I stumbled across this recently and, honestly, what a throwback!
This was a story I wrote 26 years ago, in July 2000, for ZingAsia — right in the middle of the dotcom boom, when everyone was convinced the Internet was going to change the world.
Well… they were right. 😂
The story was about WWF superstar Mick Foley, better known then as Mankind and Cactus Jack, who had arrived in Kuala Lumpur as part of his Southeast Asian tour.
And yes, yours truly was there.
The crowd was fantastic — kids, teenagers, adults and even senior citizens, all turning up to see the wrestling superstar they had only known from their TV screens. There was even a Mankind impersonation contest!
But looking at this old article today, what makes me smile isn't just the story.
It's the website. Look at it! The blue navigation bars. The tiny advertising boxes. “Quick Poll”. “Select a Channel”. And my favourite: “You are here: SportZing > Sports Spectator.”
This was the Internet before Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and smartphones. “Going online” was something you actually did.
And look at that photograph of Mick Foley and me. The caption says: “I managed to get a shot with him!”
Today we'd probably take 20 selfies, post them immediately, tag him, upload a Reel and do a TikTok. Back then, one photograph was enough.
And I suddenly realised something while looking at this: I was already doing digital journalism before we even called it digital journalism.
26 years later, I'm still writing. And I still have these old articles tucked away.
What a treasure trove.
A little piece of my younger self... and a little time capsule of the Internet.
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