Hart With Heart

On May 23, at a pay-per-view event, a grievous accident occured and ended the sucessful and still promising career of a magnificent athelete. During that ill-fated night Owen Hart, brother of the renown Bret Hart, plunged to his death. Over 16 000 witnesses beheld the tragedy as the paramedics attempted and failed to revive Hart. He was pronouced dead at the hospital. He was just 34.

The event coined "Over the Edge" was titled rightly so. The wrestling world was fueled by rivalling organizations coveting fan popularity. WCW and WWF bid with each other for the fans, their desperate measures becoming more erratic with each passing event. Owen was "a sacrifice" to ratings to this insane contest.

But I'm not here to spew bitter words. There are an abundance of essays to debate the irresponsibilty of organizations. I write to elaberate and celeberate the life of a wrestler...person. The memmories of Owen were fun, sweet, and far too few.

When I first saw Owen it was the early 90's. At that time he was feuding with Bret, one of the best wrestlers of all time and Owen's brother. He had sparked some interesting confrontations. The conflict was perhaps the greatest and right then and there I sat up and took notice. Ever since I've watched him grow and develop.

Owen sucessfully attained such prestigous belts as the tag team, european, and intercontinental. It is believed that he may have won the world if events had not preceeded him. He teamed with various partners such as his brother-in-law Davy Boy Smith. He became the second King of the Ring. He became Owen--not the King of Hearts, not the Black Heart, nor even (forgive me) the Blue Blazer. He became Owen.

He adored his wife Martha, his son, Oje, and his daughter, Athena. Maybe he wasn't the most charismatic wrestler and God knows he didn't inspire screams but to me Owen heralded all that was true to the sport and to him...loyal...dedicated...hard-working...enduring. I will remember Owen in my memorries and in my heart.