Smark or Mark?

[ohiofan1]

So you have to decide on who you want to be as your best friend. They both watch wrestling but are very different. One on hand you have the Smark, who does nothing but bash WWE and keeps bringing up and praising ROH every single second. On the other you have the mark, who does nothing but cheers the faces and boos the heel. Their favorite wreslter is John Cena and they watch and enjoy the WWE films. So who would you rather be friends with? The Smark or the Mark?

[percymania]

One on hand you have the Smark, who does nothing but bash WWE and keeps bringing up and praising ROH every single second.

I don't agree that all smarks do this. I consider a smark to be one who is knowledgeable about the business and watches for reasons other than to see who wins and loses matches. I call myself a smark, but I still enjoy WWE.

[Schemer]

I have a close friend who is smart to the business, but his likes are very different from your average smart fan.

[smokey1980]

Well, if we're going with the two extremes, I'd have to say I'd rather hang out with the mark, simply because I can't stand to be around people who are overly negative and critical in general.

Luckliy, my friends and I fall between the two extremes. We are smarks in that we follow the news sites and such, but we do like to simply enjoy and mark out at times, too.

[percymania]

I pick the smark. I don't know that I could actually be friends with someone who still thinks pro wrestling is real. Isn't that what a mark is? I would get a kick out of watching a show with them, but I couldn't be their friend.

Not all smarks are overly negative, in my opinion.

[smokey1980]

Dec 18, 2010 14:02:59 GMT -5 percymania said:

I pick the smark. I don't know that I could actually be friends with someone who still thinks pro wrestling is real. Isn't that what a mark is? I would get a kick out of watching a show with them, but I couldn't be their friend.

Not all smarks are overly negative, in my opinion.

No, not at all. I think most are quite reasonable, which is why I like discussing stuff at these forums, in particular. I was just making the choice between the two extremes as presented by the OP. In reality, I think it's much more varied than that.

[Skeptical Mind]

The OP was just giving two extreme subjects in the poll, he wasn't saying "all smarks/marks are like this".

To me, the choice is so obviously "mark" that I'm surprised the other option even has a single vote. Who in the world would want to hang around and watch wrestling with some negative, self-important douchebag?

Chatting on a forum is one thing. Plenty of people have smarky attitudes on a forum, myself included. Watching a show with someone like that is a totally different ballgame. If you can't get into a mark mindset and enjoy a show in the moment, GTFO seriously.

[Deleted]

Sometimes marks are extremely annoying. Especially when you watch a PPV in a movie theatre. Well I mean where the marks who are about 25 - 30 year olds cheering inexplicably loud for Cena, screaming out death threats to Wade Barret, and getting depressed when Kane retained the title. It's ok to be a mark just don't be a ten year old.

[The Ichi]

Well based on your (extreme) examples I would go with the mark, but idealy someone who lies somewhere inbetween, like a good chunk of people on this board, would be my choice.

[littleBIGcraPPer]

i'd go with the smark.

[N E O G E O B O Y S]

Dec 18, 2010 14:38:11 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Sometimes marks are extremely annoying. Especially when you watch a PPV in a movie theatre. Well I mean where the marks who are about 25 - 30 year olds cheering inexplicably loud for Cena, screaming out death threats to Wade Barret, and getting depressed when Kane retained the title. It's ok to be a mark just don't be a ten year old.

Eh, I don't know, judging by this board, it seems that some smarks act the same way, with the only diference that death threats somehow will end on wwe booking and are pissed for the burial of their superstar

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2010 16:36:56 GMT -5 N E O G E O B O Y S said:

Dec 18, 2010 14:38:11 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Sometimes marks are extremely annoying. Especially when you watch a PPV in a movie theatre. Well I mean where the marks who are about 25 - 30 year olds cheering inexplicably loud for Cena, screaming out death threats to Wade Barret, and getting depressed when Kane retained the title. It's ok to be a mark just don't be a ten year old.

Eh, I don't know, judging by this board, it seems that some smarks act the same way, with the only diference that death threats somehow will end on wwe booking and are pissed for the burial of their superstar

I knew someone was going to bring this up. But hopefully they only do that through internet rage rather then real life public rage.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2010 16:36:56 GMT -5 N E O G E O B O Y S said:

Dec 18, 2010 14:38:11 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Sometimes marks are extremely annoying. Especially when you watch a PPV in a movie theatre. Well I mean where the marks who are about 25 - 30 year olds cheering inexplicably loud for Cena, screaming out death threats to Wade Barret, and getting depressed when Kane retained the title. It's ok to be a mark just don't be a ten year old.

Eh, I don't know, judging by this board, it seems that some smarks act the same way, with the only diference that death threats somehow will end on wwe booking and are pissed for the burial of their superstar

Different smark communities can be a lot different. I feel alien here because a lot of my preferences go against what's considered normal here, but a good amount what I like is actually more mainstream-popular than what's considered normally popular around here. And I could give you a laundry list of examples, but I don't feel like sparking unnecessary debate so I'll leave it at that. Point is that different communities of smart fans who like wrestling will often behave entirely differently.

[joey joe joe junior shabadoo]

I pick the mark because he'll like the WWE faces that I like, I don't follow other wrestling as much, although I probably should!

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Dec 18, 2010 13:51:56 GMT -5 percymania said:

I don't agree that all smarks do this. I consider a smark to be one who is knowledgeable about the business and watches for reasons other than to see who wins and loses matches. I call myself a smark, but I still enjoy WWE.

This. Both outlines in the original post sound pretty insufferable, but IRL I prefer to watch with people of the kind Percymania describes.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

The terms "mark" and "smark" could probably describe all of us at certain points.

But a crazy (but hopefully harmless) person who thinks it's all real versus a misanthropic RL troll? I'll take the crazy guy.

[pink]

Definantly the mark. I like to think I fall in the "Both" category, but I'd much rather enjoy someone who can enjoy the product for what it is rather than criticize it.

Smarks are kinda tiring to talk to. I watched with a smark once and I just couldn't enjoy that episode of Raw. I thought it was amazing how Sheamus put Mark Cuban through a table, but all the smark could say on the matter is that the tables were pre-cut and getting put through it wouldn't hurt at all. It's just not fun at all.

Also, I don't fallow the indies or Japan that much, so I'd be frustrated with everything being compared to them.

[Next Level was WRONG]

Mark. As I could not give a f*** about anything that happens off-screen.

[percymania]

I think most people on this board are smarks, even if they don't want to admit it. It's a shame the word projects such a negative image, as too often the word is used as an insult. You can disagree with me, but I'm just going by these generally accepted definitions of "mark" and "smark" found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms (Original source here: www.pwtorch.com/insiderglossary.shtml)

[Deleted]

I'd be happy watching the ROH shows with the smark.