Generation Gap

I think the phrase “generation gap” seems to carry somewhat of a negative connotation. People tend to , “Wow, you’re so old” or “You are way too young.” In some ways, we may think of it that way but I want to give an example of how a generation gap can be positive and grow a connection through this gap.

I am quite fond of pro wrestling. I started watching it when I was in my 20s but knew about it in my teenage years. I even remember when WWE (or Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment) was first known as WWF (Worldwide Wrestling Federation). I was introduced to this form of entertainment by an ex-boyfriend of mine. When I was younger, I thought the sport was violent (I think this is a common thought among most people), so when my ex-boyfriend wanted to see a wrestling show I wanted to say no but gave him the benefit of the doubt and trusted him that it would be entertaining. At first I liked it pretty much only because of that guy but I actually slowly found it to be really fun! From then on I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing the world of pro wrestling.

I am happy because there is a co-worker of mine who actually likes the sport as well. You may know him; his name is Brodie. I was over the moon to hear he was a fan too because in Japan it’s hard to find hardcore marks who speak English and watch American promotions as well. Well, I encountered somewhat of a generation gap when I spoke to him. When he asked me who my favorite athlete in the sport was, I chose Chris Jericho. If I remember correctly, he may have looked at me with shock as he responded with, “Shawn Michaels is the best of all time.” All I could think about was, isn’t he retired? That was when I realized the (small) generation gap. We were both fans of the same thing but the differences in eras that we grew up with were vast. He grew up with wrestlers who made the game and I grew up with wrestlers that changed it. We have different heroes who we admired from our earlier days and the impact each person had on us was diverse. However, despite this (small) generation gap, we are still able to converse over the same kind of entertainment that people rarely get to do here in Japan.

I suppose what I want to say is despite our differences there is still a connection that exists because of our love of wrestling. He tells me about his memories of first watching special events or incidents and I can tell him about my new ones. I think it’s a good way to share experiences. As I mentioned in the beginning I believe generation gaps can exist to encourage sharing of memories that we missed out on and, in the future, the creation of great wrestling memories as well.

Roseanne

Vocabulary

give (someone) the benefit of the doubt (idiom) ? to decide that you will believe someone even though you are not sure that what the person is saying is true
eat, sleep and breathe (something) (idiom) ? to give one’s time excessively to something
over the moon (idiom) ? to be extremely happy about something
mark (noun) ? a slang term that describes a fan who believes that the characters and events of some or all of professional wrestling are real