A TRIBUTE TO A WRESTLING FAN
By: David Webber
6/3/2004 1:39:00 PM
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One of the greatest joys of being involved in the wrestling business is the opportunity to meet people, whether fellow fans, legends you grew up watching or the new breed of talent just making their mark. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet so many people over the years and e-mail back and forth with others throughout the United States and other countries such as England, Ireland and Australia. It is, indeed, a pleasure to join together and enjoy this business that has meant so much to each of us.
Along with that feeling of togetherness with other wrestling fans comes heaviness when one of your own is suffering. Last week, I received an e-mail from my good friend Steve Anderson, whom many of you are familiar with as the co-writer of the Bobby Heenan books and former staff writer at WOW and PWI. This time, he didn’t have good news.
If you have picked up Bobby Heenan’s latest book, you’ll notice a dedication to an “Andrew Graff.” Let me tell you a bit about Andrew. Andrew is a classic wrestling fan. He attends seemingly every show, whether it be for the WWE or for a small independent group. He is kind, polite and enjoyable to be around. He frequently hangs out at the “after parties” and is a favorite among the wrestlers. He is extremely intelligent and works for one of the largest banks in the country. One of the coolest things he does is take wrestler figures and re-paint them to make them look like the local guys who have yet to be discovered. It’s a compliment to those who receive them, for they are finally “stars.”
I saw Andrew last September at a show I helped put together. We talked afterward for a time and I really was impressed with how positive he always seemed to be and how peaceful a person he is. A few days after the show, Steve and I were talking on the phone and told me that Andrew had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer! Lung cancer?! Andrew doesn’t smoke!!! He’s young, not even 30 yet. Lung cancer?! The good news was that he had defeated it and you wouldn’t even know from looking at him what kind of battle his body had recently waged.
A couple of months ago, Steve called to tell me that Andrew had gone to the doctors and they found a dark spot again. It was the cancer, rearing it’s vicious head. At a fundraiser for another illness, I watched as Andrew entered the room with a walker and his head covered with a stocking cap to cover the head where hair once was. He explained that he was undergoing chemotherapy every Friday and that he was so weak he could barely find time to do the things he wanted to do. We exchanged numbers and a number of local wrestlers all rallied around him for support.
Jumping back to last week, Steve e-mailed a group of us that Andrew’s cancer had continued to spread. It is now in his brain and surrounding his spinal column. The doctors have given him six months to live.
Andrew has a dream to see wrestling at Madison Square Garden. It’s not an uncommon dream among wrestling fans. But it’s all the more important now as doctors are continuing to radiate and send chemicals throughout his body, weakening it in the hopes that they can kill the cancer. Steve is making plans to take Andrew and his parents to the Garden for a WWE show June 26th. His parents, the ones who brought him into this world and now watch him suffer, want to make his dream come true.
His father is a pastor who has used what little income he gets to help Andrew cover his expenses as he’s been out of work for several months. His mother and father have helped take care of their boy that should be able to make it on his own but can’t because of this vile disease. They have little left, but they still want to get him to the Garden.
I’m not one to ask for things of our readers, but we’ve lost so many people over the years to cancer: Brian Hildebrand, Jeff Peterson, Randy Anderson…I’d hate to lose another person who is so passionate about professional wrestling before their dream can come true.
If you feel so inclined, please feel free to make a donation to help offset the costs of flying Andrew and his family to New York City and stay at a hotel. Also, send a word of encouragement to lift his spirits. From one fan to another, we are all family and friends and sometimes need to lean on each other to carry through the day.
On a personal note to Andrew: I know you are tired. But know that EVERYONE is behind you and are pulling for a recovery. You are in our thoughts and prayers. I care about you and want to continue to see your face at every show. Keep up the fight!
To send Andrew an e-mail, send it here.
To make a donation, send it here.
And THANK YOU to all of you for your consideration!
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