A sock puppet from one man’s crotch to another’s mouth is what Mick Foley considers a good time.

In fact, it’s the twisted WWE wrestler’s signature move.

Prior to each of his matches, Foley conceals a sock puppet named Mr. Socko in his pants, and waits until his opponent seems vulnerable enough to be subjected to this finisher. Once opportunity arises, Foley removes the sock from the crotch of his pants, puts his hand through it, forces the puppet into the mouth of his opponent and pulls down on the victim’s jaw until he can take no more of the disgusting humiliation.

More often than not, the move brings his opponents to their knees and fans to their feet.

On Sunday, Foley will take a break from his wrestling schedule to visit Syracuse University to speak at Goldstein Auditorium at 8 p.m. and share some tales from his storied wrestling career.

Foley attended the State University of New York at Cortland and began wrestling professionally under his real name in 1985. However, he rose to fame in 1996 for his portrayal of the characters Mankind, Cactus Jack and Dude Love when he joined what would become World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Foley, a three-time former WWE World Champion, eight-time former WWE Tag Team Champion and a former WWE Hardcore Champion, appeared in the ring at last weekend’s WWE Wrestlemania XX on Pay-Per-View.

‘I used to be obsessed with wrestling,’ said Matt Blitz, a sophomore television, radio and film major. ‘Then I realized that it’s nothing more than glorified soap operas for males. But I would actually like to go see him.’

Few students even know about the show. Foley’s appearance, which has been booked since February, was not highly promoted until last week. The University Union Speakers board admits that the advertising was subpar, but still expects a large crowd for the speech.

‘It’s been getting talked up a lot recently,’ said Dennis Jacobs, chairman of UU Speakers. ‘We’re relying heavily on the wrestling community.’

Foley’s talk, Jacobs said, should cover everything from the wrestling that made him famous to the writing projects in which he is currently involved. He will also cover his philanthropic efforts with injured children and his humble beginnings on Long Island and in Central New York.

‘The idea for Mick came last semester,’ Jacobs said. ‘One of our booking agents said his speech at another college went over very well.’

Though most widely known for his work inside wrestling rings, Foley has achieved success in his out-of-the-ring careers

‘He supposedly wrote a fiction book that has nothing to do with him, so I’m curious as to what he’s going to say,’ said Clayton Houck, a sophomore biology major. ‘It’s not even about wrestling.’

His foray into literature has spawned two autobiographies, ‘Have a Nice Day’ and ‘Foley is Good,’ as well as a fiction novel entitled ‘Tietam Brown’ and two children’s books, ‘Mick Foley’s Christmas Chaos’ and ‘Mick Foley’s Halloween High Jinx.’ Foley, who doesn’t own a computer, wrote each of these books freehand prior to turning them over to his editors and publishers.

Tickets cost $3 for SU students and $5 for the general public. Following the speech, there will be a question-and-answer session for fans to become better acquainted with the WWE wrestling superstar.

‘I don’t know what he’s going to talk about,’ Houck said. ‘He’s kind of an odd guy. That’s why I’d want to go see him, to see what he’d say.’

Published on March 18, 2004 at 12:00 pm