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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Killing My Wrestlemania Streak

My first Wrestlemania
By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I have been fortunate enough to attend eight of the last nine Wrestlemanias.  The first one I attended with my buddies, Chad and Jeremy, was Wrestlemania 22 in Chicago.  It was a dream come true for this life long wrestling fan.  I'm not going to lie, it was an expensive trip, costing about $1,300.  But, it was something I've wanted to do since I watched the very first Wrestlemania in my neighbor's living room back in 1985.


Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando
(I'm dressed like Hornswoggle)
In 2007, we took break, but Chad and I had already talked about attending Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando. This one was special for me because I knew it would be the last for my all-time favorite "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.  It was another expensive trip, but well worth it in my opinion.  2009 brought us Wrestlemania 25 and I couldn't miss the silver anniversary show, could I?  Of course not.  


Goofing off in Hollywood
Year after year, despite the expense, I justified going.  I knew I was being selfish, but I'd become addicted to going to Wrestlemania and the Hall of Fame.  Then the trips started getting longer.  I went out to Hollywood a few days ahead of Wrestlemania 26 in Phoenix.  Chad lives there, so he took me around town and I did the tourist thing.  The same thing happened in 2013 when I joined my friends in New Jersey.  We hit up the Big Apple too, and spent nearly a week there.  And I did all this while my family sat at home. 


Spicing things up in NYC
I've always known my wife and kids were getting the raw (pardon the pun) end of the deal.  I was leaving for days and spending all kinds of money.  These mini-vacations were a lot of fun, but they were expensive.  When I started this blog and my YouTube channel nearly four years ago, I'd hoped the ad sharing would help offset some of the costs involved.  That hasn't happened yet.  I haven't made enough since becoming a Google partner to even pay for one trip. I'm disappointed and embarrassed to admit this.


Wrestlemania 30
Legends' Beer Bash
We are finally taking a much needed family vacation to Disney World this year.  In addition to that, we've also been hit with higher health insurance premiums.  My son just got a second round of braces.  Our property taxes are going up again.  I'm not complaining, but I've finally seen the light, that the Wrestlemania streak must be stopped.  I finally realized that, and I'm fine knowing that Wrestlemania 30 may have been my last.

I'd love for things to take off with My 1-2-3 Cents, but the reality is, this is still more of a hobby that I'm really passionate about and not a source of income.  I will still watch wrestling and blog and vlog about it.  I'll tune in to Wrestlemania 31 on the WWE Network in March.  It'll be the first time since 2007 that I've done that, but it's time.  It was a helluva ride, a streak that I'm proud to have started officially in 2008.  

Thank you to everyone who continues to read this blog and share it with your friends.  Thanks also for subscribing to and watching my YouTube videos.  

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