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The Sandman believes Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) fans influenced the way people reacted to major moments in sports and other wrestling promotions.
In the 1990s, Paul Heyman's ECW was known for its die-hard audience. Passionate fans became a major part of the show, especially when wrestlers made mistakes. The chant, "You f****d up!" could often be heard at the ECW Arena when someone botched a move.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, ECW legend The Sandman gave credit to the promotion's loyal fans:
"They should do a biography on our fans because they changed what it was to be a fan, and it crosses all sports also. It's not just wrestling. I mean, what fan starts saying, 'You f****d up! You f****d up!' Dude, you hear it all across the [world]." [1:59 – 2:17]
Watch the video above to hear the former ECW star's thoughts on Stone Cold Steve Austin using a similar beer-drinking gimmick to him in WWE.
Why The Sandman appreciates ECW fans so much
In the 1990s, ECW was viewed as the third biggest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WCW and WWE. Many of the company's top stars went on to achieve success elsewhere, including The Dudley Boyz and Rob Van Dam (RVD).
The Sandman joked that ECW fans never chanted, "You f****d up!" to him. The popular star also reiterated that he enjoyed the audience creating an electric atmosphere at ECW shows:
"Well, they never said it to me [laughs]," The Sandman continued. "It's great (...) Audience participation, dude. They felt they were part as much as the show as we were getting put through a table." [2:21 – 2:48]
The 60-year-old wrestled for ECW between 1992 and 2001, during which time he held the company's world title on five occasions. He also appeared in WWE's revamped version of ECW between 2005 and 2007.
What are your thoughts on ECW's die-hard fans? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
