![]() He’s about five-four.įinally a man enters the ring clad in a wrestling singlet with “Bloody Midgets” airbrushed across the front. They start to chant: “Mid-jits! Mid-jits! We want mid-jits!”Ī man with a wispy mustache who’s celebrating his 22nd birthday is chanting louder than anyone around. They’ve each paid ten bucks to see midgets and they want to see them now. Arnold hardly looks prepared to step into the ring–he’s wearing oval glasses and has a satchel slung over his shoulder–but the man heartily encourages him to “Kick some ass.” Someone else makes the same mistake, shouting, “Go get ’em, buddy.” In the back room, a man in a ribbed mock-turtleneck sweater shoves a thumbs-up at Arnold. “Right there! This way! Look down!” a woman implores her friends. Arnold hears “Photo op!” and two people snap pictures. One woman reaches down and lightly touches Winston’s shoulder. Their average-size torsos and disproportionately short limbs seem to be a source of great amusement to the mostly white, well-groomed twentysomethings in attendance. ![]() Arnold and Winston, by their very presence, become part of a peculiar spectacle. We pass through rooms filled with sports memorabilia, neon beer signs, and photos of men in team uniforms. Every other month or so, they stop at Sluggers.Īround 10 PM, Arnold leads us toward the back room, where the boxing ring is set up. On their Web site they promise to “beat the hell out of each other” and to “bleed for your enjoyment.” For three years, they’ve been traveling from city to city on the “Rok’Um Sok’Um” tour, under the slogan “No Silence–All Violence!!!” Staple guns, thumbtacks, and cheese graters are among the weapons they use to abuse one another. Midget boxing, as practiced by a riotous band of dwarfs who call themselves the Bloody Midgets, is a cross between a hardcore wrestling match and a circus sideshow. ![]() He first heard about Midget Boxing Night from someone at work. He apologized to her in advance for the evening’s plan, saying, “Sorry, it’s going to be horrible, but we have to do this.”Īrnold, 31, is the public relations coordinator for the disability rights organization Access Living. He and Winston met through a group called Little People of America (LPA). He attended Midget Boxing Night once before but found the experience so surreal that he needed to come back and let it “sink in more.” He’s brought his friends Todd Voigt, who has smuggled in a video camera, and Francisca Winston, who’s visiting from Minnesota. ![]() But he figures if you’re gearing up to protest something, you’d better get good and familiar with it. Tonight, people have come to gawk at midgets.Īrnold prefers to be called a “little person” or a “person of short stature.” And he prefers not to be gawked at. Gary Arnold wouldn’t find this Wrigleyville sports bar a hospitable environment even on an unremarkable Saturday, but tonight he finds it particularly hostile. The air is dense with smoke, and you have to shout over classic rock to be heard. There are six gigantic televisions and thirty wall monitors at Sluggers. Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation.Best of Chicago 2022: Music & Nightlife.
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