RAW Magazine May 2000
by Laura
Move over Backstreet Boys - The Hardy Boyz are here and scores of feverish female fans won't let anyone forget it.
Not since the Rockers in the late ‘80s have two sports-entertainers induced such frenzy amongst adolescent female fans. From tons of fan mail to near-stalking at the hotels the Hardy Boyz stay in, the brothers are The Beatles of sports-entertainment. Did Matt and Jeff Hardy ever imagine that along with success in the World Wrestling Federation, they would be the objects of such affection?
”I didn’t really expect this kind of response from the female fans with the way our image was,” Matt told Raw Magazine. “When we first got with Michael [Hayes], we were real dark and were the furthest thing from being pretty and prim. I figured some of the girls would probably dig us because we’re young and we have the bodies that are in good shape. But we didn’t expect girls to react to us like we’re The Backstreet Boys!”
”Our image is somewhat young and hip now,” Jeff said. “And the clothes we wear are considered pretty cool – it’s what all the young people wear out there.”
But it’s more than their clothes – or fine bodies and good looks, for that matter – that evoke such an impassioned response from the young female fans. It’s their attitude. Matt and Jeff Hardy certainly don’t personify the “All-American Boy” image. No, there’s an element of danger to them. With their long lock and daring athleticism, they defy the image of mainstream America – and that’s what makes them so attractive to girls. The Hardy Boyz sure beat the pimple-faced boy next door, not to mention the super-perfect jock in 3rd-period history class.
The question is: Just how far will these girls go to get the Hardy Boyz’ attention?
”One thing that sucks for Jeff and me is that Matt and Jeff Hardy are our real names,” Matt said. “We’ve had girls call our hotel rooms at all hours of the night, and we’ve even been on the road and have had girls waiting to follow us when we leave the arena – that’s happened a couple times. As a matter of fact, when we were in Texas at the last TV [taping] there were some girls who followed us for about nine miles.”
”Yeah, it’s pretty insane when stuff like that happens,” Jeff said. “Especially when you check into your hotel room an there’s three messages from people you don’t know – young ladies saying ‘Hey, if you want to get together and have some fun!’
”I say to myself, ‘Wait a minute – how did you know we were staying here?’ I guess when we’re in a town and they know Matt and Jeff Hardy are our real names, they’ll just call around to all the hotels to find out where we’re booked.”
But perhaps the area where one can gauge how much of an impact tha Hardy Boyz have had on young girls’ hearts it their fan mail. At RAW and World Wrestling Federation Magazine, one out of every four letters is either addressed to Matt and Jeff Hardy or discusses them. Girls write in pouring their hearts out, sharing their almost frantic feelings of love for one – or both – brothers, or they’re writing to request tuxedo and chocolate-pudding matches involving the two! The Hardy Boyz have had the same kind of responses at their website (www.mattandjeffhardy.com).
”We get a lot of poetry,” Matt said. “And now that it’s springtime, we’re getting a ton of girls writing us, asking us if we’ll go to the prom with them!”
At their website, Jeff’s personal page includes poetry he’s written himself. After reading it, it’s no wonder the girls love these guys. Contrary to their “bad boy” image, the Hardys have a sensitive side – a fact that makes these brothers seem all the more approachable.
While it must e flattering, one had to wonder if it ever gets tiring being the object of such adoration.
”You know, I’m glad that they’re supportive and they’ll pay money to see us and buy our stuff, and that they’re behind us 100%,” Matt said. “And it’s also really, really flattering whenever we do appearances.
”You feel bad for them because there’s a lot of times that girls come through and they actually get to meet us and speak to us and shake our hands, and they’ll start crying and shaking and go through that whole deal, which you know is just so hard,” Matt added.
”You just want to grab then and hug them to make them feel comfortable. But you know whenever that happens it’s just amazing that somebody can be that dedicated to you without ever actually meeting you.”
”It’s still so hard to swallow when you take part in a scene like that,” Jeff agreed. “I mean. I’ll still sit here and watch TV and look up to certain rock-n-roll stars – and know that if I were to see them in real life I’d be freaking out and stuff, too. But then to think that people look at me in that light, it’s just so strange and it all happened so fast. But hey, it’s wonderful.”