Pan the crowd once at a professional wrestling event. Of course you see the beer-bellied fans, but more often now a new phenomena is occurring, the female fan. These fans devote time like all the rest to their faves and make posters to support them. The female fan is becoming more and more prevalent each passing day.
I feel that I can write about the female fan with truth and sincerity because, well, I am one. The female fan comes in many ages and sizes. She is a mother, a child, a student, or a business woman, but each wrestling night she becomes something more, a true wrestling fan, involved and enraptured by the spectacle before her. We yell, we cheer, we boo when our fave loses and cheer when he/she wins.
I have been a fan of pro-wrestling for years, since I was the tender age of four. I, like many of you other fans, have grown with the sport, but why now are more and more women tuning in? The reason is simple. Pro-wrestling has always been the perfect sport for women to watch. Not only are many of the athletes attractive and well built, but this sports industry, itself, is a soap opera. The storylines are well-woven together and inter-connect with a complexity that women can embrace. I know that I find myself getting caught up in the storylines each week, and almost cried when Test and Stephanie McMahon’s wedding was ruined.
Now that we have figured out why this is happening perhaps we better go into the extent adn impact this phenomena is having on the sports entertainment industry. The internet is best example illustrating this point. Currently on the internet, there are many fan-run sites dedicated to professional wrestlers, operated and updated by women. In fact, it can be said that perhaps women make some of the most loyal fans. These webmistresses work to consistently bring updates about wrestlers and make sure that all fans have up-to-date information. Also on the internet are at least two clubs for female fans only. These clubs which include a listserve help keep female webmistresses and fans up-to-date on websites as well as rumors and other information concerning pro-wrestling. Two of these clubs are the FemaleFanAlliance (FFA) and WomenAreRasslin’Maniacs (WARM) Alliance. I currently am a member of both organizations and find them very helpful in keeping up on all the current events in the world of pro-wrestling.
In conclusion, I would simply like to make my final point. The female fan is not just a passing trend, it is a phenomena, and like all phenomena in will change the face of professional wrestling in the twenty-first century.