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The Foley Files: February 12, 2010

Posted: Feb 13th 2010 By: mikeiles

A few weeks ago, in a story I included about Brock Lesnar, I mentioned that I was a UFC fan, but not a big fan. That could probably be misconstrued to seem like I don't like it that much, which is not true. I do like it, and I appreciate it; I just don't know all the guys and am not aware of all the match-ups. I usually know the guys in the big fights, but can't claim to be a true MMA or UFC fanatic. To tell you the truth, I'd never even heard of Chael Sonnen before this past Saturday. But after attending UFC 109 in Las Vegas, I don't think I'll ever forget him or Nate Marquardt, and the incredible battle they waged in front of a mesmerized crowd at the Mandelay Events Center.

I was fortunate that Spike took such good care of me; seating me in the second row, directly behind UFC fighters Frank Mir and Rashad Evans. This was only the third fight I'd attended live, but I am always grateful for the treatment I receive from the UFC guys. I always wonder, coming from a pro-wrestling background, what the guys will think of me when I show up, but they are always great, treating with respect - sometimes even going out of their way to say hello to me. Watching this classic fight behind Mir and Evans gave me extra perspective into the in-ring goings on, and it was clear how special the fighters themselves saw this battle as being. Anyone who has read any of my stuff knows what a huge fan of the movie "Rocky" I am, and after watching both Sonnen and Marquardt give and take more than could be expected from any human being, I kept thinking back to the end of that first "Rocky" bout between Balboa and Creed, where the ring announcer/promoter speaks of witnessing the "greatest display of stamina and guts in the history of the ring". It was that good, that moving. Hopefully some of you will get a chance to see it. And hopefully I can channel some of that stamina and guts into one of my matches, hopefully Sunday against the Monster Abyss, just as a way of giving a little more when it seems that the giving is all gone. Not that I would ever want anyone to take the incredible punishment either one of those guys did, but there has to be inspiration that can be drawn from that type of courage and applied to any facet of life. Incredible.

I attended the UFC show with Bruce "Brother Love" Pritchard, after completing our comedy show at the Las Vegas Hilton, in the same theatre where Elvis used to hold court for several weeks at a time. Granted, there were a few more people in the seats when The King did his thing, but there was still a decent number of people out there - 400 or so, though it looked like a much smaller number, the way people were scattered throughout the big theatre. It wasn't the sharpest I'd been, possibly because I reworked about 80% of what I was going to say after finding out it was for fans of all ages, possibly because I was tired from the 17 hours of travel required to get me to the Hilton, or possibly because some nights you have it...and sometimes you don't. All in all, still a good time, though I will do my best to make sure I am sharper and more focused next time. For those of you interested in checking out one of my comedy dates, please check the schedule at the end of this blog.

Speaking of comedy, Bruce and I just missed out on seeing Jon Stewart live. We bailed out of the UFC show just as it ended, and made it to The Mirage at 10pm, just as Stewart hit the stage - but much to our disappointment, the show was completely sold out - a fact that not even 3 or 4 hard working and well meaning Mirage box-office workers were able to reconcile. A day later, I was at a cool little Super Bowl party with my old friend Christy Canyon, and the owner of Lucky Jeans, which I have since learned is my wife's favorite line of clothing. So, she kind of went from, "oh, so you were hanging out with Christy?", to "do you think he will give us a deal?" in a matter of seconds.

As I mentioned last week, I am including an outtake from my upcoming book "Countdown to Lockdown" in this blog. While writing the book, I put together stories about several of the celebrities/politicians/athletes/people of interest that I have had occasion to meet, in a chapter I called "Namedropping". I thought this chapter would make a fine edition to the "Lockdown" memoir, but unfortunately, at 25,000 words, it was almost like a book unto itself, and kind of took readers way off the course I had previously been charting. So, we did a little whittling - working a few of these stories into the booking, while leaving many of them on the literary chopping block. The following story is one of these. Consider it a "Countdown to Lockdown" bonus.

Ronan Tynan - World renowned Irish tenor. I had words with the Irish tenor a year ago. Of all places to have words with Ronan Tynan, a fundraiser at "Abilities" in Albertson, New York, formerly, "The Natural Center for Disabilities" seemed like a strange one.
Every year, Abilities puts on a great show choreographed by former Olympic skater Jo Jo Starbuck and some of her friends from Broadway. I had detailed my experiences in the 2006 show for "The Hardcore Diaries" which is where my problems with the tenor apparently began.
Backstage at the 2008 event, all of the sports celebrities were given a name tag before the cocktail hour, easing conversation between paying guests and celebrities who might not be as instantly recognizable as a Jack Nicholas or a Jim Brown, or a Frank Gifford, or any number of instantly recognizable sports figures I'd met during my affiliation with Jo Jo and the show. For example, even with the benefit of name tags, former ECW mainstay Nunzio (with the assist of a white lie from Tommy Dreamer) mistook diminutive figure skater Scott Hamilton for pro-hockey hall of famer Rod Gilbert, extending a hand to Hamilton, saying "Hey, Rod, big Rangers fan; grew up idolizing you."
Tynan was walking around, shaking hands, introducing himself, using the handy name tags to be as personable as possible.
"Hi Mick," he said. "Nice to meet you." Before squinting his eyes and pulling away just slightly; recoiling like a cobra from its prey, right before that final lethal strike.
"So you're Mick Foley" he said, Irish brogue heavy, dander up, apparently upset about something I couldn't even guess at.
"Yes, I'm Mick Foley, three time World Champion, two time New York Times #1 best-selling author."
Tynan glared at me, his eyes a mask of contempt. At first he said nothing, letting his expression do his talking. And his expression said he was Ronan Tynan, he'd sold millions of albums, he'd sung at Yankee Stadium, and at the 80th birthday celebration of former President George H. W. Bush, and at the sacred union of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his third wife, Judith Nathan.
Finally he spoke. "I heard you took a shot at me."
"A shot?" I asked.
"You heard me - you took a shot - you said I ruined the entire show last year."
You know, come to think of it, I did say Ronan ruined it last year. As a matter of face, here's a direct quote from "The H.C. Diaries":
The show, as usual, was a blast, even if someone forgot to tell Irish tenor Ronan Tynan that the adults are supposed to embarrass themselves with bad acting, humiliating costumes, and Ashley Simpson-esque lip-synching. So instead, Tynan went out there and had to ruin it with "God Bless America" and some Rogers and Hammerstein tune that wowed the crowd. How the hell was I going to follow that with a bald wig and some overacting worthy of Vince McMahon?

I told Ronan that I was pretty sure it was a misunderstanding; that given the context it was in, Tynan would actually see it as a compliment. But looking at that quote now, I guess I could have been a little clearer about it.
Although the night progressed without further incident, I couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that Ronan Tynan didn't like me and that he wouldn't particularly care to be in another one of my books. You know what, I'm going to honor that implied wish. Ronan Tynan will absolutely not be in any of my books?after this one.

SEE MICK FOLEY ON HIS UPCOMING COMEDY TOUR DATES
February 25 - Broadway Comedy Club, NYC (318 W. 53rd Street)
March 5 - Manchester, NH - The Palace Theatre (palacetheatre.org)

Tags: Mick Foley, ECW