A Quick Note about Roger Ebert

Rest in peace, good sir Photo Credit: The Atlantic Wire

Roger Ebert died yesterday, a day after announcing his cancer had come back. I don't know what Ebert thought about professional wrestling, but I do know he had a passion. That passion was film. Sometimes, people settle into a job because they're good at it, or because they need it, but it's rare to find a person in the public eye who loves the subject matter as much as Ebert loved watching, dissecting, writing about, and promoting movies.

What does that have to do with wrestling though? Well, as much as Ebert was a polarizing figure, his work still provides a shining example to anyone who picks writing - whether analytical, creative, or journalistic - as their chosen field or hobby, even now after he's no longer around to produce it. Whether you, like he, are a film critic, a sportswriter, or even a wrestling writer, you should love the subject about which you write. If you do love it, let it show through. Don't be afraid to put your biases on the table for everyone to see. Don't kid yourself either. Only robots can be 100% objective. The biggest crime any writer can commit is by pretending they don't have preferences.

It's easy to be cynical about wrestling, especially mainstream/corporate wrestling, because the people in charge of most companies, especially Vince McMahon, give fans so many reasons to be cynical. Just because John Cena doesn't appeal to you and I doesn't mean there isn't inherent beauty in the process, or that there aren't companies out there who get it right more than they get it wrong. It also doesn't mean that just because you love something doesn't mean you should never talk bad about them. Ebert was known for scathing reviews when he didn't like a film. However, isn't the reaction when someone or something you love disappoints you to lash out?

So yeah, I think we could all stand to take a cue from Ebert. Whether you agree with his opinions or not is irrelevant. The man embodied the paradigm of writing and criticism in the arts. The world lost a titan yesterday. The best way to mourn him is to carry on his legacy. It's something that I hope that I've conveyed throughout my tenure as a writer, whether here at The Wrestling Blog, or elsewhere.