Bret "The Hitman" Hart @ Frank & Sons

On Saturday June 2, 2012 one of my boyhood dreams came true. I met WWF super star (YES I'm always going to refer to it was the World Wrestling Federation and not that WWE crap), the excellence of execution himself, Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Bret was signing autographs at Frank & Son Collectible Show, the coolest fucking place on the planet, which my girl friend has affectionately dubbed "Geek Land." It's like Comic-Con without the glitz and paparazzi. If you're into comic books, action figures, toys, sports memorabilia, video games, professional wrestling, sci-fi (Star Wars!), anime...if it's collectible and nerdy: it's here.

Old School FTW

I've been coming to Frank & Son's for about 20 years now. It's where I bought my first X-Men comic book when I was six years old and retains a pretty special place in this blackened heart of mine. Around the same time I got into comic book superheroes in the early 90's, I also fell under the spell of live action super heroes thanks to the wonders of pay-per view and professional wrestling...specifically, the WWF. Of all the high flying, body slamming brawlers who graced my television screen on Saturday mornings and Monday Nights, I had one absolute favorite. He was the best there is, the best there was...and the best there ever will be: Bret The Hitman Hart

Bret Hart was my hero. He was the like the ultimate wrestling boy scout. Hailing from a long and prestigious family of professional wrestlers, it's what he was literally born to do. Bret wasn't built like a tank or the flashiest wrestler in the business (Hulk Hogan anyone?) but he was easily one of the most talented. His skills in the ring are what got him ahead and won matches. A brilliant technical wrestler who could (and would) grapple with any opponent, ranging from 600 lb monsters (Yokozuna) to 7 ft tall giants (Kevin Nash/Disel), Bret was perhaps the most determined wrestler of his era. His finishing move was the "Sharpshooter," the back bending, leg twisting submission hold I used to practice on with my friends and cousins when we would play wrestling outside.

Basically, I was the the little kid in this video:

So 20 years later, Bret Hart came to my geeky home away from home, to sign autographs at Frank & Son. This was destiny.

Of course some things had changed in the last 20 years. It used to be that I was the wrestling fanboy who would root and holler for the Hitman while my mom stood in the background partially amused. I watched the WWF events because I wanted to kick ass like Bret Hart...she watched because she wanted him to be my new step dad (school girl crush 10x). So now it's 20 years later and the tables have turned. When I told her Bret would be signing at Frank & Son, my mom was more stoked than I was.

So the day had come and we made our way to Geek Land. Being the hoarder that she is, my mom unearthed a bunch of old WWF magazines from the 90's for Bret to autograph. She reminded me how I wanted to throw them away when I was a teenager but she intervened. Good call mom, good call. Frank & Son is always pretty packed on Saturdays but it felt more claustrophobic than usual thanks to the extra 300 or so people inline waiting for the Hitman. We waited for about an hour and half talking with other wrestling fans of the 90's. Some dudes must have dropped a fortune there, getting multiple large/crazy items autographed (posters, flags, replica championship belts, etc).

When the time came, I gave my mom the autograph ticket meaning SHE would be the one to get our magazine signed. She just completed her final treatments for breast cancer earlier in Spring and has been recovering nicely ever since. This Bret Hart signing was like the most exciting/fun/awesome-tastic thing she's experienced lately and needless to say, she was ecstatic when she shook hands with the Hitman.

and here's the autograph:

I met Bret Hart. Mom was stoked. Awesome autograph I intend to be buried with. Geek Land FTW.