Sports

Good As Gold

Former football player
Bill Goldberg has taken
the wrestling world by storm.

MITCH SHAPIRO

Special to The Jewish News

I

that stuff out of the water, but I'm not
any different in spirit," he reasons,
before stating the obvious: "I'm just a
lot bigger than the normal Jewish
guy.
The middle son of a doctor,
Goldberg celebrated his bar mitzvah
while growing up with his two
brothers in Tulsa, Okla. He twice

n the super-charged, in-your-
face environment that is World
Championship Wrestling, Bill
Goldberg is not only the new
kid on the block, he's also its new
golden boy.
It has taken just 10
short months for this 6-
foot-4, 285-pound mass
of solidity and intensity
to become the most pop-
'War attraction on the
WCW circuit, a mete-
oric rise which climaxed
July 6 when he defeated
"Hollywood" Hulk
Hogan to win the world
heavyweight title at the
Georgia Dome in
Atlanta.
Without a fancy
nickname, the 31-year-
old former pro football
player has become a
phenomenon of epic
proportions. No greater
evidence could be
found than the 40,000
crazed fans who packed
the Dome and chanted
"Goldberg, Goldberg!"
before, during, and
after he finished his
demolition of Hogan.
So, how did a nice
Jewish boy end up in a
Goldberg
profession like this?
'Flakes his way
"A guy's got to make
to the ring.
a living somehow," he
says with a smirk. Then,
turning serious, he adds,
"I miss the camaraderie of football,
the competition, and the ability to go
out and tackle people at will. So,
what it does is fill a void for me."
Goldberg readily admits that he
doesn't fit the stereotypical portrait of
a Jewish person. "I know I blow all of

Fan Favorite

A Jewish superstar has a
big following, here and
on the Internet.

Mitch Shapiro is an Atlanta writer.

11 /20
1998

received honors as an All-
Southeastern Conference selection at
nose guard at the University of
Georgia, and then played five sea-
sons in the NFL with the Los
Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons
before a knee injury ended his grid-
iron career. However, it was football
that laid the groundwork for his
entrance in to the wild and wacky
world of professional wrestling.
After his injury, Goldberg was
forced to "decide what to do with the
rest of my life." Having befriended a
number of wrestlers in the Atlanta area
(home base for the WCW) during his
years as a University of Georgia
Bulldog and Atlanta Falcon, the move
into tha profession was a logical
choice.
"My experience from playing foot-
ball is definitely what's got me where
I am right now," he says. "There's a
certain physicality, a warrior
mentality, that consumes you
when you play ... I've brought
that mindset into the ring
with me."
With a shaved head and
goatee, outfitted in an
ensemble of black boots,
tights, gloves, and matching
elbow and knee pads, the
"Goldberg" persona was born
— complete with a ring
entrance resembling a

snarling madman ready to erupt. His
explosiveness, coupled with the
lethal combination of his set-up
move, "The Spear," and the finishing
"Jackhammer," made his matches
into quick exhibitions of Goldberg's
dominance. Goldberg has made an
unparalleled rise through the WCW,
ascending to the throne with 108
consecutive victories without a
defeat — capped by the title victory
over Hogan.
But perhaps what's even more
impressive has been his overwhelming
acceptance among wrestling fans. "I
knew I could get here and bring
something different to the fans, but I
never would've imagined that they'd
take to me like this," he says. "It's
really a little nuts — almost kind of
like a cult following."
And while he continues to try and
live a relatively simple existence out-
side of the ring — his passions
include canoeing and fishing — and
not get caught up in the trappings of
extravagance, his life has nonetheless
changed as a result of all the success
and adulation.
"Everything's changed, but then
again, everything's stayed the same
too," he says. "When I'm home, I'm
the same person I've always been ...
nothing's really changed except my
location. The more popular I get, the
more it pushes me away from people,

SCOTT WARHEIT

wrestlers out there, especially
Hollywood Hogan. He also has really
cool moves," Doughty said.
While Goldberg is known for fin-
ishing off opponents in under two
minutes, he punishes his opponents
during that time with a variety of
power and tactical moves.
Doughty's favorite Goldberg match
was the first against established veter-
an Curt Hennig. "I liked it because it
took him very little time and Hennig
never had a chance," said Doughty.
Hennig was no pushover for
Goldberg. He is an established
wrestler who has held numerous
championships in his career, including
a world title. However, he was no
match for Goldberg and was quickly
defeated by Goldberg's famous finish-
ing combo.
A week later, -Hennig boasted he
had figured out how to defeat the
champion.
Goldberg, never to duck a chal-
lenge, defeated Hennig in less than 30
seconds in the rematch.
WCW isn't stupid, taking every

Special to The Jewish News

B

ill Goldberg has
become the 1990s'
version of Hulk
Hogan, winning the
fans' support with quick, deci-
sive wins over opponents.
He became the United •
States champion with a win
over Scott "Raven" Levy and,
in front of a packed Georgia
Dome and with millions
watching on TV, he defeated
Hogan to become world cham-
pion. In doing so, Goldberg
became, arguably, the most
popular Jewish athlete of all
time. Fans of all nationalities,
countries, and religions are fans of the
Jewish wrestling superstar.
Chris Doughty, 12, of Farmington
Hills, is a huge Goldberg fan because
of the wrestler's no-nonsense
approach.
"He's an unstoppable wrestler and
doesn't talk trash like the other