Friday, July 10, 2020

I AM SO OFFENDED!!!!!!!! DON'T CALL ME A RABID FAN!!!!!!!!

                  I have decided that since we are living in a culture of ultra/hyper-sensitivity in a progressively soon to be dystopic society, one of the major changes we need is to go BEYOND political correctness!!! I am going to write my own best-selling book that will create beautiful soft language that will not offend ANYONE….I am going to start with creating soft-as-a-rabbit’s-fur euphemisms for some highly offensive names. (I am NOT taking credit for this idea, as it was created by the greatest and my favorite comedian of all time, the brilliant late great George Carlin: I am merely a disciple of Mr. Carlin, and am taking it to the next  level.) 
                 Here is a sneak peek into my best seller!!!!!  The first euphemism I am going to change that is deeply personal to me is the highly offensive term “ rabid fan.” I have loved sports my entire life and I cannot count the many times I have been called, either behind my back or to my face, that I am a "rabid fan".. This derogatory term is outrageous and unconscionable, because even before the highly offensive term “fan”  shows up, I am being called "rabid" which is totally insulting!! I am being compared to having the behavior of a diseased bat or a snarling Cujo or Old Yeller, even before someone has  seen me cheer on my teams!!! I have never frantically and blindly flown around in circles, screeching and looking to dive bomb for people to sink my tiny diseased sharp fangs into, nor am I barking and snarling like Cujo or Old Yeller, frothing at the mouth, waiting to leap and pounce on someone in a rage with my huge, long sharp man-killing teeth to rip their throat out!
                  So let’s now get to the name that so many of my friends have called me this outrageously insulting term. Being called a "fan" is deeply offensive!!!!!! This happens all the time and it infuriates me! For example, people will say, “Wow, Ted is a loyal sports fan!" Well, I have decided that this upsets and angers me immensely!!!! If you did not know,  “fan” is an abbreviation for “fanatic”!!!! I do not like being called a fanatic!!!!!! As you can see by this picture of the thesaurus entries for “fanatic”, I find it infuriating to be associated with being a “wackadoodle” or a “freak,” and these are just two of many similarly offensive and negative adjectives that "pre-judge!" Look for yourself!!! 
                   So I want to start toppling and tearing down these insensitive verbal monuments!!!!!!!!!! For now on, I want you to refer to my enthusiasm for watching football, UFC etc. as being a “Joyful Avid Athletic Scintillating Sports Spectator” (JAASSS for short) not “RABID FAN” or even a "FAN"!!!! We need to omit this "F" word from the dictionary, thesaurus, and in our daily discourse FOREVER!!!! I am not a fan of this kind of language!!!! 


Tuesday, February 27, 2018

NUKEM IS "NEW" CLASSIC OLD SCHOOL THRASH METAL FOR 2018 AND BEYOND

          NUKEM is AWESOME!!!! I have been a true blue headbanger ever since the NWOBHM invaded our shores in the late 1970's, and I know that Iron Maiden, Saxon, Venom, Motorhead, and many of the godfathers of thrash would be proud of NUKEM for keeping the flag of metal flying proudly in 2018 and beyond.

          NUKEM is a trio of stellar musicians, and if you have not already picked up a copy of "THE UNHOLY TRINITY" you need to get it RIGHT NOW!!!!! Obey this Metal Command!!!!! All of their thrashing angry metal is so fresh and heavy on this album, that their music will give you metal chills with their angry vocals, brilliant guitar work, pounding bass, and gut pounding drums, and although it sounds crisp, fresh and new,  it has the nostalgic feel of classic 1980's thrash from the golden age of thrash metal.
          Donald Lauder on bass is reminiscent of Frank Bello, Cliff Burton, Steve Harris and has some gut pounding bass lines, with almost a clean sound that cuts through beautifully and can't be denied with his aggression.
          Steve Brogden is a riff master who you can hear his influences of James Hetfield, Gary Holt, Kerry King, Hank Shermann, Rob Cavestany, and Alex Skolnick. His vocals reminds me of the late Chuck Schuldiner, Chuck Billy, Mille Petrozza and James Hetfield with his angry aggressive "Metal Up Your Ass" singing style. 
           A little metal history on my connection with NUKEM: I have become good friends with both Don and Steve in recent years but Nukem's incredible drummer, the Italian Stallion Norman "The Octopus" Leggio and I have been Bonded By Blood brothers ever since 1983, and it was with Norm that I first listened to Metallica's Kill Em All and Ride the Lightning, Slayer's Show No Mercy, Haunting the Chapel and Hell Awaits, Exodus's Bonded By Blood, Mercyful Fate's Melissa, Venom's Black Metal, Anthrax's Fistful of Metal, Metal Church, and countless other thrash greats on Metal Blade, Megaforce, and Combat records that were part of the thrash metal underground. I got to see Norm play "Fight Fire With Fire" beat for beat perfect with his double bass in 1985, got to see him form Psychotic Waltz, and have never been more proud of him to see PW open up for Death Angel on their ACT III tour in February of 1990. 
             Fast forward just over two decades later to the first time I heard NUKEM's "Bloodseeker" "Warwolf" and "The Deceiver," I became an instant fan, as it was like a beautiful time warp back to the late 1980s with the aggression and power of bands like Testament, Death, Dark Angel, Death Angel, Kreator, Exodus, Slayer, Venom, and all those other great metal bands that make you grit your teeth and snap your neck when you hear the double bass, galloping guitars, shredding riffs, and vinyl violence. Norm Leggio's pounding, precision, and awesome drumming reminds me of Kim Ruzz, Paul Bostaph, Tom Hunting, Dave Lombardo, Ventor, Nicko McBrain, and Gene Hoglan while having his own unique style. 
        Nukem has a sound all their own that is epic thrash: Sometimes full on thrash, fast galloping songs and sometimes old school heavy pounding songs, and sometimes awesome melodies and leads that remind me of Metal Church and Mercyful Fate. Nigel Tufnell of Spinal Tap would say, "These guys go to "11."Refreshing Thrash Metal at its best and NUKEM will assault your cranium and will make you make a fist, grit your teeth and scream" NUKEM ALL!!!!!!" This terrific trio packs a deadly fistful of metal! 
        Their debut album "THE UNHOLY TRINITY" is a metal masterpiece and the best thrash metal album to come out in 25 years plus and is a MUST have for any 'Banger: "Evelyn's Awakening," "The Deceiver,""Atomic Age,""D.O.I.,""Warwolf," "Bloodseeker," and "Nuke 'Em All" are just a few of the amazing epic thrash metal songs on this album. 
          I have had the pleasure of seeing NUKEM live, opening up for Death Angel and they are one of the tightest and heaviest metal bands I have ever seen live in concert.  I am proud to be friends with these guys and am proud to be a huge fan of theirs. NUKEM will please old school 'Bangers and a new generation of metal fans.  Check out a killer video of NUKEM and Google "Nukem Evelyn's Awakening" and you will see for yourself the power and energy of this awesome metal trio. 



Friday, January 13, 2017

1/12/2017: A SAD DAY IN THE "619": AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL YOU LOYAL SAN DIEGO CHARGER FANS AND PLAYERS


               What a sad day in the 619 today. No more San Diego Chargers. No more Jack Murphy Stadium, no more pretty Chargers girls, and no more corny 1970's disco "San Diego Super Chargers" played over the loudspeakers. 56 years of gridiron tradition in beautiful Mission Valley is headed up to smoggy Los Angeles once again, sadly going full circle. This is a travesty for all long time Chargers fans.
           This is not unlike what happened 21 years ago, when my brother Tommy Vardell was with the Cleveland Browns in his last season, the Browns organization eviscerated the belly of city of Cleveland and ripped apart the souls of all the loyal Browns fans by moving their team to Baltimore. They announced it during the week of the last home game, and so after that last home game ever at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Tommy and the entire Browns team went to the end zone after the game and hugged all their die hard fans in the Dog Pound with tears and appreciation to all of those loyal fans that supported them, game after game, win or lose, rain, snow or shine. Tears later turned to anger and it became an ugly war zone at the stadium and the Browns facility with the outrage of the fans who felt that their culture, loyalty, and tradition was stripped away for the greed of $$$$$$$$$.
           I have always had Charger Blue and Gold flowing in my veins, as I saw my very first pro football game at Jack Murphy stadium when the Chargers played Joe Namath and the New York Jets on Monday night football back in 1975 with my dad. I have been a Chargers fan since that evening, all the way through the Air Coryell days to the present.  I also grew up not only watching the Chargers, but knowing and being friends with some of my heroes and players from the 1960s like Bob Petrich, the late George Gross, Pete Mikolajewski, and my being friends with Scott Gruneisen, son of  the late great Sam Gruneisen. My uncle Don coached Billy Ray Smith at Plano High School in Texas where Billy Ray helped win a state championship. I also watched the late great Junior Seau (who played with Tommy as a team mate on the San Diego high school all-star team when Junior was defensive captain and Tommy was offensive captain.) I got to watch number 55 play in high school, at USC, and as a San Diego Chargers legend. This pains me immensely for all of you loyal Chargers fans who are no doubt feeling like the loyal Browns fans did 21 years ago.
             I am not a card carrying Mensa financial or political genius, and so I don't know all the complexities of how this travesty happened, but from a fan's perspective, if they can build the damn Padres Stadium somehow, they sure as hell should've made and done whatever possible to build a new Chargers stadium or whatever it took to keep the Chargers in San Diego. This day crumbled a 56 year tower of Charger power, tradition, generations of gridiron culture, and let the rubble come crashing down on the heads and crush the hearts of all their loyal Chargers fans, many who are dear friends of mine. This breaks my heart for all generations of die hard Charger fans, past and present.
             It is becoming commonplace that fans are getting shafted exponentially year by year in ALL areas, not just sports. Ironically I see the Chargers are being moved to StubHub field in Carson.. This is absolutely poetic, as these unethical legalized scalping companies like Stubhub gobble up all the good seats with their autodial computers, and then leave us regular fans with lousy or nose bleed seats unless you want to be financially gouged for a good seat. For example, I had to buy my AC/DC ticket  last year through Stubhub where I bought $140 ticket for the obscene price of $540. (They call it Stubhub for reason because they certainly stuck their greedy stub in my hub with that near criminal mark-up on the face value, and I felt financially violated and victimized.)
           The bottom line is that there is NO loyalty anymore to us fans. It is all about greed in sports, music, and entertainment and zero appreciation for all of us fans, who paid our ticket price and filled those stadium seats year after year after year...It is a lot like Gordon Gekko who once said "Greed Is Good" and then tore apart Blue Star Airlines at the expense of the working man all for the mighty buck. It sadly makes me think of a scene in "A Bronx Tale" when a head mobster is bemused at a little kid being upset about how Mickey Mantle was treated by the New York Yankees coach. Paraphrasing here, the mobster said, "Is dat what you are upset about kid? Mickey Mantle?? Mickey Mantle makes $100,000 a year. If your father loses his job go ask Mickey Mantle if he will pay the rent. Mickey Mantle don't care about you so why should you care about Mickey Mantle?" There is no loyalty to us fans anymore folks. Sad But True as Mr. James Hetfield says.
             As a fan, I want to thank and give a HUGE fan shout out to all of these many Chargers players and heroes of mine for their excellence and great memories at The Murph: #19 Bambi, #79 Gross, #85 Petrich, #15 Mikolajewski, #65 Gruneisen, #14 Fouts, #89 Chandler, #18 Joiner, #37 Bauer, #74 Kelcher, #79 Johnson, #71 Dean, #83 Jefferson, #80 Winslow, #46 Muncie, #54 Smith, #55  Seau, #21 LT, #17 Rivers, and many many more I KNOW I have failed to mention.....Thank you for 56 years of Chargers  excellence: and most of all, a HUGE thank you to all of my loyal Chargers fans and friends for sharing those great memories with me at the Murph in Mission Valley. What a damn shame and what a sad ending to an era.







Tuesday, December 6, 2016

A BUFF FAN'S TRIBUTE TO A BUFF LEGEND: #19, RASHAAN SALAAM



                         I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of the greatest University of Colorado football players ever, and one of the best running backs in college football history, Rashaan Salaam.
                 I am not just going to write all about all of his football accomplishments, or his 1994 Heisman Trophy season that made him not only a legend in college football nationally, but also made him the first and only player in CU history to win the Heisman: I want to write more about the kind of wonderful man he was, and his class off the field.  But football brought Rashaan and me together.
                 I was a Rashaan Salaam fan long before he came to Boulder: He was a Pop Warner standout from San Diego where he played at Skyline Pop Warner. My brother Tommy and I played for El Cajon Pop Warner, and there was a huge rivalry between our respective teams over the years. Skyline's program was always at the top, and they were scary good, and  El Cajon and Skyline always met in the championship called the "Super Q Bowl" (The "Super Bowl" for San Diego County  Pop Warner) many times over the years. 
                 Rashaan played 8-man football as a standout at La Jolla Country Day High School, so I was already "619" proud (San Diego's area code) of Rashaan coming out of high school, as he was representing "us," when he went to the "303," where he would make everybody proud at  CU in Boulder. 
                I have written several blogs about some of my CU Buff heroes over the years, and Rashaan was one of those heroes I wrote about. We became Facebook friends when he read some of the blogs about him. Maybe it might have been the things I remembered that were NOT in his many national press clippings that listed all of his astronomical rushing yards all season long, especially at ranked #16 Texas, the week after the Miracle In Michigan, where he rushed for 317 yards.  What I remembered, and wrote about most of all that season, was Rashaan's key and unheralded block against a rushing and much bigger defensive lineman, Trevor Pryce  of Michigan, (who became years later a great defensive linemen for the Denver Broncos.) Rashaan's block enabled Kordell Stewart to step out of the pocket, and launch a 73 yard Hail Mary pass into the Ann Arbor early autumn air to Michael Westbrook, for one of the greatest plays in Colorado Football history the week before. 
               Rashaan and I  finally met for the first time face-to-face at one of the "Rocky Mountain Showdowns" (Colorado State versus Colorado) years ago, and as soon as we saw each other, he had his trademark smile and gave me a huge hug when we recognized each other from our Facebook photos. It felt like we were lifelong friends, as we bantered about who was better, Skyline or El Cajon Pop Warner, talked about the great places we both liked to eat in Southeast San Diego, and shared stories about his and Tommy's football careers. 
               I heard his trademark belly laugh for the first time when I told  him about how I had to always tell disappointed fans, that I was not "Touchdown Tommy" Vardell; I was his older brother "Tailgatin' Teddy," (after I would come out of the locker room after visiting Tommy game after game, where eager fans awaited and long faces always were an end result after finding out I was not Tommy.) I told Rashaan I finally got sick of explaining "who I was" to the fans, so I just started signing all balls and all memorabilia, only for them to find out 20 years later  that I was an imposter, and how upset they must have been when they saw their memorabilia was signed by a worthless nobody they had ever heard of before, named " Tailgatin' Teddy Vardell."
                I have never met a more genuine, enthusiastic, friendly, warm, and funny guy in my life, or one with less ego. We became fast friends, and we would speak on the phone or check in with each other from time to time.
              Several years ago, he was our guest speaker at our University of Colorado alumni association watch party. He was a great speaker, sincere, warm and friendly to all his fans: He looked at each and every young star-struck kid in the eye, joked with them, and signed autographs, as if he had all day to chat with each and every person there.
                The most touching memory I have about Rashaan encapsulates his kind, wonderful spirit. I was delighted to attend a dinner party in his honor at Elway's steakhouse a couple of years ago with my fellow alumni in downtown Denver. At the close of the event, they called all of the great players from the CU 1990 National Championship team up on stage to join Rashaan.- Darian Hagan, Alfred Williams, Charles Johnson, James Hill-, and many others. I was already content to be in the same room with these guys. Then Rashaan took the mike from the emcee, and said "where is my 619 brother Tailgatin' Teddy!! ??... He needs to get up here on the stage with us!"
                I couldn't believe I was included in the same company, a fan among my heroes, and after I joined them on stage, we all stood shoulder to shoulder and sang the CU fight song together, and for a moment, I was a fan pulled out of the stands and onto the field, and elevated with my CU football Buff heroes.

                 It was a moment I will never forget. That gesture speaks volumes for the kind of inclusive person and big heart Rashaan had to not only me, but anybody who crossed his path.
                My sincerest condolences thoughts are with his family, the CU Buff football players and coaching staff, his close friends that knew him best, and all the fans that admired him from afar. Bless you during this difficult time.


God Bless #19, Rashaan Salaam. The University of Colorado family lost a Prince of a man.



             Your fan and friend,



                               -Tailgatin' Teddy Vardell



      





Tuesday, May 17, 2016

THE UNISEX BATHROOM DEBATE: A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO A COMPLEX ISSUE

                    I just wanted everybody to know that while I was at a local restaurant, I had to go to the bathroom really bad after drinking way too many glasses of iced tea. It was a very confusing decision for me, especially with this unisex bathroom debate going on. I simply did not know which bathroom I should choose and use, the one that says "MEN" or the one that says "WOMEN." (Some days I feel like like a testosterone bomb who loves to yell and high-five my buddies while watching cage fighting or football at Hooters. Other days, I feel a little more feminine, and want to watch "The Notebook" or "Ghost," all by myself at home, eat chocolates, and cry when Sam says "Ditto" to Molly.) 
                   I was unsure about how I felt this particular day about myself and what bathroom I should choose, so I decided to go wee-wee in this unmarked, unlabeled unisex urinal that was located outside and in between both the Women's and Men's bathroom doors. I certainly didn't want to offend anybody and wanted to be politically correct, so I chose to do my business at this neutral site pictured below. 
                   I would like to thank this restaurant for providing this progressive thinking answer to my immediate need and for not making me choose which bathroom to use. It is also very good and green for the environment because you flush by using a push button that squirts out just a tiny little arc of water. I think every establishment needs to provide these very cool European-looking urinals that don't put a label on anybody. 



Friday, March 4, 2016

ANTHRAX: AN EPIC BAND AND AND EPIC CONCERT

    
                    I had an absolute blast last night at the Exodus and Anthrax show..It was a packed house and first up came the Bay Area Thrashers EXODUS, who have been my favorite thrash metal band since 1985. They blasted out classics such as Bonded By Blood, Piranha, Toxic Waltz, Blacklist, War Is My Shepherd, and encored with Strike Of The Beast…A short set, but I have seen Exodus headline 6 times before over the last 28 years, so I wasn't too bummed that they were the opening act this time. Gary Holt is in my opinion, the most underrated metal guitarist in the world. He absolutely shredded.
                   Up next was the Mighty ANTHRAX straight from New York City…I have been an Anthrax fan since Norman Leggio turned me on to Fistful Of Metal back in 1985…Anthrax opened up with Among the Living and crushed through the entire side one of that 1987 classic. They then played to my delight AC/DC's TNT, and a little March of The S.O.D….After that they shredded through the entire side two of Among The Living and so all of my favorites were played such as N.F.L., Skeletons In The Closet, I am The Law, Caught In a Mosh, One World, The Horror of It All, and Imitation Of Life. They encored with I am the Man and Antisocial to end a unbelievable show. I have been an Anthrax fan for 28 years but this was my virgin time of seeing them live, and they were note for note perfect and put on a show of energy and enthusiasm. Scott Ian shredded, Joey Belladonna's vocals were incredible, and Charlie Benante was an absolute Octopus on the drum kit, blasting out fills and double bass beats that rattled and pounded your insides, and was the best drummer I have seen live since watching Norman Leggio play…
                    They were consummate professionals and it was by far the top 5 metal concerts I have ever seen..I banged my head, destroyed people in the mosh pits, and had a blast, it was a kick ass time and an awesome concert. (NOTE...My buddy Norm Leggio told me that it was John Dette behind the kit, not Charlie...He did an AMAZING job stepping in for Charlie.)....BANG YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE STAGE AND METAL TAKES ITS PRICE...BONDED BY BLOOD!!



Thursday, February 18, 2016

BIG JOHN MCCARTHY: THE BEST REFEREE IN THE WORLD OF MMA


             I have been a UFC fan ever since UFC 1 in 1993, when “NHB” (No Holds Barred) was in its infancy and it was marketed back then as a form of human cockfighting, that trumpeted “THERE ARE NO RULES!!” I remember bare knuckle punches to the head and face, nasty gashes from deliberate head butts, foot stomps, kicking a downed  opponent  to the face or head, and all sorts of craziness in the early days. The UFC has gone from a spectacle of bloody bare-knuckle brawls with no weight or time limit, into the hugely popular sanctioned mixed martial art sport it is today, with time limits, weight classes and rules. 
          I myself thought I might become a mixed martial artist in 1998 as I was certainly "qualified" for hitting a heavy bag: I sparred a little bit one time with a guy with MMA experience, thinking my incredible punching power would be feared all across the world like Ivan Drago. I connected with a few punches, one to the body that made him buckle over, and one to his face that made him wince in pain,  and saw my future as a UFC champion! Yes!!!! Another Denver Tank Murdock I was!!!  Total KO POWER!!!! After about 77 seconds of punching, I became tired and sweaty as hell and all I wanted to do was put my hands on my knees and rest...I couldn't keep my hands up as the 8 ounce gloves started feeling like 80 pounds of concrete and  I started throwing these slow, wild, lazy unskilled round house punches like a drunk that missed by two feet, and my footwork was like I was stepping in post holes due to my fatigue. The headgear was hot and askew from sweat and the next thing I heard was this big THUD, which was my face and nose receiving a punch that made my eyes water and head ring like the Liberty Bell. I tried to recover and then next thing I felt was like somebody hit me with a Louisville Slugger in the thigh. That was called a kick. It did not feel good. I then received another punch to the side of the face and ear, and then another kick, and it was at that moment my fun idea of becoming a UFC heavyweight superstar was becoming not so fun. I decided to retire immediately, and have been a superb spectator ever since my less than stellar 77 seconds of being a mixed martial artist. 
              I love the UFC and am delighted it has become the biggest and hottest sport in the world and that these great athletes are getting the recognition they deserve as some are now household names. But at times, I miss the good old days of the UFC without all the hoopla, sponsors and popularity it has today. As great a job as Dana White has done since he bought it from SEG, and as great a job as Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg do calling the fights today, I sometimes miss the only rules being no eye gouging or fish hooking, the tournament style of winner take all, and the commentary of  Bruce Beck and the late Jeff Blatnick. Their commentary reflected what they saw, often new skills in the cage that are commonplace today but back then, there were literally two kinds of fighters, Strikers and Grapplers.  I have such admiration and respect for all those warriors who paved the way for what the UFC is today: NHB/ MMA fighters like Pat Miletich, Igor Vovchanchyn, Nick Nutter, Allan Goes, Wallid Ishmail, Enson Inoue, Ricardo Morais, Kazushi Sakuraba, Gilbert Ivel, Vernon White, Fedor Emelianenko and Cro-Cop outside the UFC in different organizations like PRIDE and Vale Tudo, and UFC pioneers inside the UFC Octagon like Ken Shamrock, Pat Smith, Keith Hackney, Paul Varelans, Maurice Smith, Royce Gracie, Gary Goodridge, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Gold Medalist wrestler Mark Schultz, Marco Ruas, Tank Abbott, Scott Ferrozzo, ( Tank and Ferrozzo at UFC 11 was an absolute war and  is one of my fave early fights: 15 minutes of pure brawling which Ferrozzo won a decision) Kimo Leopoldo, Jerry Bohlander, Guy Metzgar, Brian Johnston, Oleg Taktarov were the "Old Guard" of the UFC. Later on, fighters like Randy Couture, Pedro Rizzo, Frank Shamrock, Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Bas Rutten, Vanderlei Silva, Kevin Randleman, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and Dan Henderson also helped pave the way and have since retired. (Belfort and Henderson, who made their first appearance at UFC 12 and UFC 17 respectively,  are the only two active fighters from those early days to still step in the cage.)
              Back in the beginning, there were all these crazy names for the styles of fighting such as “Pit Fighting,” "Trapfighting," "Shootfighting" and my all time favorite, "SAFTA" (Scientifically Aggressive Fighting Technology of America.) Basically, most people’s knowledge of Martial Arts prior to UFC 1 were from badly dubbed late night Kung Fu movies or the Karate Kid or Bloodsport.  That first UFC saw giant sumo wrestlers, guys with gis, and even one guy wearing one boxing glove on his hand and bare knuckles on the other. It was unknown mayhem to see what martial art was the baddest on the planet, and NOBODY expected this tiny guy from Brazil in a gi named Royce Gracie to win it all. As far as I am concerned, every man that walked into that cage that night had brass balls as do all fighters who step in the Octagon. But the guys in that first UFC had the biggest balls of all as Bon Scott once said: Maybe a guy COULD pull someone’s heart out of their chest in a fight and show it to them!
               One man who has seen it all from the earliest days and a man I respect the most in the UFC is the incomparable referee, Big John McCarthy, who made HIS debut way back at UFC 2.  In boxing, I always loved the tiny Mills Lane, as he was the very best referee there was in the sport. He was a district judge as a profession and didn’t take any shit from any of the fighters. (I remember during the Holyfield/Tyson fight, Iron Mike told Mills Lane that his bite was a “punch” and you could clearly hear Mills Lane say “bullshit!!!.”)  He always stopped fights at the perfect time and you never had to worry about a fight being stopped early or too late.
               Big John McCarthy has those same great qualities Mr. Lane did but he is hardly tiny, and in fact looks like he could strap on the gloves himself as BJM is an intimidating presence in the cage himself and also doesn’t take any shit either.  Along with Big John’s trademark “LET’S GET IT ON!!!,” he has always done a stellar job of being a UFC referee and has always looked out for the fighters and their safety. His extensive experience has allowed fighters to continue fighting when a lot of referees would have stopped it prematurely, nor does he ever let a fight go on too long if a fighter is not intelligently defending himself. A boxing referee basically has to separate the fighters from holding and has to count them out when they go down. But Big John has to make split second decisions in MMA that are not easy to see: He has to make sure a fighter is not choked out or submitted and unable to tap out, he has to tell whether a fighter is knocked out or not, and when to separate them or not and can tell instantly if a fighter is holding the cage, delivering an illegal strike, etc. Big John misses NOTHING inside the cage and has made some great calls like these over the years when it was not obvious and has seen first hand some crazy moments. The craziest I remember was when Tank Abbott tried to literally throw Cal Worsham out of the cage back at UFC's Ultimate Ultimate in 1996.  Big John had to make decisions back then when there WERE no rules or guidelines to follow and had to make a decision to stop a fight on or let it continue just on his own common sense. He is a pioneer himself and a legend himself and still is.
                 Big John McCarthy has been a referee since the earliest days of the UFC and is still the best referee in the business. He has given the sport credibility, class and as a fan, he is an icon of the sport of MMA and I know that he is respected by all the fighters.
                 If you have not read his autobiography,"Let's Get It On " it is a MUST read for all fans of MMA. Not only is it interesting to read about Big John’s life as a former power lifter and member of the LAPD, but gives the reader a fascinating inside view of what it is like to be a referee in the UFC. He talks about all of the many changes from it being a back room spectacle on a shoe-string budget at rented halls, to the sold-out arena filled global sport it is today. There are also some great tales of humor as well  and it is an excellent book from a man who literally has had the closest view and best "seat"  in the house to all the UFC fights.


                The UFC and MMA in general is fortunate to have a man like Big John McCarthy as a referee and his awesome career is greatly appreciated by all his fans and especially an old school fan like myself. Big John, thank you sir for being a great ambassador and a class act to the sport of MMA all these years and look forward to your yelling “LET’S GET IT ON” in the near future.