Latino Heat, Forever, and Ever
- The Great Brown Hope
- Nov 13
- 4 min read
I was 16 years young. Classified a hoodlum, but with the credentials of a promising scholar. I wasn't in the streets to cause trouble, we all just happened to hang out in the same place one would mistake for dangerous territory. But boy were we young.
We were just kids. Kids with no purpose for what else was there to worry about besides exams and who was pitching in on our next sack of herbs. Sure life wasn't always great, but we always had each other.
And we always had Eddie Guerrero.
While all the other kids looked up to Hulk Hogan, Michael Jordan, and Michael Jackson, we looked up to a second generation star that was about to set the world ablaze with his trademark Latino Heat.
With a swagger all his own and an attitude to match, you couldn't tell him nothing. That's just a small dose of what made him so cool. The way he did it so effortlessly and reminded us of our own dads, tios, primos, and compas. Eddie Guerrero made it easy to believe that anything truly was possible, especially for people like us.
Eddie Guerrero was our hero.
Eddie Guerrero was MY hero.
It's easy to get lost when the beacon that used to light the way no longer shines in the darkness. For when your escape is doomed with tragedy, what escape does one truly have?
We come from a time where at some point wrestling just wasn't cool anymore. If you wanted to be popular and enjoy wrestling, forget about it. For years we were the ones they pointed at and laughed at cause we were in middle school and high school still watching wrestling. But I was never one to follow the crowd. And no matter what, I had my dawgs, and wrestling, to help get me through.
We lied, we cheated, and we stole, cause that was the motto. Eddie Guerrero gave his entire life to professional wrestling. Whether it be for the love of the game, for his family, or for us the fans, Eddie gave it his all and more. For everytime Eddie was on our TV screens, you could almost feel the connection he had with the people. Something about him just drew you to him and you could never truly escape his grasp. From the smiles, to the tears, to the laughs, to even more tears, for a character and person that can connect like this with people was rare and truly a blessing.
We were just kids. We didn't know anything about anything, but we knew we loved Eddie Guerrero. We looked up to Eddie Guerrero.
We wanted to be cool like Eddie Guerrero. Some of us even dared to dream to one day wrestle because of Eddie Guerrero. We had someone to root for, we had one of our own to support on his journey to success. And over the years we witnessed greatness unfold. We witnessed his WrestleMania debut just 9 miles from our city. We watched in tearful joy as he finally captured the prestigious WWE Championship in our home state. We all chipped in to come up with $75 to watch Eddie Guerrero emerge victorious at Wrestlemania XX. We could never afford to get the monthly pay per views, but we made damn sure to pay for the pay per views he was headlining and defending his heavyweight championship. Of course, we ordered No Mercy when he competed against Batista to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship, not knowing it would be Eddie Guerrero's final PPV performance.
We were together the day we found out we had lost our hero. We were just kids. Heartbroken and devasted are just a few of the words I can come up with, for the emotions I felt overwhelmed me. This couldn't be real, this had to be a bad dream. Right?
But it wasn't. The weight of the world came crashing down for us. And we were really just kids. We didn't know heartbreak like this, and you're never really ready for it. It was like we lost someone close to us, it always felt like we knew this man that had welcomed us into his life and career.
Seeing his smile before would bring us laughs and joy, knowing he was finally happy on the inside. And now, seeing his smile brings tears of pain and sadness. 20 years later, I still feel that pain. I still shed a few thug tears for a man that made me believe in myself when I was at my lowest, and I was just a kid. Even to this day, after 20 long years, it still hurts.
Even to this day, after 20 long years, you're still MY hero.
Latino Heat will live on, forever, and ever.
Dont forget to follow The Great Brown Hope on all his socials. And follow us on our Main Event Wrestling Network socials as well at our linktree below.
Dont forget to hit that heart button at the bottom. And dont forget to brush your teeth. See y'all again soon.
(this chapter of Storee Time with The Great Brown Hope has been brought to you by Four Loko. Drink Four Loko.)
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Playlist
3 Doors Down "Here Without You"
Evanescence "My Immortal"
The Fray "How To Save a Life"
Guns N' Roses "November Rain"
Ghost "Life Eternal"
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony ft. Tank "If Heaven Had A Cell Phone"
Bizzy Bone, DMX, and Chris Notez "A Song for You"
Flesh-N-Bone "Dedication"
Rocio Durcal "Amor Eterno"
Bad Bunny "DtMF"
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