In four years of following Binghamton University’s various athletic programs, I’ve seen overhead smashes, cross-court kills and even gratuitous blood (you’re the man, Bryan Arnault), but nothing can compare to the experience I had Sunday night.

I get all kinds of crap from my college comrades for being a fan of World Wrestling Entertainment, but this past weekend at the Broome County Arena, I made a few thousand new friends ‘ friends who know the truth about pro wrestling.

Fans young and old alike ‘ with a few college students, like me, in the gray area somewhere in between ‘ cheered in unison for the superstars of Smackdown and ECW as they put on a memorable house show right in front of our eyes.

From my second-row seat (hey, there have to be SOME perks to being a low-income, publicly-despised reporter), I oohed, aahed, booed and ‘woo’-ed at the larger-than-life television stars I’ve come to love.

The event wasn’t televised ‘ both TV shows are taped on Tuesday nights ‘ but I beg the question: how many fans of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (which, for your information, is also fake) get to see live surgery performed at the local arena? How many ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ahem, fake) groupies get to sit five feet from Eva Longoria as she seduces the local gardener?

The company’s television products are one thing, keeping me and millions of others glued to the tube every Monday, Tuesday and Friday night, but the WWE’s worldwide tours are what make the company so special. Bringing the product, albeit a sometimes watered-down version (no Undertaker?!), to local communities allows fans from across the globe to enjoy the product close up.

We were last treated to a WWE show in Binghamton in late December of 2005, but the last WWE performance I attended was a ‘Supershow’ at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey last summer, where both Raw and Smackdown put on performances for television (Raw live, Smackdown taped).

Is such a lucrative television taping next on the docket for the Southern Tier? Realists would say no way, calling me a (Tommy) Dreamer; with the limited size of the Broome County Arena, it’s highly unlikely that either brand would be willing to have a televised event from Binghamton.

(A college setting, however, isn’t out of the question; Raw last night was live from State College, Pa., home of Penn State University.)

But if the Southern Tier wants to continue its vaunted economic expansion, they’d be remiss to not try bringing Vince McMahon and his niche company back to the local area as often as possible.

Personally, I can only hope for a quick return; too long a hiatus, and I might be the next ‘Heart-Break Kid.’