should set my claim in granite.> > You won't find it in the *Guinness Book of World Records*, but Andre the> Giant holds the world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a> single sitting. These were standard 12-ounce bottles of beer, nothing fancy,> but during a six-hour period Andre drank 119 of them. It was one of the few> times Andre got drunk enough to pass out, which he did in a hallway at his> hotel. His companions, quite drunk themselves, couldn't move the big man.> Fearing trouble with cops, they stole a piano cover from the lounge and> draped it over Andre's inert form. He slept peacefully until morning,> unmolested by anyone. Perhaps the hotel people thought he was a piece of> furniture.> > Think about it: 119 beers in six hours. That's a beer every three minutes,> non stop. That's beyond epic. It's beyond the ken of mortal men. It's> god-like.> > Giants are not made long for this world, and toward the end of his life> injuries and health problems caused by the acromegaly caught up with Andre.> It became difficult just to walk, let alone wrestle, so he retired to his> North Carolina ranch to drink wine and watch the countryside. He declined> myriad requests for a comeback, despite promises of lavish payoffs. He was> simply in too much pain to perform at the level he demanded of himself. Then> he received a call from Vince McMahon Jr.> > McMahon was in the midst of taking his WWF promotion national. He'd scored> big-time with his *Wrestlemania* events on pay-per-view, and as *Wrestlemania> III* approached, Vince Jr. was hot to make it the biggest thing yet. To make> that happen, he needed Andre the Giant.> > Andre was in France visiting his ailing father when the call came. He> thanked Vince Jr. but said there was no way he could get back in a ring,> even though he very much wanted to. Not willing to give up, Vince Jr. flew> to France to speak with Andre in person. He took Andre to see doctors> specializing in back and knee maladies. Radical back surgery was proposed> If successful, the procedure would lessen Andre's pain and perhaps make it> possible for him to get in the ring for Wrestlemania. If Andre was game,> Vince Jr. agreed to pay for the entire cost of the surgery.> > The time arrived, and the anesthesiologist was frantic. He had never put a> person of Andre's size under the gas before and had no idea how much to use.> Various experts were brought in but no solution presented itself until one> of the doctors asked Andre if he was a drinker. Andre responded that, yes,> he'd been known to tip a glass from time to time. The doctor then wanted to> know how much Andre drank and how much it took to get him drunk.> > "Well," rumbled the Giant, "It usually takes two liters of vodka just to> make me feel warm inside."> > And thus was a solution found. The gas-passer was able to extrapolate a> correct mixture for Andre by analyzing his alcohol intake. It was a medical> breakthrough, and the system is still used to this day.> > Five months later, Andre the Giant wrestled a "body-slam" match against Hulk> Hogan and brought down the house.> > Two liters of vodka. Warm and fuzzy. Side by side like that, the two> sentences hardly make any sense. For most of us, two liters of vodka means a> one-way ticket to Blackout Island aboard the good ship *Regurgitania*.> > After *Wrestlemania,* Andre retired for good. His beloved father died in> 1993 and Andre returned to France to be with his family. He was still there> when, on January 26th, 1993, Andre died in his sleep of heart failure at the> age of 47.> > The key to Andre the Giant is this ï¿½ even as a youth he knew that his> disease would dramatically shorten his life. He knew there was no cure, and> lived every day with the understanding that death could shamble around the> very next corner. Knowledge of this sort can darken a life.> > It did not darken Andre's.> > He chose instead to pack his days with as much insane, drunken fun as they> could hold. Instead of languishing in the darkness, he chose to walk in the> sun.> > I've said it before, and I'll say it again now. Andre the Giant was an> inspiration. I would pay a fortune for the opportunity to go back in time 30> years to watch such a master practice his craft, in the ring and at the bar.> > Andre the Giant was the very embodiment of what being a drunkard is all> about.> *ï¿½Richard English*> > *(Note: The Author is indebted to the works of Brian Solomon, Ric Flair,> Terry Funk, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Dave Meltzer, Bobby "The Brain"> Heenan, and Hulk Hogan.)*> > > On 9/4/07, Kuramarujo <klemmerj at webtrek.com> wrote:> >> > On Mon, 2007-09-03 at 23:16 +0900, Joe Petrow wrote:> >> > > After some intense digging, I have found video footage of how the new> > > Akebono was conceived. Literally!> > >> > > http://youtube.com/watch?v=qsz8JqkIi7M> > >> > > The momentous moment happens around 3:37 mark of the video/> > >> > > No need to thank me, really.> >> > Even so, that was the best part of my day. Reminded me of the old> > days> > of the WWF. George "The Animal" Steel vs Randy "Macho Man" Savage for> > the ownership of Miss Elizabeth. Chief Jay Strongbow and his war dance> > (I still get chills). And, of course, the greatest> > wrestler/showman/person of all time, my hero Andre The Giant.> >> > K-jo, who would gladly chew on a turnbuckle but the the lack of them on> > the dohyo> >> > --> > Joe "Kuramarujo" Klemmer> > http://www.webtrek.com/joe/sumo> >> > _______________________________________________> > Sumo mailing list> > Sumo at webtrek.com> > http://www.webtrek.com/mailman/listinfo/sumo> >> _______________________________________________> Sumo mailing list> Sumo at webtrek.com> http://www.webtrek.com/mailman/listinfo/sumo> > > > _______________________________________________> Sumo mailing list> Sumo at webtrek.com> http://www.webtrek.com/mailman/listinfo/sumo
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