Hulk Hogan Was a Childhood Hero for Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman

Those of us a certain age had part of our childhoods ripped away on Thursday upon news of the death of professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Boella).

One such person is Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman, who grew up a big pro wrestling fan and a big Hulk Hogan fan to boot (pun intended for those who get it).

Freeman was asked about his professional wrestling fandom before last season's National Championship Game against Ohio State, and today feels like the right time to look back on some of that.

"I grew up watching, I don't know, I like the characters." Freeman said, "You know, I think at different phases you enjoy different things. When I was young, everything was real, you know?"

"I ended up thinking, idolizing the Hulk Hogans and Ultimate Warriors and all of those guys, and then I got to go to the WrestleMania's with James (Laurinaitis) and I got to know some of the people, now it's about seeing my kids happy. If my kids want to go see wrestling, as a father, I'll try to do that."