posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 7:04 PM by mike.hlas

Wrestling: Nothing Like It

I was in Iowa City Saturday night for the Oklahoma State-Iowa wrestling meet. They are the two programs that have won the most national titles in the sport.

Oklahoma State won, 19-14. It was a mild upset, maybe not one at all when you looked at the matchups before the meet. Based on individual rankings, the teams looked equal.

What doesn't change is wrestlers and wrestling coaches are about the most enjoyable interview subjects in all of sports. They say what they think, without filters. They all seem to feel the truth will set them free. There's no politics or political correctness. You'll find few athletes in other sports who place as much blame and criticism on themselves as wrestlers. They're in a pseudo-team sport, but they're rugged individuals who know no one else can bail them out during a match.

Iowa Coach Tom Brands would neither make excuses or listen to possible excuses from others after Saturday's meet. Excuses have about the same shelf life as passivity in his wrestling room. Ditto Oklahoma State's, Iowa State's, and so many others.

You show up, you keep pushing and attacking, and you get it done, or else you get beaten and broken. It's not for the faint of heart, and it's certainly not for everyone. But it's 100 percent honest, and I look forward to seeing more before this season is done.
  |    Login or Join to Post Comments

Comments

# re: Wrestling: Nothing Like It

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 2:29 PM by oldwrestler
Pretty good comments Mike. Nice to find that you find it refreshing. But as you mention, kind of hard to hide out there on the mat and just as hard to make excuses. Like a great one I konw says don't step on the mat unless you are ready to wrestle. You are also dead-on as to whether OSU's win was an upset, at least to any truly knowledgable wrestling fan. Iowa didn't match up well against the Okie's individually, and while many may blame Perry's loss for this, we also won a few matchup that were not likely wins either. Unfortunately, while they wrestled well agasint some pretty darn good people you didn't get to see the best of some of these kids. I hope and believe that you will get the chance to see better performances from all yet this year and into future years. What a lot of people should also remember is that most of those other guys have been at the sport just as long as anyone we put out there and as wrestlers they have their own pride and work ethic too. Its all about taking it to a higher level, beyond what you've ever done or ever thought you could do. As with any sport, that's why we have em compete and we keep score instead of just electing champions. Just wish we would have given you the chance to see what kind of noise and energy that 14,500 wrestling fans can produce in the arena. The only place(look up the numbers I dare you) anywhere in the nation that a kid in the sport will ever have the chance to wrestling in front of that many people who are all personally charged up, and excited about about your individual match. What a hoot! And what a rare treat for kid in a sport that traditionally toils in relative obscurity. Only in Iowa baby, and only in U of I country.