Over the weekend, WWE celebrated 30 years of WrestleMania in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Fans from around the world took over the city and for one solitary weekend, they were not in the minority.
"Oh, look! It's Hulk Hogan. And Macho Man. And John Cena. And Goldust. And the Undertaker. And Rowdy Roddy Piper."
Cosplay was totally normal during WrestleMania weekend. It was weird if you WEREN'T wearing something wrestling-themed.
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"Are you here for the wrestling thing, sir?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm here for the wrestling thing," I answered the shuttle bus driver. The second I stepped off the plane at the Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans, the barrage of WrestleMania advertisements was overwhelming. New Orleans had a case of wrestling fever, and those not in the loop found themselves wondering just where exactly they had arrived.
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"Honey, I came all the way from Dallas to watch wrestling."
After someone on the shuttle bus questioned wrestling's popularity in a mocking tone, an elderly woman in her 70s responded accordingly and stood her ground like a true wrestling fan. It was adorable and badass at the same time.
"Why does everybody keep screaming 'YES'?"
A bartender on Bourbon Street could not figure out why everybody was in such an optimistic mood. Daniel Bryan's "YES!" chant echoed all over the French Quarter and it was glorious. In every bar, in every restaurant, in every hotel, on every street, there were "YES!" chants and fingers flying in the air. This, however, confused some locals who had no idea what was going on.