July 31st, 2015 was a pretty bittersweet day for me. I was seeing one of my idols, and heroes, Paul McCartney, for the first time live in concert. It also marked the passing of my true childhood hero, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. They say, you should never meet your heroes, because they often don’t live up to you think they are. And most of the time that is probably true, but here’s my story of meeting my childhood hero.
So, in 1985 my family got our first VCR. While back then movies were still pretty expensive, I received Ghostbusters, and a Transformers cartoon VHS tape. Plus, and most importantly, we signed up for a membership at a locally run movie rental store. I will never forget going in there for the first time, and seeing the thousands of videos lining the walls, and in all the aisles, and the first aisle I went to was the “sports and recreation” aisle to look for any pro wrestling tapes. I really wanted to watch the first WrestleMania tape, which had just happened a few months earlier where Hulk Hogan and Mr. T faced off again Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. I had seen bits and pieces of this feud leading up to WrestleMania, but in the days before the Internet, I had no idea who won, who lost or what happened. Much to my dismay, the tape was already rented. So, as I looked around some more I saw another tape that caught my eye, “’Rowdy’ Roddy Piper’s Greatest Hits.” He has his own tape? And it wasn’t checked out? Sweet! So this tape was the very first tape I ever rented. I was so excited to watch it when I got home! I popped it in, and to this day, I haven’t been more entertained by any other movie or show. And on that day, I became the biggest Roddy Piper fan.
In fact, I re-rented this particular tape so much that when I would go into the store they knew exactly what tape I going to get. I rented it so much, and I knew every inch of the box that it came in. The corners were bent, and the cover insert were frayed from me renting it so much, there was a peeled off sticker residue on the cover, there was an inventory number (I guess?) written in silver ink on the tape itself. Alas, after the bigger box chain movie rental stores started popping up around town they ran the smaller, locally owned ones out of business. One day I rode my bike to this store, eagerly anticipating watching my favorite tape, and the store was closed. No warning, no “Going out of business” sale, just closed. I was pretty bummed. Not because they were out of business, but that I couldn’t watch my Roddy Piper tape anymore.
Fast-forward to the 90’s. Another locally owned video rental store opened up at a local shopping center right by my house, but by this time in my life when I rented movies I went where everyone else went, Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. I barely stepped into anything “local” anymore. Well, this new store didn’t last too long, and I noticed they were going out business, but unlike the previous store, they were selling their tapes off. So I went in one day, and most of the selection was picked over, but I saw a few wrestling tapes that were for sale, and then I saw it. The exact same copy of “Rowdy Roddy Piper’s Greatest Hits” that I rented so many times as a kid. The same bent corner, the same frayed insert, the same sticker residue on the cover, the same, albeit faded, silver inventory info written in silver ink on the tape. This was MY tape! I quickly snatched it up and purchased it there on the spot for $10. I got home popped it in, and relived my childhood in those 90min. I’ve held on to this tape through the many moves in my life. It’s always the one VHS tape proudly displayed among all my DVD’s. 
So, fast-forward again to 2012. I see Roddy Piper is going to be a guest at Wizard World in Chicago. It’s the comic-con I go to almost every year. I’m so excited that I might get to meet my childhood hero, but I kept that saying of “never meet your heroes” in the back of my mind. I bring my VHS copy of “Rowdy Roddy Piper’s Greatest Hits” tape with me to get signed. I get there and there are hundreds of people in his line. It’s wrapped around the corner of the convention center. Finally, I get up there, and he sees the tape I hand him, and a giant smile comes across his face, and he says, “I haven’t seen one of these in a long, long time.” He then tells me a story about shooting one of the videos that’s on this tape, and I proceed to tell him how much this tape meant to me as a kid, and the story of getting the tape, and even though he’s signed and talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of people this day, he made me feel like it was just he and I talking, and he seemed so touched by my story. He made me feel like I was 10 again. He was so kind and considerate, and while it’s true, it might not be a good idea to meet your childhood heroes (Bill Cosby, and Hulk Hogan), I’m glad mine turned out to be the exception, and I will forever more have a working a VCR in my house just so I can pop in “Rowdy Roddy Piper’s Greatest Hits” whenever I want. Thank you, Roddy. RIP Hot Rod.
By BJ Eaglesfield
