WWE ruining soccer for Italy (sorta)

**Corkscrewed** · 01-12-2006, 07:49 PM

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsar...-WRESTLING.xml

Italy's youth caught in grip of TV wrestling
Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:01 PM ET

By Gavin Jones

ROME (Reuters) - Forget soccer icons Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti. Italian boys have new heroes: beefy, loud American wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Undertaker.

The high octane, over-the-top world of televised wrestling has taken the homeland of ancient gladiators by storm, thrilling young boys eager to copy their heroes and raising fears of school violence among some parents and psychologists.

National soccer coach Marcello Lippi recently complained that home-grown talent risked drying up because children no longer played soccer in the streets as they were hooked on wrestling.

In November, the muscle-bound heroes of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc's television shows toured Italy. The appearances sold out in a few days.
"I prefer to watch wrestling than soccer because it's more dramatic; anything can happen," said Oliviero D'Ascanio, a 9-year-old schoolboy in Rome who, like his friends, also follows the behind-the-scenes storylines that come with the WWE product.

"There's friendship and betrayal in wrestling as well as just sport," he said.
In playgrounds across Italy, young boys trade collector cards and practice their heroes' hallmark moves, ignoring the regularly broadcast warning: "Don't try this at home." WWE wrestler dolls sold like hot cakes at Christmas.

WWE, a publicly traded company, runs the sport's "big leagues" with shows like "Wrestlemania" and "Smackdown!."

Its programs are broadcast in Italy for two hours every day -- at lunchtime and in the early evening -- on News Corp's Sky Italia and are also transmitted for two hours at prime time on Saturday evening on Italia 1, a terrestrial channel owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset.
Vera Slepoj, president of Italy's national association of psychologists, said there was anecdotal evidence that the wrestling obsession had already fueled school bullying.

"Wrestling proposes the most ancestral and brutal role models based on pure violence, which are particularly dangerous for 8- to 11-year-olds who are often left to watch the television without the support of an adult," she said.

Sound familiar?

01-12-2006, 07:49 PM	#1
Corkscrewed Posts: 18,357	WWE ruining soccer for Italy (sorta) http://today.reuters.com/news/newsar...-WRESTLING.xml Italy's youth caught in grip of TV wrestling Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:01 PM ET By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - Forget soccer icons Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti. Italian boys have new heroes: beefy, loud American wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Undertaker. The high octane, over-the-top world of televised wrestling has taken the homeland of ancient gladiators by storm, thrilling young boys eager to copy their heroes and raising fears of school violence among some parents and psychologists. National soccer coach Marcello Lippi recently complained that home-grown talent risked drying up because children no longer played soccer in the streets as they were hooked on wrestling. In November, the muscle-bound heroes of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc's television shows toured Italy. The appearances sold out in a few days. "I prefer to watch wrestling than soccer because it's more dramatic; anything can happen," said Oliviero D'Ascanio, a 9-year-old schoolboy in Rome who, like his friends, also follows the behind-the-scenes storylines that come with the WWE product. "There's friendship and betrayal in wrestling as well as just sport," he said. In playgrounds across Italy, young boys trade collector cards and practice their heroes' hallmark moves, ignoring the regularly broadcast warning: "Don't try this at home." WWE wrestler dolls sold like hot cakes at Christmas. WWE, a publicly traded company, runs the sport's "big leagues" with shows like "Wrestlemania" and "Smackdown!." Its programs are broadcast in Italy for two hours every day -- at lunchtime and in the early evening -- on News Corp's Sky Italia and are also transmitted for two hours at prime time on Saturday evening on Italia 1, a terrestrial channel owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset. Vera Slepoj, president of Italy's national association of psychologists, said there was anecdotal evidence that the wrestling obsession had already fueled school bullying. "Wrestling proposes the most ancestral and brutal role models based on pure violence, which are particularly dangerous for 8- to 11-year-olds who are often left to watch the television without the support of an adult," she said. Sound familiar?