roynyr's Full Review: Mick Foley - Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and...
The Mick Foley autobiography Have a Nice Day! : A Tale of Blood & Sweatsocks is the story of the road to superstardom taken by the wrestling legend. Foley, A.K.A Mankind, A.K.A. Cactus Jack, A.K.A Dude Love ( his wrestling names throughout the years ) is referred to by others in the business as the " hardcore legend " because of his undeniable propensity for suffering physical pain and abuse throughout his storied career in the squared circle. He jokingly refers to himself as such but says that he says it in jest because it is funny to him. But if ever a moniker fit a wrestler, this one does Foley and you will agree after reading this book. He is definitely hardcore and he is certainly a legend to his legions of fans throughout the world.
I'll admit it - I watch wrestling on television on Monday nights and the only reason I picked up the book was because I am a fan of Foley. However, this book though primarily about his path throughout wrestling, is really about so much more.
Foley's Story
Its' about the struggle of a young man from an upper middle class family from Long Island, New York during his adolescent years to find a way in to the wrestling business as he struggles not only with his academic life but also his personal life as well. He relays some tough stories of early experiences in life, including one where a woman he had spent an entire day with called him the wrong name at the end of the night. Ouch! Foley was crushed after that and it helped fuel his desire to become a wrestling star.
Foley relays other stories about his younger days on the way to becoming a wrestler. He tells about the famous video when he created the character "Dude Love" who was suave with the ladies and then there is the famous scene to wrestling fans of Mick jumping off the roof of a neighbor's house. He relates a funny thing about that scene that his friend the cameraman missed the first jump on film so he had to redo it. It was an amazing piece of film and helped Foley's career by a wrestling promoter saw Foley showing the tape to friends once and it got his foot in the door.
Foley also talks about his defining moment..the one where he knew for sure he wanted to be a wrestler. It was the time he saw Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka wrestle Don Muraco in a steel cage at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. He sat in the front row and he says it was a life alternating experience for the sheer magnitude of the spectacle. He decided at that point of time to be a wrestler.
The Beginning
He discusses his start in the business at the wrestling school of Dominic DeNucci in Pennsylvania. This man had to travel weekends four hours back and forth from college to attend the wrestling school. One thing I learned is that fellow wrestler Shane Douglas started with him at that school at the same time. So of the more incredible things I learned were that he once drove fours there and ended up finding out school was closed for the weekend. Mick got in his car and trudged back to school. Over eight hours of driving for nothing! It shows that this guy really wanted to be wrestler.
Extreme Wrestling
Foley also relives his more outlandish matches. He jokes that if you name the type of match, there was a point in his career in which he wrestled in it. He has been in barbed wire matches ( including one in Germany where he lost part of his ear ), hardcore anything goes matches, exploding ring matches in Japan, thumbtack matches ( take a guess what they involve ) and cage matches including the infamous Hell in a Cell match back in 1999 where he truly became one of the biggest superstars of the sport. In this match he was thrown off the cage and landed on a table some twenty feet down.
Foley tackles some tough issues in the book like the validity of wrestling. He recognizes, like owner of the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon acknowledges, that their product is " sports entertainment ". However, for those that think the bumps and bruises are all fake he is quick to point out, rightly so, that the numerous injuries he has suffered are real. Sure the outcomes are predetermined but how they are arrived at is not and the stories Foley tells are astounding.
To Go To Sleep on the Road, Foley Watched Al Snow Matches!
For wrestling fans, he dishes the gossip on some of the guys he likes and admires ( like Terry Funk and Steve Austin who he roomed with in the early 1990's on the road ) and those he doesn't ( like Ric Flair and Marc Mero ). You also get the background on Foley's infamous catch phrases like "Have A Nice Day", the cheap pops he is famous for, and of course "Mr.Socko" ( wrestling fans know this one; if you are not a fan it would be impossible to explain! ). Also, his famous dissing of fellow wrestler Al Snow is finally explained ( and continued in the book ).
Overall, this is a great book for those who love wrestling and even though this edition contains 511 pages ( the hardcover edition ) it is a really easy read. And even if you are not a wrestling fanatic you will really still like the book because in reality it is about the eternal struggle of man versus the world to survive and achieve his life long goals.
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