A New Era could use a new standard.
* Larry Tact RP for C01.
FADE IN: on the remains of a Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl rally. Most of the fans have departed the scene, which is littered with some banners and a few Terrible Towels that may have been freebies. A large elevated stage displays a banner with the AFC Champions’ logo prominently showcased. FADE-TO: on top of the stage, where we find a couple people in formal attire, conversing. Larry Tact shakes hands with a man in a brown suit , slacks, white dress shirt and black tie. After finishing the exchange, the man walks off and Tact turns, spotting the camera. With a smirk, he holds up the jersey in his hands-- #45 of the Steelers, Troy Polamalu. On one of the numbers is a message scrawled in marker, and on the other number is Troy‘s signature. Tact begins folding the jersey carefully.
LARRY TACT: Personally, I’m a Big Blue fan all the way. But my brother is a fan of Troy’s, and I think everyone agrees he‘s a premier player. The guy is as intense as they come, a beast on the defensive and a playmaker through-and-through. He knows how to play the game the way it should be played. I know a few people in the Pittsburgh area, and they hooked me up with a meet-and-greet here, before PIT heads down to Dallas for Super Bowl 45, and number seven for their franchise. I figured I‘d get a gift.”
“Polamalu plays with passion. He goes on the field and tears it up, even knowing the toll he pays for it will be steep, in the form of injuries and pain that’ll last him a lifetime. But he does it anyway, because he loves what he does. He loves playing the game, and as cliché as it sounds, that counts for a lot. There’s a reason clichés become that way, after all…”
Finishing with folding up the jersey, he crouches and tucks it into a bag he had stored in the podium on stage. He leaves the bag there and stands, checking the silver cufflinks on his blue blazer, a red shirt underneath, top button undone. He leans on the podium casually.
“I know some of the guard who are scheduled for a return to New Era may question my own stepping back onto the scene, seemingly unannounced. Maybe certain people feel like it’s suspect, that I won’t be ready, or don’t have what it takes to come back. Who knows, who cares? The fact is, I don’t care whether or not people ’approve’ of me, or my decisions. I don’t need to, just as I don’t need to come back. I have everything I need to live comfortably. But anyone who’s been in the wrestling business, and been to the top, understands a little of why I’m back. They have an idea of what’s driving me.”
“The passion for it. The love of the game, so to speak. It isn’t about what I need, but what I want.”
“Shawn, you’re a worthy Champion. I’m not questioning your holding the New Era World Championship; like I said earlier, this isn’t about the belt. What I want to do at this Cyberstrike event, Shawn, is set the standard for New Era of Wrestling. We have the chance to show what New Era should be capable of.”
“You’re the current standard of this company, Shawn. You’re the summit. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though… because when I come in and go above and beyond your effort at Cyberstrike, in the ring, it’s going to show all the newbies that facing a Champion isn’t something to be intimidated by. If you are, you mat as well get out before you get yourself hurt. No, facing the Champion is something to relish. It’s an opportunity to make an impression like no one else can, on that night, because you are the challenger.“
“And Shawn, you know I take great enjoyment in making my impressions count, and bringing my best effort to the ring. Because I am the embodiment of in-ring elite. I‘m someone who can come in after some time off, be thrust into the brightest exposure, and surpass everyone‘s expectations. Don‘t fool yourself into thinking anything else. Really Shawn, I would be a little disappointed if you did. I don‘t shy away from that exposure-- I crave it. I want the Larry Tact brand of wrestling to be witnessed by this new generation of New Era, and what better way than to showcase it at the top, at the expense of the World Champion himself.”
“And what better World Champion to use than Shawn Hart? A man who people see as a hot commodity and a big draw. We‘ve been around the block, sure, and we‘ve both gotten our share of victories and defeats against each other. With the New Era standard on the line here, Shawn… be sure it won’t be just on more time around the block for us. This time, I guess you can say… I‘m coming with some craze.”
“There may be more reason than you understand for my return, Shawn. But you and New Era will understand when Cyberstrike hits. First, you’ll get a Humbling reminder of how I can outclass you in the ring. Then, that familiar feeling of a Tactful Surrender. And then, Shawn, you’ll understand the direction that the next generation is headed in. You will see that the game is not quite the same as before.“
Picking up the bag, he holds it over his shoulder and grins.
“Mark my words… at Cyberstrike, I will define the Championship standard of New Era… and make that lasting impression…”
He walks past us and the camera focuses up on the AFC Championship banner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
FADE OUT.
