Winter Meetings: Trade Show
There’s so many things to do at the Winter Meetings. Each year, I find it hard to get to everything. I usually try, but there’s probably a million things that I have missed over the years.
One of my favorite things to do is to just walk around the Trade Show floor. The Trade Show opened at 5:00 p.m. on Monday and for those who work in Minor League Baseball — it’s one of the best places to spend some time. You can get lost there.
Although I didn’t spend too much time there this year, I did enjoy myself when I was there. It was much more relaxing this year, too.
Last year, I spoke to a group about media relations on the Trade Show floor. This year, I just walked around and took notice of everything — and I mean everything!
Let me start by saying I am a huge professional wrestling fan. I have been since I was a kid. I even attended WrestleMania V. Baseball is my life, but wrestling is in second place.
On that note, I was at a restaurant on Monday night with a few friends and noticed that the legendary tag team, the Nasty Boys, were also there. Of course, I noticed them right away. They weren’t hard to miss!
The next day, I walked the Trade Show floor and saw them again — this time with WWE Hall-of-Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan. I’ve met Hacksaw before, but was looking forward to talking to him again. So, of course, I jumped right in and talked wrestling with them. That was fun!
The Nasty Boys were one of the most successful tag teams in professional wrestling history. They had great feuds with the Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat, Hart Foundation, Road Warriors/Legion of Doom, as well as countless others. I was always a fan of their style whether it was in WWE or WCW.
After talking to them for a bit, I walked over to talk to Hacksaw. A few years back, I met Hacksaw at the Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill, SC. He’s one of the nicest guys in the sport and one of the most popular. I enjoyed talking wrestling with him that day in Fort Mill, and enjoyed talking to him again at the Winter Meetings. He was always one of my favorites. I remember as a kid watching him at the first Slammy Awards — feuding with Harley Race! I remember him winning the first-ever Royal Rumble and I’ll always remember him for his trademark “Hooooooooooooooo…”
Over the years, the Knights have welcomed professional wrestlers to the ballpark. Whether it was at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC or at BB&T Ballpark in Uptown Charlotte, NC, wrestlers have been a popular draw at our games. So, who’s coming out in 2017? Stay tuned…
