I’ll never forget the first time my dad took me to a professional wrestling match as a kid.  It was at a local Middle School gym and the main event was a tag team bout featuring Don Kernoodle and Keith Larson vs. the evil Russians, Ivan and Nikita Koloff!  I remember vividly how the Russian behemoths made their way to the ring to a chorus of ‘boos’ and various colorful one-liners from the crowd.  And I’ll never forget when Kernoodle and Larson stormed the ring with Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born In The USA’ blaring over the loud speakers!  It was electric!  It also marked my first involvement in a ‘USA…USA…USA’ chant!  All through the match, as part of the capacity crowd, I had the time of my life cheering for the good guys and booing the bad guys every time they tried to cheat (which was a lot).  At the time, it was the most exciting night of my life and what made me want to pursue a career in professional wrestling (more about that in another blog).

A little over a decade later, I had the privilege of meeting the Russian Bear, Ivan Koloff.  He was a genuinely nice man and we talked briefly.  Of course, I had to bring up that night twelve years ago in a small town gym, when he stole the show and entertained the masses.  I told him all about the match and reminded him how he had cheated to pick up the win for his team.  He smiled while I gave the ‘play-by-play’ and then said something I didn’t expect.  “I don’t remember that night.”

What?  Are you kidding me?  How could he not remember that night?  How could he not remember the kid in the fifth row with a Macho Man Randy Savage T-shirt yelling his heart out?  But he didn’t.  And I was devastated.  I contemplated running home and squeezing into my old Macho Man T-shirt to see if it jogged any memories.  But the more I thought about it, there was no way I could hold a grudge against one of my childhood idols.  And not just because I’m a fan.  It was because these guys are on the road, performing in different cities about 350 days out of the year.  Could I really be miffed because he didn’t remember a school gym on a weeknight in Winchester, VA, twelve years ago?  Of course not.

After further thought, what I take away from that night now is how Ivan Koloff, along with the rest of the crew that evening, gave 100% and created special memories for me and everyone else in attendance that night.  It was probably the 250th time these guys had wrestled each other, but they made it feel like it was the first and the last.  They gave it their all, knowing they would be doing the exact same thing again the next night and the night after that.

Since then, I’ve tried to take a page out of Ivan’s book.  We never know who’s watching us…especially when it comes to children.  In a child’s formative years, he or she is more impressionable and memories are easily made.  We never know whom we have the opportunity to impress or influence.  It can be through our words, our actions or simply our presence.  Whether it’s in our career, our family life or our community involvement, always treat the moment as if it’s your chance to create a lasting memory for someone.  What may be mundane to us may be life changing to someone else.