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Mark Melancon, a depressed dog, and...Billy Corgan?

Sometimes the strangest friendships come at unexpected times, perhaps even tonight...tonight...

It was in 2001 when Mark Melancon first met Billy Corgan. Mark was 16 years of age, and a promising young pitcher at Golden High School in Colorado, but was also navigating adolescence at the time, as we all do at that age. Mark wasn’t unlike any other teen growing up at the turn of the century — he had a flair for the outrageous and a love for alternative rock music. Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, was in a period of transition of his own. The band had gone on hiatus just a few short months before, and he would soon delve into the world of professional wrestling.