Fans flock to Clearwater's Hogan's Hangout after wrestling star's death
Then they saw the news on Facebook. Hulk Hogan, the charismatic wrestler they'd grown up rooting for, had died that morning.
Why it matters: Like scores of Hogan fans on Thursday, they flocked to Hogan's Hangout, the WWE Hall of Famer's restaurant and bar on Clearwater Beach.
"It feels right to be here," Mary Walters, 53, said while thumbing through T-shirts printed with cartoon versions of Hogan, right arm curled, left arm stretched in front of him.
The big picture: Outside, passersby snapped photos in front of the shop while news crews gathered footage of the most visible footprint of Hogan's influence on Tampa Bay.
Inside, tees, tank tops and beer steins with curled bicep handles flew off the shelves while Rick Derringer's "Real American" — one of Hogan's go-to entrance songs — played over the speakers.
What they're saying: "He was like a little hero as a kid," said Josh Gunter, 43, who grew up in Arizona watching nothing but wrestling stars like Hogan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Jake "the Snake" Roberts battle it out on TV.
Gunter and his friend Dominic Barraza, 31, were crossing the road toward Hogan's shop when a buddy texted him the news.
"Wtf I am in Florida right now and just passed his store!!!!" Gunter replied. They stopped in so Gunter could buy a red durag, à la Hogan, which surprisingly wasn't a merch offering.
Zoom out: A couple of tables over, the Robers awaited a couple of Kona Big Waves with their own souvenirs tucked inside a plastic bag.
Hogan had seemed so healthy, so energetic when he was campaigning for President Trump last year, Kerri Robers, 51, said.
She ticked off the string of celebrity deaths this week: first, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Theodore Huxtable in "The Cosby Show," then Ozzy Osbourne, and now this.
The bottom line: "Our generation lost a huge chunk of our childhood," she said.
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