There is a secret I have I do not often share with other people. It is a secret I have even kept hidden from my wife.
Okay, here it is, I am actually a Knight.
It is true, I was Knighted during a royal visit to Regina more than 20 years ago, but the only people who know are my high school friends who were also Knighted in front of 15,000 people at the Agridome.
I have kept this to myself because I have always been afraid people would treat me differently if they knew the truth.
I did not want people to be in awe of my aura. I simply wanted to be “just one of the guys” and I did not think I could do that if people always had to call me Sir.
Even as a journalist, rarely have I been overwhelmed meeting a celebrity. However, what happened one night at the Agridome in Regina is the exception.
It was the one time as a teenager when my emotions did get the best of me — and it happened in the most unexpected scenario.
When I was in high school several of my friends were big wrestling fans. This of course was during wrestling’s heyday — it was a time when Wrestlemania, Piper’s Pit and Hulkamania were running wild.
Not surprisingly, because my friends were big wrestling fans, I started to get on board, but to be honest I had much more fun mocking the wrestling fans than watching the matches themselves. Come on, how can you not giggle at a 300 pound man wearing a Hulkamania shirt two sizes too small or an elderly lady whacking Greg Valentine with her purse after “The Hammer” eye-gouged Koko B. Ware.
For some reason, I threw my support behind The Macho Man Randy Savage. Perhaps it was his high-flying, high risk maneuvers, his antics which bordered on insanity.
Then came this night when Savage and his WWF crew came to Regina. To get into the mood we stopped at a Burger King so we could grab Burger King crowns to cheer on the Macho King, which was a new moniker.
We found our ringside seats and waited patiently for the Macho King to make his way to the ring.
Finally his entrance music started and the Macho King strolled gallantly towards the ring with his majestic crown and scepter.
The Macho Man spotted the young teenagers in the front row all wearing their Burger King crowns. He marched towards us and gestured to the capacity crowd about how pleased he was to see such staunch supporters.
Then one of the greatest moments of my life — the Macho King came over to us and as I squirmed like a teenage girl with Beiber Fever he knighted us with his scepter.
It was a surreal moment and one I will never forget. Long live The King.
Now, of course you realize, I do not expect you to address me by my formal title, but if you do it is Sir John Barlow of Saskatchewan, Knight of the Squared Circle.
