The Math Librarian cuts his most famous promo

Holy shit -- Mike "The Math Librarian" Martelle is on the new Bret "The Hitman" Hart DVD!

A friend of mine at work lent me a pirated copy to watch (although I coincidentally bought one as a Christmas gift for my nephew, who now has one extra reason he'd better not be reading this blog), and I just got up to the infamous Montréal Screwjob at the 1997 Survivor Series. Mike, Scott (who pops his head up here on occasion), and I were there for that, having made the road trip from Kingston. Immediately after the show, before we went outside and saw a pissed-off-looking Bret leave in his limo, we noticed a camera crew interviewing fans, and Mike stopped to cut a short but well-spoken interview. We always wondered whatever happened to the footage, as it was pretty eloquent and yet we never saw it used in any of the "fan reaction" parts of any of the documentary coverage of the incident.

Well, it stayed in the can for eight years until it was used at 1:41:56 of the DVD. Mike's voice cuts in right as Vince McMahon wipes his eye after Bret spits on him, and then the camera cuts to Mike, with Scott standing behind him, grimly holding up a makeshift sign of a Canadian flag.

"Survivor Series was awful. I can't believe that the Harts lost. It's a conspiracy," Mike says. It briefly cuts to another interview with a French guy who looks like Matthew Lillard and seems to be making the same point, then back to Mike. "It's horrible. Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. We will always love you, Bret."

I had to risk making his wife hate me more than she already does by calling him after midnight. I played him the footage, and he sort of recognized it and wondered where I'd gotten it. When he found out it was from the new DVD, he was over the moon with excitement, and so am I. I am so very proud of Mike, and to a lesser degree, Scott. A shining moment in the history of Beta Flight.