Mexican wrestling is the best form of entertainment in the world. Period.
Okay, that’s a tad hyperbolic. But I’ve attended nine matches in less than two years. For someone with no previous connection to the sport that’s a lot.
There’s something about Lucha Libre that fascinates me. I never played hockey (bad Canadian), I don’t like to run, and I probably couldn’t name five NBA teams if I tried. But seeing a guy throw himself off the ropes, wrap around his opponent, and start spinning like a propeller is riveting.
It’s also the best value for money you’re going to find.
And somehow, I'm now going to mention cloud services. I’ve been writing a lot over the last few weeks about cloud migration and the risks it entails. There are a number of things to take into consideration: security risks, the potential for file corruption, and – most important – costs. Sitting in the arena this past Friday, watching grown men get thrown headfirst into turnbuckles, I started thinking about cost-benefit analysis.
A Little History
The cost-benefit of Mexican wrestling is hard to argue. In Mexico, lucha libre is the second most popular sport after soccer.
A form of lucha libre dates back to the Mexican revolution, but the sport didn’t fully take shape until the early 1930s. A man named Salvador Lutteroth González was working in El Paso, Texas and became fascinated with the American wrestling and its colorful personalities. He decided to bring the sport back to his home country.
The tradition remains strong today, with the técnico (good guys) and the crudos (bad guys) battling it out almost nightly to a packed audience in Arena México. (Just for the record: I know it’s “fake.” But I prefer to think of it as choreographed. Like a gymnastics floor routine. And there’s nothing like seeing a luchador have his mask removed in front of thousands of screaming people.)
There really is nothing like it. And bang-for-your-buck, it’s the best form of entertainment I can think of. The most expensive tickets cost 466 pesos. That’s about US$25. I dare you to find front row seats to anything as exciting for less money than that.
The Price Of Admission
Making sure we get the best value for our money is a constant struggle whether it's at an arena or in front of a screen. But finding value is never as easy as walking up to the ticket booth and laying down your pesos. Take cloud storage for instance. Sure, the published price (price per gigabyte) always looks attractive. But some providers charge extra for additional services.
Things like bandwidth usage and transactions-per-month can add up. These prices will always be laid out in the contract, but it’s important to make sure you budget for these costs.
Take Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure for instance. They charge for transaction requests like GET, PUT, POST, LIST, DELETE, and others. Companies like Rackspace do not. At least I think they don't...
Cloud Storage vs. The Zombies?
According to many people, the greatest luchador (wrestler) of all time was El Santo. Santo made his first appearance in 1942. And while masks were part of lucha libre since its inception, Santo was the first one to capitalize on the imagery and use it to cultivate his mysterious identity. Santo became so popular he’s often considered a folk hero and went on to star in some pretty great movies. (I’ll direct your attention to the classic El Santo Contra Los Zombies, or “El Santo vs. The Zombies.”)
Companies of all sizes are moving to the cloud every day, and solutions providers are falling over each other to get into the ring. Different providers offer different options and finding the best fit falls to the customer. The good thing is, none of these IT providers are hiding behind a mask. All the information is there to help you make an informed decision.
When you walk into the arena before a lucha libre match, the ticket vendors will pass you a handbill with all the information about who’s fighting. It’s a helpful aid before deciding to make a run to buy beer or head to the bathroom. Being informed helps you make better decisions.
When it comes to cloud solutions providers we may never have the equivalent of El Santo. But there are plenty of companies offering up their services and it ultimately comes down to finding the right fit.
No matter who you choose it will never be as good as Mexican wrestling.
