The Real Wildcat...The Wildcat I know
By Pete Shively - Webmaster & Brother

My older brother, Chris, got a lot of flack recently for the way he reacted to fan a few months ago at a show in Philadelphia.  He responded to them in his last heated column and got a lot of positive feedback from you, the fans.  As his brother I want to tell you about the Chris Harris I know.  Through my memories of us growing up and more recently as the webmaster of this website I’d like to tell you what kind of person he really is.

            If you remember a few months ago our dad was a guest writer for “Words from Wildcat,” and if you read it you know that our parents are divorced.  Chris stayed with our dad and I stayed with our mom.  (I will leave the details out so not to bore you to death)  Even though we didn’t grow up in the same house we did get to spend a lot of time together, mostly on the weekends when one of us would visit the other.  In the beginning I was really young, I think at the most three yrs old, so I don’t really remember too much but thanks to our dad’s video camera and stories they tell me I can relive those times.

 One of the earliest memories I have, or at least one they told me about, was when I was about five making Chris eleven.  It was at some family wedding that we were both at with our mom.  I was a dancing machine at that age and really worked up a sweat.  I went over to the bar for a drink and for some reason Chris was behind the bar (a sign of things to come I guess).  I asked him for a glass of water so he gives me a glass.  I drank it fast as he began to laugh.  I drank it so fast that it was not until I finished the cup that I started to scream bloody murder as for some reason my throat was burning.  Chris had filled my cup up with vodka or whiskey (some liquor that looked like water). His laughter turned to the “oh crap I am in trouble” as I ran over to mom.  That one incident has scarred me for life as I remember my first and only time drinking in college ended with me hating the burning feeling that whatever I drank gave me.  Still to this day I don’t drink except for on rare occasions. Thanks bro! I think he knew he would need a designated driver when he was older. 

Not all of his jokes and pranks scarred me for life.  Most were funny as hell and would have me laughing so hard my sides hurt.  I remember him eating our dog’s cookie treats or the actual food just to get a laugh.  There was another time that he would go through the drive thru speaking Spanish and broken English into the speaker.  He would continue to do that when he picked up the food with me laughing in the backseat. 

Chris would even take me out with his friends on the weekends in high school.  They never made me feel like I was the “tag along brother” but one of the gang.  To this day I consider them my friends as well.  The one memory I can think of is a night with Long John Silver’s Hush Puppies, throwing them out the sunroof at passing cars and then getting pulled over by the police for speeding (one of his friends was driving).  That was one cool night for this eleven year old. 

I only remember fun and good times with my brother as a young kid and we continue to create great memories together to this day. 

When Chris decided that he wanted to become a wrestler I was in the 6^th or 7^th grade and was really into watching Hulk Hogan, The Hart Foundation and all the rest on WWF so I thought it was really cool.  I didn’t have all the concerns that our parents had in his career choice.  So I can say that I have supported him from the beginning on him reaching for his goal, and to this day I admire him for achieving that goal. 

I also had a goal that my parents didn’t want me to do, play football.  I know it doesn’t seem like a big goal but I was one skinny kid growing up and they didn’t want me to get killed.  It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school, when it was my choice that I got to play.  I played all four years and never was a starter or played very much, but I never quit.  Some kids at school questioned why I was still on the team and I bet even some of my family members did the same, but never my brother.  He only made it to one game my senior year but by that time he was always wrestling on the weekends so I understood.  The one thing that meant the most to me and made up for him not being at a lot of my games was a letter he wrote to me on my senior retreat (catholic high school).  He said that he was proud of me never giving up on my dream of playing football even though people said I couldn’t do it, just like they said about him being a wrestler.  It was such a great feeling that someone I loved and looked up to was proud of me and even compared me to himself.   

I have been maintaining my brother’s website for just as long as TNA has been around so it has become routine for me to watch Chris on TV and then update the website for the world to read.  I never really step back and take a look at what is going on.  Recently I did step back and just had a moment of “holy crap I can’t believe my brother is doing this.”  The thing that set that off was when America’s Most Wanted and Scott Steiner were beating up The Naturals I think.  There was a shot that had Steiner and “Wildcat” next to each other.  I was never a WCW fan but I know how big of a star Steiner was and still is and to see my brother on TV next to him blew me a way.  Even though he is on TV weekly, and has talked to his idol, Bret Hart, Chris has never let his fame go to his head. 

That brings me to the recent incident in Philadelphia that got a lot of fans mad.  I have never seen Chris treat a fan in a mean way and even has taken time away from family to sign autographs or have a picture taken.  Fans forget that wrestlers were fans too.  He used to go and wait at the exit of the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio after every WWF show that was in town just to see the wrestlers; just like I am sure fans still do to this day.  He understands how big of an impact he can have on a fan’s life.  

I receive and sort every e-mail that comes in through the website so I have read about many times where Chris had brightened the day of a few fans.  If any of you have been watching ESPN’s Sportscenter you know they are granting wishes of special needs kids in their “Make a Wish” segments.  I was watching one today and it reminded me of a couple of emails about how Chris has affected certain fans’ lives.  There are two in particular that come to mind off the top of my head.  The first you can check out in the news archives page and read about how a fan stopped doing drugs after Chris took a few minutes out of his time to talk to her after a show. The other is one where Chris again took time after a show to talk to a young lady who was terminally ill.  Whatever he did brightened her day up.  The friend that she was with emailed us telling how big of an impact he had made on her.  Chris, as he does with all fan email, responded personally, but as we recently found out, the response came too late.  The email said that the last three weeks of this young girl’s life were filled with joy partly because of a few minutes that he took out of his day to talk with her.  Chris cares for his fans because he knows without them he is nothing.  I just hope one day I can affect the life of some stranger the way he has his fans’ lives.

Those are not the fans that he was responding to in his last column, but the ones that think just because he responds to their email or talks to them for a few minutes after a show that he is their best friend.  Recently while I was out with my brother at a local spring festival we were approached by someone who recognized Chris from TNA.  After the polite greetings and “I watch your show every week” the guy asked us we had seen his friend, Fred.  We said that we hadn’t even though we have never met this guy before and had no idea who Fred was.  He said ok and went on his way looking for Fred.  Those kind of fans have to realize that even though it feels like you know the wrestlers because you watch them on TV every week, they don’t know you.  However that never stops Chris from treating his fans like they are his best friend for the few minutes he spends with them.

The Chris Harris I know is a driven person who will do what it takes to achieve his goals.  He is someone who I have great memories with and who loves to make people laugh and have a good time.  He is grounded in his roots, never getting an ego from his fame yet understands the impact he can have on people’s lives.  I am extremely proud to call him my brother

I love ya, Bro.