Former wrestler speaks to crowd of 1,000 at Promise Keepers rally

On a night when they could have been at home watching NCAA basketball, hundreds of men chose instead to engage their religious side.

About 1,000 people turned out for the annual Heartland Promise Keepers rally Saturday night at the Osage Community Centre to hear Steve Borden, better known as the makeup-covered wrestler Sting, talk about his own religious breakthrough.

Spreading their message

This was the third year for the event. The Heartland Promise Keepers is a Cape Girardeau-based chapter of the international men's Christian organization. The local chapter is made up of 20 men, but they organize this annual event with the hopes of spreading their message to the larger population.

Promise Keepers member Greg Leet said the turnout was due to the fame of Bordan's wrestling personality.

"I just think it's the notoriety he has," said Leet. "And the fact that even though he's in the limelight he faced the same problems that men do in general."

Marc Harris, another Promise Keepers member, set the tone of the night by giving a testimony telling the men present to be good husbands and fathers, a key tenet of the organization's message.

When Borden took the stage his message was the same. Borden had an example to show men what they shouldn't be -- his own life before he had a religious conversion to Christianity.

"My biggest match ... was against God," Borden said.

The famous wrestler looked like an everyman, much different than his violent, black-clad wrestling persona. He quickly connected with the crowd with humorous stories about fellow wrestler The Ultimate Warrior and his affinity for Waffle House.

Out of control

But Borden's message was serious. He recounted how he became addicted to painkillers and alcohol while on the road. His cheating on his wife and the lies he told to cover that up made Borden turn to drugs, and soon his marriage began to fall apart.

"Eventually, because of all the lies, I couldn't sleep at night," Borden said. "That's when I turned to painkillers. I could finally relax."

Things began to spiral out of control, he said.

"The popularity was growing ... the pill intake was growing ... the money was growing," Borden said.

Borden said he finally had to reach a breakdown before his true religious conversion could take place. After the conversion, said Borden, his serious problems were over, and his deceptive behavior ended.

Borden's self-described match against God ended, he said. And in keeping with the message of the Keepers, he encouraged all the men in attendance to do as he had done, if they hadn't already.

msanders@semissourian.com

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