Tips on Attending Live Events

I have made plenty of trips to professional wrestling shows over the years. I have been to four pay-per-views, two live Raw shows, five house shows, and multiple independent events. Each time has been a different experience for me. Plus, I am attending Heroes and Legends Wrestling inaugural event on March 23 so this will help prepare me for the day.

First of all, do not take your children if they are too young. This focuses primarily on the pay-per-views. I attended WrestleMania 23 when I was 14 years old, and I loved going. However, whenever I look back at that day, I realize I made so many mistakes. I chose poor moments to use the restroom; I focused more on taking pictures of the "TitanTron" than watching the in-ring action. The worse thing about the night was the younger kids who sat behind us. They left midway through the show. I'm assuming to prevent the children from staying up too late on a school night. Don't take young people to big wrestling shows. It will be a waste of money.

Attending shows with friends follows not taking children. Whether or not they watch wrestling on a regular basis, taking a few friends to tag along makes for a great time. From my experiences, those who do not watch regularly have a good time which has made them want to watch more often. Wrestling shows allow anyone to be loud and obnoxious without judgment coming from anyone.

These fans had a blast attending EWF's Diesel Powered event in June. Don't be afraid to cheer when you attend wrestling shows. It adds to the enjoyment. (Photo/ Michael Vanderkolk)

Along with attending with your friends, make sure you buy tickets that allow your group to sit with each other. When I attended Raw this past June, my friends and I decided to sit in the front few rows. We also wanted to pay for them separately. The only problem that occurred was not finding seats next to each other. We ended up with three tickets that were in three different rows. Luckily (somewhat), one of my friends could not attend so we had to sell his ticket. This allowed my other friend and me to sit two rows from each other rather than on the opposite side of the arena. The show entertained us, but we both would have enjoyed it more sitting side by side.

If the show is televised and you are within range of the cameras, take something that makes you stand out. I always had the desire to be seen in the crowd, and I fulfilled that at the aforementioned Raw. I sat third row behind the announcers and held a sign with Mark Vandy's logo as the design. I was visible all night long and provided my brother with worldwide exposure for free. Also, we all know there are certain fans that stick out to us. There's "Sign Guy," "Brock Lesnar Guy," "We Hate Cena Guy," and plenty of others. Don't be afraid to become one of those guys, even if you attend one show.

Then you have to have fun. The WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment. Entertainment plays the most important role for wrestling businesses all over the world. Each promotion wants to entertain their fans, so do your best to have fun. There are some shows that are worse than others, but do your best to entertain yourself. Again, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself because you won't be the only one doing it.

Lastly, don't get too drunk. Bad things are more likely to happen whenever you drink. I'm not going to preach not to drink, because I think it could add to the entertainment value. However, I have seen drunken fans have their experience ruined by drinking too much. When my brother was set to wrestle Kevin Nash, one of the fans missed the entire show because he vomited throughout the night. Then there's those fans that jump the barricade and get thrown out. Don't be that guy.

Hopefully when you attend a show you have fun, remember the entire night, and don't have to leave early. There are so many things that can alter your experience, so it would be best to try limiting things that could affect it.