You can be a tough 125 pound kid from a small town in Illinois.
Or a tough 124 pound girl from New York City.
You can outwork your opponents.
Or you can out dazzle them.
You can be blind.
You can be missing a leg.
Or two.
You can come out of retirement after coaching your team to an NCAA title.
You can come from Mongolia to win 3 NCAA Division III championships for St Johns University in Minnesota.
Or come from Del City, Oklahoma to win 6 Olympic and World gold medals for your country.
You can walk off the mat and get elected to the Senate - or write best selling novels - or save millions from starvation - or fly in space - or lead Fortune 500 corporations. You can even be president of the United States.
Wrestling - the sport of opportunity.
Showing posts with label john smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john smith. Show all posts
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Monday, July 26, 2010
Do gold medals really matter anymore?
John Smith won two NCAA titles at Oklahoma State and then went on to win 2 Olympic Gold Medals and four freestyle World Championships. Dan Gable also won two NCAA championships while wrestling for the Iowa State Cyclones. Gable’s post-graduate freestyle career includes a Pan American Games title, the 1971 World Championship, the championship at the 1972 Tbilisi tournament and the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal. Bruce Baumgartner, too, was an NCAA champion while wrestling at Indiana State. In his storied freestyle career he accumulated more Olympic and World hardware than some entire countries have won.
For decades America’s best college wrestlers successfully transitioned from intercollegiate competition to the international stage. Glen Brand, Bill Smith, Doug Blubaugh, Tom Brands and countless others advanced from NCAA championship trophies to Olympic gold. And then – as if to keep the chain unbroken – many of them went in to coaching and trained the next generations of international freestyle champions.
At least to this fan, the chain seems to be weakening.
I like to watch all forms of wrestling and freestyle is no exception. But FILA, the international governing body of amateur wrestling, has changed freestyle rules so drastically in the last ten years that modern freestyle bears far less resemblance to American folkstyle wrestling than in years past. Do these changes contribute to the seeming American decline? I think so.
It’s not just that we wrestle a different style in America, it’s also that our organizational structure is different. The United States is one of very few countries in the world (Canada might be another) where kids get most of their wrestling opportunities within our schools – and American schools are almost inextricably tied to folkstyle wrestling. Most of the world’s wrestling powers develop their athletes through a “club” type system. Some of them may be privately funded and others government run, but this formula allows them to more freely adapt to changes in freestyle.
Here in the US our kids spend thousands of hours working toward winning first a city middle school tournament, and then a high school state championship and finally an NCAA crown – all in our prevalent “national” style. The most dedicated of those will spend a couple of “offseason” months competing in freestyle and/or Greco Roman wrestling. Thanks to USA Wrestling and Jason Bryant I just finished watching more hours than I should have of the Cadet and Junior Freestyle Championships in Fargo. By and large it was very entertaining wrestling, but I’m willing to bet that there are at least a half dozen 17-year-old kids in each of the former Soviet republics that could easily handle most, if not all, of out Junior Champions in freestyle competition. The number one reason is simple – those kids devote their entire lives to freestyle wrestling.
The disparity doesn’t disappear at the elite level. Our best wrestlers will have prepared for years to win an NCAA championship – or two – or three - and then at age 22 or 23 switch to a style where their opponents have a 10 – 15 year head start on them.
There are those who say the answer is simple – convert American interscholastic and intercollegiate wrestling to freestlye. If our primary goal for wrestling is to win more international medals that might be the answer. But what if our goal is to expose more kids to the intrinsic value of wrestling? Does a change in styles help there? I’m not sure – but I suspect not. It’s not that I think young athletes would naturally prefer folkstyle to freestyle. That defies logic. The difficulty would come at the teaching/coaching level. I fear that we would have too may coaches who, brought up completely in folkstyle, would lose their enthusiasm for the sport – and without motivated teachers we would see a drop in participation.
There is no rule that says a young American wrestler must follow the traditional path to Olympic glory. The recent improvement in American Greco-Roman wrestling may be due, in part, to more young athlete’s foregoing a college career to focus on their GR training. Let’s also not forget that America’s only freestyle gold medallist in Beijing, Henry Cejudo, opted to go directly from his high school graduation to the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Now there’s a new factor in the equation – Mixed Martial Arts. An international freestyle career has never been a gateway to great wealth for American competitors. Traditionally, the top athletes have earned a small stipend from USA Wrestling and supplemented their incomes with college assistant coaching jobs. The latter again brings the style conflict into play as they sacrifice their own freestyle training time to teach better folkstyle techniques to younger athletes.
Increasingly, graduating wrestlers are lured away from the sport by the potential for big money in MMA, where the top stars can earn six figures per bout. Former Oklahoma State Cowboy stars Jake Rosholt and Johnny Hendricks were among the first to eschew international wrestling competition and move quickly into MMA fighting. 2010 graduates Lance Palmer of Ohio State and Missouri’s Mark Ellis both recently announced upcoming forays into mixed martial arts. Will this trend continue and how will it impact the future of American wrestling?
Many MMA fans believe that the growth in “ultimate fighting” will only help wrestling when young grapplers see the potential for future wealth battling in the octagon. I’m not sure that I believe that premise. Look at baseball where even journeyman players are millionaires. Yet, participation in Little League has dropped 13% since 1997.
Do we, as fans, really care what happens on the international stage? Unfortunately, I suspect that the answer is that fewer and fewer of us do. If you are among those who do, there is a way to help our top freestyle, Greco-Roman and women wrestlers. The Living the Dream Fund was created to provide cash rewards for medal winners at the World Championship and Olympic competition. An American gold medallist in Moscow in September will receive $50,000 from the fund, while a silver medal is worth $25,000 and a bronze will net $15,000. You can contribute online at the Living the Dream website. You'll be strengthening American wrestling.
For decades America’s best college wrestlers successfully transitioned from intercollegiate competition to the international stage. Glen Brand, Bill Smith, Doug Blubaugh, Tom Brands and countless others advanced from NCAA championship trophies to Olympic gold. And then – as if to keep the chain unbroken – many of them went in to coaching and trained the next generations of international freestyle champions.
At least to this fan, the chain seems to be weakening.
I like to watch all forms of wrestling and freestyle is no exception. But FILA, the international governing body of amateur wrestling, has changed freestyle rules so drastically in the last ten years that modern freestyle bears far less resemblance to American folkstyle wrestling than in years past. Do these changes contribute to the seeming American decline? I think so.
It’s not just that we wrestle a different style in America, it’s also that our organizational structure is different. The United States is one of very few countries in the world (Canada might be another) where kids get most of their wrestling opportunities within our schools – and American schools are almost inextricably tied to folkstyle wrestling. Most of the world’s wrestling powers develop their athletes through a “club” type system. Some of them may be privately funded and others government run, but this formula allows them to more freely adapt to changes in freestyle.
Here in the US our kids spend thousands of hours working toward winning first a city middle school tournament, and then a high school state championship and finally an NCAA crown – all in our prevalent “national” style. The most dedicated of those will spend a couple of “offseason” months competing in freestyle and/or Greco Roman wrestling. Thanks to USA Wrestling and Jason Bryant I just finished watching more hours than I should have of the Cadet and Junior Freestyle Championships in Fargo. By and large it was very entertaining wrestling, but I’m willing to bet that there are at least a half dozen 17-year-old kids in each of the former Soviet republics that could easily handle most, if not all, of out Junior Champions in freestyle competition. The number one reason is simple – those kids devote their entire lives to freestyle wrestling.
The disparity doesn’t disappear at the elite level. Our best wrestlers will have prepared for years to win an NCAA championship – or two – or three - and then at age 22 or 23 switch to a style where their opponents have a 10 – 15 year head start on them.
There are those who say the answer is simple – convert American interscholastic and intercollegiate wrestling to freestlye. If our primary goal for wrestling is to win more international medals that might be the answer. But what if our goal is to expose more kids to the intrinsic value of wrestling? Does a change in styles help there? I’m not sure – but I suspect not. It’s not that I think young athletes would naturally prefer folkstyle to freestyle. That defies logic. The difficulty would come at the teaching/coaching level. I fear that we would have too may coaches who, brought up completely in folkstyle, would lose their enthusiasm for the sport – and without motivated teachers we would see a drop in participation.
There is no rule that says a young American wrestler must follow the traditional path to Olympic glory. The recent improvement in American Greco-Roman wrestling may be due, in part, to more young athlete’s foregoing a college career to focus on their GR training. Let’s also not forget that America’s only freestyle gold medallist in Beijing, Henry Cejudo, opted to go directly from his high school graduation to the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Now there’s a new factor in the equation – Mixed Martial Arts. An international freestyle career has never been a gateway to great wealth for American competitors. Traditionally, the top athletes have earned a small stipend from USA Wrestling and supplemented their incomes with college assistant coaching jobs. The latter again brings the style conflict into play as they sacrifice their own freestyle training time to teach better folkstyle techniques to younger athletes.
Increasingly, graduating wrestlers are lured away from the sport by the potential for big money in MMA, where the top stars can earn six figures per bout. Former Oklahoma State Cowboy stars Jake Rosholt and Johnny Hendricks were among the first to eschew international wrestling competition and move quickly into MMA fighting. 2010 graduates Lance Palmer of Ohio State and Missouri’s Mark Ellis both recently announced upcoming forays into mixed martial arts. Will this trend continue and how will it impact the future of American wrestling?
Many MMA fans believe that the growth in “ultimate fighting” will only help wrestling when young grapplers see the potential for future wealth battling in the octagon. I’m not sure that I believe that premise. Look at baseball where even journeyman players are millionaires. Yet, participation in Little League has dropped 13% since 1997.
Do we, as fans, really care what happens on the international stage? Unfortunately, I suspect that the answer is that fewer and fewer of us do. If you are among those who do, there is a way to help our top freestyle, Greco-Roman and women wrestlers. The Living the Dream Fund was created to provide cash rewards for medal winners at the World Championship and Olympic competition. An American gold medallist in Moscow in September will receive $50,000 from the fund, while a silver medal is worth $25,000 and a bronze will net $15,000. You can contribute online at the Living the Dream website. You'll be strengthening American wrestling.
Monday, January 18, 2010
You shoulda been there
You shoulda been there - Saturday night – Carver Hawkeye Arena Iowa vs. Oklahoma State.
You shoulda been there for the history. When the Cowboys come to town it’s a major event. There’s no question that these are the two greatest programs in college wrestling history. The fans of each school love to debate the significance of their respective accomplishments. Cowboy fans like to point out that Ed Gallagher practically invented college wrestling, while those in the black and gold avow that Dan Gable re-invented it with the “Iowa Style”. No matter which side you’re on there’s no denying that when OSU comes to Iowa City there’s more Olympic and World Championship hardware in the building than some countries have amassed in the modern era of freestyle wrestling.
You shoulda been there for the fashion. From John Smith’s usual sartorial splendor to a guy in a gorilla suit, singlet and headgear to Royce Alger’s boots and cowboy hat – it was all there.
You shoulda been there for the ice cream. We took out a second mortgage on our house and then stood in line for twenty minutes to buy the favorite confection in CHA.
You shoulda been there for the noise. No – not the incessant pre-recorded, overloud rock anthems that seem to now be inseparable from any athletic event – I mean the crowd noise. Say what you will about Hawkeye fans – love us or hate us – we can make a racket. It always thrills me to see a young wrestler rewarded for an outstanding performance by the roar that only ever seems to happen in Carver. Montell Marion got his first taste of an ecstatic Hawkeye crowd Saturday night.
You shoulda been there for the kids. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you know that I am obsessed with getting more kids on the mat. Saturday, the University of Iowa did one of those little things that helps grow the sport – they held a youth clinic before the meet. I know – lots of schools do that – and lots of schools give away tee-shirts to the attendees. It’s their last experience that may stand to inspire them as they journey through their wrestling careers. Many of them got to form a golden human tunnel through which the Hawkeyes entered. Just imagine that you’re ten years old, the lights go down, the fight song comes up and 11,000 fans jump to their feet and roar as Brent Metcalf runs by you. It’s something they’ll always remember.
You shoulda been there for the wrestling. Here comes that debate again. Fans of each school look disparagingly upon the wrestling “style” of the other. To Cowboy fans, Iowa wrestlers are “thugs” who just push and bully. The Hawkeye faithful believe that “track shoes” are a more appropriate footwear for the grapplers from Stillwater than are a pair of Asics Rulons. This argument has been going on for years and will continue to do so – probably for the rest of my life. No less of an authority than Ray Brinzer (one of only two wrestlers to compete for both schools) wrote about the “style” difference in WIN Magazine in 1996 and then posted it to his blog in 2005. Depending upon your viewpoint, Saturday you got to see either the worst or the best of the other’s philosophy. Each team won five matches, but Matt McDonough, Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel scored enough bonus points to carry the day for the Hawks.
Yesterday, as I sat on my favorite perch at my favorite watering hole, I met another wrestling fan. He lives in Marion so he asked me at great length about the performances of the hometown “boys”, McDonough and Borschel. I described the matches for him, but closed with, “You shoulda been there.”
You shoulda been there for the history. When the Cowboys come to town it’s a major event. There’s no question that these are the two greatest programs in college wrestling history. The fans of each school love to debate the significance of their respective accomplishments. Cowboy fans like to point out that Ed Gallagher practically invented college wrestling, while those in the black and gold avow that Dan Gable re-invented it with the “Iowa Style”. No matter which side you’re on there’s no denying that when OSU comes to Iowa City there’s more Olympic and World Championship hardware in the building than some countries have amassed in the modern era of freestyle wrestling.
You shoulda been there for the fashion. From John Smith’s usual sartorial splendor to a guy in a gorilla suit, singlet and headgear to Royce Alger’s boots and cowboy hat – it was all there.
You shoulda been there for the ice cream. We took out a second mortgage on our house and then stood in line for twenty minutes to buy the favorite confection in CHA.
You shoulda been there for the noise. No – not the incessant pre-recorded, overloud rock anthems that seem to now be inseparable from any athletic event – I mean the crowd noise. Say what you will about Hawkeye fans – love us or hate us – we can make a racket. It always thrills me to see a young wrestler rewarded for an outstanding performance by the roar that only ever seems to happen in Carver. Montell Marion got his first taste of an ecstatic Hawkeye crowd Saturday night.
You shoulda been there for the kids. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you know that I am obsessed with getting more kids on the mat. Saturday, the University of Iowa did one of those little things that helps grow the sport – they held a youth clinic before the meet. I know – lots of schools do that – and lots of schools give away tee-shirts to the attendees. It’s their last experience that may stand to inspire them as they journey through their wrestling careers. Many of them got to form a golden human tunnel through which the Hawkeyes entered. Just imagine that you’re ten years old, the lights go down, the fight song comes up and 11,000 fans jump to their feet and roar as Brent Metcalf runs by you. It’s something they’ll always remember.
You shoulda been there for the wrestling. Here comes that debate again. Fans of each school look disparagingly upon the wrestling “style” of the other. To Cowboy fans, Iowa wrestlers are “thugs” who just push and bully. The Hawkeye faithful believe that “track shoes” are a more appropriate footwear for the grapplers from Stillwater than are a pair of Asics Rulons. This argument has been going on for years and will continue to do so – probably for the rest of my life. No less of an authority than Ray Brinzer (one of only two wrestlers to compete for both schools) wrote about the “style” difference in WIN Magazine in 1996 and then posted it to his blog in 2005. Depending upon your viewpoint, Saturday you got to see either the worst or the best of the other’s philosophy. Each team won five matches, but Matt McDonough, Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel scored enough bonus points to carry the day for the Hawks.
Yesterday, as I sat on my favorite perch at my favorite watering hole, I met another wrestling fan. He lives in Marion so he asked me at great length about the performances of the hometown “boys”, McDonough and Borschel. I described the matches for him, but closed with, “You shoulda been there.”
Monday, January 11, 2010
Finding the next Gable - or Smith - or Borlaug
It’s time to come clean. I’ve lied in this blog for two and a half years. I’ve always claimed that I never wrestled and that isn’t entirely true. I did win an 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L. Smart Junior High School. In 1963 every boy in Davenport, IA (it was a sexist world) was introduced to wrestling in some way. There were instructional units in our PE classes where we were taught the basics of the single leg takedown, the sitout and the half nelson. At the end of the unit the teacher would organize an intramural tournament and we were encouraged to enter.
At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.
Long before I, or Dan Gable or the Smiths were born a kid named Norman Borlaug stepped on the mat in Cresco, IA. After his wrestling career at the University of Minnesota, he, too, made a choice – to go an to graduate school and earn a masters degree and PHD in plant pathology. His lifetime of food production research saved millions of people around the world from starvation and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dr. Borlaug said of his wrestling background, “Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons. I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough (my emphasis). Many times I drew on that strength.”
So – what’s the one common thread running threw Dr. Borlaug, Dan Gable, John Smith and me? We were all exposed to wrestling at an early age. We may have all taken divergent paths – but we all had the opportunity to learn the values of wrestling. I’m not sure that enough of today’s youth gets that opportunity.
What’s the answer? I don’t know – but here’s what I’m trying. I must begin by saying that I love NCAA Division III wrestling. Those guys really “get after it”. I’ve attended a few NCAA Division III Championships and the Saturday morning session might be my favorite part of that event. Everyone wrestling then is already an All-American and is battling to determine his spot on the podium. I’ll see more throws, reversals to pins – in general more excitement – in that one session than I might see in a whole season of Hawkeye dual meets. I know that the skill levels are different – but boy do I love watching DIII wrestlers.
What if kids who are new to wrestling got to see all of that fun and action? Would a few of them step on the mat for the first time? Would some of them get motivated enough to stick with the sport when it gets tough? I don’t know – but I’m hoping to find out. I’m raising enough money ($10,000) to buy 1,000 tickets to the Saturday, March 6, 2010 morning session of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA and giving them away to kids.
The tickets will go to a variety of kids. Many will be reserved for students at flood impacted elementary and middle schools in Cedar Rapids. Local youth organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs will also get some. Most will probably go to youth wrestling clubs. There is no geographical preference for the wrestling clubs – if you want to bring a group to Cedar Rapids, just let me know.
So far, support has been encouraging. Corporate pledges have reached over $4,000, including an extremely generous gift of $2,000 from the Cedar Rapids Marriott. When wrestling writer KJ Pilcher published an article about the project in the Cedar Rapids Gazette just before Christmas, I got another $600 in pledges in three days. Cornell College has allowed me to raise money on-site at wrestling events. To date a total of about $5,600 has come in.
Some folks have suggested that I should be happy with what has already been accomplished. That’s like suggesting that Gable should have been satisfied with two NCAA titles after the loss to Owings or telling John Smith that a couple of international championships are enough for any man. I won’t stop until we get 1,000 kids in that arena – and I may not stop then.
So, dear readers, I am asking you to help. Several of you already have and to those I offer my heartfelt thanks. But – there’s still work to be done. Will you who haven’t yet contributed join this elite group of fans?
If you want to make a pledge today email me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com. I’ll collect on your pledge in a couple of weeks when tickets actually go on sale. If you want to just write a check now, please make it to, “Tickets for Kids” and send it to:
“Tickets for Kids”
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936.
Your donation may just be the one that puts the next Gable or Smith or Borlaug on the mat.
Thank you,
Jim
PS If you have a group of kids that would like tickets, please email me.
At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.
Long before I, or Dan Gable or the Smiths were born a kid named Norman Borlaug stepped on the mat in Cresco, IA. After his wrestling career at the University of Minnesota, he, too, made a choice – to go an to graduate school and earn a masters degree and PHD in plant pathology. His lifetime of food production research saved millions of people around the world from starvation and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dr. Borlaug said of his wrestling background, “Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons. I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough (my emphasis). Many times I drew on that strength.”
So – what’s the one common thread running threw Dr. Borlaug, Dan Gable, John Smith and me? We were all exposed to wrestling at an early age. We may have all taken divergent paths – but we all had the opportunity to learn the values of wrestling. I’m not sure that enough of today’s youth gets that opportunity.
What’s the answer? I don’t know – but here’s what I’m trying. I must begin by saying that I love NCAA Division III wrestling. Those guys really “get after it”. I’ve attended a few NCAA Division III Championships and the Saturday morning session might be my favorite part of that event. Everyone wrestling then is already an All-American and is battling to determine his spot on the podium. I’ll see more throws, reversals to pins – in general more excitement – in that one session than I might see in a whole season of Hawkeye dual meets. I know that the skill levels are different – but boy do I love watching DIII wrestlers.
What if kids who are new to wrestling got to see all of that fun and action? Would a few of them step on the mat for the first time? Would some of them get motivated enough to stick with the sport when it gets tough? I don’t know – but I’m hoping to find out. I’m raising enough money ($10,000) to buy 1,000 tickets to the Saturday, March 6, 2010 morning session of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA and giving them away to kids.
The tickets will go to a variety of kids. Many will be reserved for students at flood impacted elementary and middle schools in Cedar Rapids. Local youth organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs will also get some. Most will probably go to youth wrestling clubs. There is no geographical preference for the wrestling clubs – if you want to bring a group to Cedar Rapids, just let me know.
So far, support has been encouraging. Corporate pledges have reached over $4,000, including an extremely generous gift of $2,000 from the Cedar Rapids Marriott. When wrestling writer KJ Pilcher published an article about the project in the Cedar Rapids Gazette just before Christmas, I got another $600 in pledges in three days. Cornell College has allowed me to raise money on-site at wrestling events. To date a total of about $5,600 has come in.
Some folks have suggested that I should be happy with what has already been accomplished. That’s like suggesting that Gable should have been satisfied with two NCAA titles after the loss to Owings or telling John Smith that a couple of international championships are enough for any man. I won’t stop until we get 1,000 kids in that arena – and I may not stop then.
So, dear readers, I am asking you to help. Several of you already have and to those I offer my heartfelt thanks. But – there’s still work to be done. Will you who haven’t yet contributed join this elite group of fans?
If you want to make a pledge today email me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com. I’ll collect on your pledge in a couple of weeks when tickets actually go on sale. If you want to just write a check now, please make it to, “Tickets for Kids” and send it to:
“Tickets for Kids”
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936.
Your donation may just be the one that puts the next Gable or Smith or Borlaug on the mat.
Thank you,
Jim
PS If you have a group of kids that would like tickets, please email me.
Monday, November 30, 2009
When 1 meets 2
The anticipation is growing. Number 1 versus number 2 in a contest that won’t determine, but may well influence the outcome of a national championship. No – not Florida and Alabama for the SEC football championship. It’s time again for the annual dual wrestling meet between The University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones – one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. ESPN has included this event on its list of “101 Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die”. If you’re a wrestling fan and have never attended – shame on you.
The meet has somewhat of a different feel this year because former Iowa State coach and Cyclone icon, Cael Sanderson, has moved on to become the head coach at Penn State. Sanderson has been replaced by Kevin Jackson who in his collegiate competitive days transferred to Iowa State after LSU dropped wrestling. His matches with Iowa’s Royce Alger are legendary.
Legend – that’s part of the appeal. Fans on both sides have their favorite moments. For many Cyclone fans it’s Dave Osenbaugh pinning Lou Banach. Fanatics in black and gold favor a similar upset by Brooks Simpson over Eric Voelker. Each was a major upset and each won the meet.
The last three editions have featured newsworthy “extracurricular” aspects. In 2006 Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Dan Gable squared off in a heated debate with Sanderson and his assistant, Tim Hartung. It generated one of the most famous photos in recent years. Then came “the curtain” in 2007. Iowa State athletic director, Jamie Pollard, decided to limit seating by curtaining off thousands of seats. (Note: this will not be done this year.) Last year’s edition brought a new NCAA dual meet attendance record. People traveled from all over the country just to be able to say that they were there that night.
This year’s battle will feature two senior-dominated lineups, but two redshirt freshmen just might provide the highlight bout of the night. Both are three-time Iowa high school champions and both are off to undefeated and dominating starts in their first year of varsity competition. The Cyclones’ Andrew Long is from Creston and the Hawks’ Matt McDonough is from Marion.
For over 30 years Iowa Public Television has broadcast this and dozens of other top quality wrestling meets. Thanks to IPTV we’ve had the chance to see future Olympic and World Champions like Kenny Monday, Kendall Cross, John Smith, Tom and Terry Brands, Randy Lewis, Ed and Lou Banach, Cael Sanderson and Kevin Jackson as collegians. IPTV has used this broadcast as a fund raising event for the past several years. In these days of statewide budget cuts they’ll need your support more than ever. A feature of the telecast has been when Dan Gable gets out his checkbook and writes his check “on air” (by the way – according to IPTV’s public records – he writes a big one).
If you’re one of the 30,000 or 40,000 people watching the telecast – please call and make your pledge. If you’re going to be in Hilton Coliseum for the live action, stop now and send your check to
Friends of IPTV
PO Box 6400
Johnston, IA 50131
Make that number 1 on your agenda.
The meet has somewhat of a different feel this year because former Iowa State coach and Cyclone icon, Cael Sanderson, has moved on to become the head coach at Penn State. Sanderson has been replaced by Kevin Jackson who in his collegiate competitive days transferred to Iowa State after LSU dropped wrestling. His matches with Iowa’s Royce Alger are legendary.
Legend – that’s part of the appeal. Fans on both sides have their favorite moments. For many Cyclone fans it’s Dave Osenbaugh pinning Lou Banach. Fanatics in black and gold favor a similar upset by Brooks Simpson over Eric Voelker. Each was a major upset and each won the meet.
The last three editions have featured newsworthy “extracurricular” aspects. In 2006 Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Dan Gable squared off in a heated debate with Sanderson and his assistant, Tim Hartung. It generated one of the most famous photos in recent years. Then came “the curtain” in 2007. Iowa State athletic director, Jamie Pollard, decided to limit seating by curtaining off thousands of seats. (Note: this will not be done this year.) Last year’s edition brought a new NCAA dual meet attendance record. People traveled from all over the country just to be able to say that they were there that night.
This year’s battle will feature two senior-dominated lineups, but two redshirt freshmen just might provide the highlight bout of the night. Both are three-time Iowa high school champions and both are off to undefeated and dominating starts in their first year of varsity competition. The Cyclones’ Andrew Long is from Creston and the Hawks’ Matt McDonough is from Marion.
For over 30 years Iowa Public Television has broadcast this and dozens of other top quality wrestling meets. Thanks to IPTV we’ve had the chance to see future Olympic and World Champions like Kenny Monday, Kendall Cross, John Smith, Tom and Terry Brands, Randy Lewis, Ed and Lou Banach, Cael Sanderson and Kevin Jackson as collegians. IPTV has used this broadcast as a fund raising event for the past several years. In these days of statewide budget cuts they’ll need your support more than ever. A feature of the telecast has been when Dan Gable gets out his checkbook and writes his check “on air” (by the way – according to IPTV’s public records – he writes a big one).
If you’re one of the 30,000 or 40,000 people watching the telecast – please call and make your pledge. If you’re going to be in Hilton Coliseum for the live action, stop now and send your check to
Friends of IPTV
PO Box 6400
Johnston, IA 50131
Make that number 1 on your agenda.
Monday, August 31, 2009
10 things to do in the next 81 days.
College football season in Iowa begins this week. That can only mean one thing – college wrestling practice will soon begin. Over the past month or so wrestling super-fan, Bill Lahman, has been periodically counting down the days until the season begins. For many, it will start 81 days from now with the Iowa Duals on November 20th.
Some folks are getting pretty restless for a taste of wrestling. Here are ten things you can do in the next 81 days to get ready for the college wrestling season.
1. Clean your wrestling memorabilia. No one likes a dusty Dan Gable autograph.
2. Read a wrestling book or two. I personally recommend A Season on the Mat, Four Days to Glory, Cowboy Up and anything by Mike Chapman, but especially Wrestling Tough.
3. Order season tickets. I ordered mine last week. Buying season tickets is one way every fan can help college wrestling – regardless of school.
4. Watch old match video. You can find lots of wrestling on youtube, flowrestling, The Wrestling Talk and Iowa Public Television.
This isn’t a college match but it certainly is one of my favorites. It features 2 of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport – John Smith and Sergei Beloglazov.
5. Rearrange the wrestling tee shirts in your closet.
6. Subscribe to one of the wrestling magazines. WIN, Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA will add a depth to your appreciation that you can’t always get online.
7. Rent and watch Vision Quest.
8. Visit a wrestling museum. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo are probably the most prominent, but there are others.
9. Follow the US teams at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark September 21 – 27. Current team members Dustin Schlatter, Jake Varner and Tatiana Padilla will all resume college competition after their respective world championship events
10. Make a list of the 10 “greatest, most, worst… and post it on your favorite internet wrestling forum.
Just for fun, here’s one.
The 10 greatest wrestlers to come from Waterloo (IA) West High School
1. Dan Gable
2. Lowell Lange
3. Dale Anderson
4. Mike VanArsdale
5. Dick Hauser
6. John Bowlsby
7. Tom Huff
8. Akeem Carter
9. Doug Moses
10. Leo Thomsen
Some folks are getting pretty restless for a taste of wrestling. Here are ten things you can do in the next 81 days to get ready for the college wrestling season.
1. Clean your wrestling memorabilia. No one likes a dusty Dan Gable autograph.
2. Read a wrestling book or two. I personally recommend A Season on the Mat, Four Days to Glory, Cowboy Up and anything by Mike Chapman, but especially Wrestling Tough.
3. Order season tickets. I ordered mine last week. Buying season tickets is one way every fan can help college wrestling – regardless of school.
4. Watch old match video. You can find lots of wrestling on youtube, flowrestling, The Wrestling Talk and Iowa Public Television.
This isn’t a college match but it certainly is one of my favorites. It features 2 of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport – John Smith and Sergei Beloglazov.
5. Rearrange the wrestling tee shirts in your closet.
6. Subscribe to one of the wrestling magazines. WIN, Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA will add a depth to your appreciation that you can’t always get online.
7. Rent and watch Vision Quest.
8. Visit a wrestling museum. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo are probably the most prominent, but there are others.
9. Follow the US teams at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark September 21 – 27. Current team members Dustin Schlatter, Jake Varner and Tatiana Padilla will all resume college competition after their respective world championship events
10. Make a list of the 10 “greatest, most, worst… and post it on your favorite internet wrestling forum.
Just for fun, here’s one.
The 10 greatest wrestlers to come from Waterloo (IA) West High School
1. Dan Gable
2. Lowell Lange
3. Dale Anderson
4. Mike VanArsdale
5. Dick Hauser
6. John Bowlsby
7. Tom Huff
8. Akeem Carter
9. Doug Moses
10. Leo Thomsen
Monday, December 22, 2008
Dear Santa
Dear Santa,
I’m a wrestling fan. No, not that steroid laden soap opera you see on “Smackdown” – or whatever. I love the “world’s oldest and greatest sport” – the sport of Socrates, Plato and Lincoln (Abraham or McIlravy)… the sport of Gable, Smith and Sanderson.
I know it’s late for sending you my “wish list” – but here it is.
Santa, I want wrestling to become an urban sport. It is the most democratic of all sports. You don’t have to win any kind of genetic lottery to excel – no excessive height, blazing speed or unusual hand/eye coordination is required. The competitor that works the hardest and learns the most almost always triumphs. Don’t we need to teach those lessons to more kids? Yet, young people in most of our largest cities have no opportunities to wrestle. I even know how you do it. You simply clone Al Bevilacqua from Beat the Streets in New York and drop an “Al” in Detroit or Los Angeles - wherever hundreds of thousands of kids are spending more time on the Wii than on the mat.
Santa, we need more opportunities for girls to wrestle. The lessons taught by wrestling are lessons of empowerment – you can control your own destiny. In all but a few states here in America (Washington, Texas, Hawaii and California) we make it almost impossible for girls to compete. We put unnecessary roadblocks to success in their way - and when someone like Tricia Saunders or Patricia Miranda or Michaela Hutchison fights through it all and does the extraordinary, we frequently fail to give her due credit. Let’s start here in Iowa, Santa. I’ve lived in this state for 56 of my 58 years. Iowa was a pioneer in providing interscholastic athletic competition for girls and has one of the richest wrestling histories in the world. Why can’t we join those two heritages together?
May we please have more college wrestling programs – men’s and women’s? If we believe in the value of wrestling’s lessons, we need educators that can teach those lessons. As youth participation on the mats continues to grow we will need more and better coaches. From where will they come if we continue to eliminate intercollegiate opportunities?
Santa, please make FILA give us back exciting freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. I want to see John Smith turning guys like a top again. How many fans can we bring to a sport where the most riveting action has become the selection of a colored ball from a bag?
Speaking of fans – could you make them more active? Would you get them out from behind the keyboard and in the seats at five or six events a year. I don’t care where – kids’ tournaments, high school meets or the Olympic Trials – just make them pay a few bucks and actually support the sport. And what about the millions of ex-high school wrestlers in America – could you sprinkle them with some kind of magic dust that would convert them into active fans?
Santa, please bring us more and better coverage of the sport. I understand the television Catch 22 – you can’t get air time without a profitable audience and you can’t build an audience without air time. You’ll probably have to mend the fences between the “mainstream” and the “underground” to make this happen, but it can be done. And while you’re at it, please make those providing the coverage give the sport the respect it has earned. After all, Frank Gifford once called Dan Gable “the most dedicated athlete I have ever seen”. John Smith was once named America’s top amateur athlete. Cael Sanderson’s undefeated career and bi-lateral amputee, Nick Ackerman’s Division III national championship are included on the list of the NCAA’s 25 defining moments. These great athletes, and the thousands of others toiling in wrestling rooms around the world, deserve better than to be compared to an entertainer like Hulk Hogan – as was done by the ESPNU in-studio “talent” prior to the broadcast of the Iowa/Iowa State dual meet.
Finally, Santa, I want a new Division III Championships attendance record in Cedar Rapids this March.
I’ll wait a couple of years before I ask you for the Olympic Trials.
I’m a wrestling fan. No, not that steroid laden soap opera you see on “Smackdown” – or whatever. I love the “world’s oldest and greatest sport” – the sport of Socrates, Plato and Lincoln (Abraham or McIlravy)… the sport of Gable, Smith and Sanderson.
I know it’s late for sending you my “wish list” – but here it is.
Santa, I want wrestling to become an urban sport. It is the most democratic of all sports. You don’t have to win any kind of genetic lottery to excel – no excessive height, blazing speed or unusual hand/eye coordination is required. The competitor that works the hardest and learns the most almost always triumphs. Don’t we need to teach those lessons to more kids? Yet, young people in most of our largest cities have no opportunities to wrestle. I even know how you do it. You simply clone Al Bevilacqua from Beat the Streets in New York and drop an “Al” in Detroit or Los Angeles - wherever hundreds of thousands of kids are spending more time on the Wii than on the mat.
Santa, we need more opportunities for girls to wrestle. The lessons taught by wrestling are lessons of empowerment – you can control your own destiny. In all but a few states here in America (Washington, Texas, Hawaii and California) we make it almost impossible for girls to compete. We put unnecessary roadblocks to success in their way - and when someone like Tricia Saunders or Patricia Miranda or Michaela Hutchison fights through it all and does the extraordinary, we frequently fail to give her due credit. Let’s start here in Iowa, Santa. I’ve lived in this state for 56 of my 58 years. Iowa was a pioneer in providing interscholastic athletic competition for girls and has one of the richest wrestling histories in the world. Why can’t we join those two heritages together?
May we please have more college wrestling programs – men’s and women’s? If we believe in the value of wrestling’s lessons, we need educators that can teach those lessons. As youth participation on the mats continues to grow we will need more and better coaches. From where will they come if we continue to eliminate intercollegiate opportunities?
Santa, please make FILA give us back exciting freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. I want to see John Smith turning guys like a top again. How many fans can we bring to a sport where the most riveting action has become the selection of a colored ball from a bag?
Speaking of fans – could you make them more active? Would you get them out from behind the keyboard and in the seats at five or six events a year. I don’t care where – kids’ tournaments, high school meets or the Olympic Trials – just make them pay a few bucks and actually support the sport. And what about the millions of ex-high school wrestlers in America – could you sprinkle them with some kind of magic dust that would convert them into active fans?
Santa, please bring us more and better coverage of the sport. I understand the television Catch 22 – you can’t get air time without a profitable audience and you can’t build an audience without air time. You’ll probably have to mend the fences between the “mainstream” and the “underground” to make this happen, but it can be done. And while you’re at it, please make those providing the coverage give the sport the respect it has earned. After all, Frank Gifford once called Dan Gable “the most dedicated athlete I have ever seen”. John Smith was once named America’s top amateur athlete. Cael Sanderson’s undefeated career and bi-lateral amputee, Nick Ackerman’s Division III national championship are included on the list of the NCAA’s 25 defining moments. These great athletes, and the thousands of others toiling in wrestling rooms around the world, deserve better than to be compared to an entertainer like Hulk Hogan – as was done by the ESPNU in-studio “talent” prior to the broadcast of the Iowa/Iowa State dual meet.
Finally, Santa, I want a new Division III Championships attendance record in Cedar Rapids this March.
I’ll wait a couple of years before I ask you for the Olympic Trials.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Brotherly love
My brother, Bruce, moved to Seattle about 35 years ago. He is a couple of years younger than me and for most of our youth we shared a room. We also argued, fought and competed – in everything from Jeopardy to Risk to whiffle ball.
When it came time to leave the nest, Bruce and I and our friend, Doug, rented a two-room apartment across the street from the Pink Poodle in Davenport (it’s a laundromat – not a strip club). Our sibling rivalry occasionally erupted there and shouting matches would ensue.
After several months of this living arrangement we all three went our separate ways – Doug back to UNI and I to a different apartment and roommate. Bruce stayed on 15th Street and took on someone else to share the rent. Not long after that Bruce moved to the Pacific Northwest.
In that 35 years we have seen each other far too rarely - the deaths of our parents, an occasional business trip – I was even his “date” for his 35th high school reunion. For a short time Bruce taught at the University of Illinois law school and we did get together a few times during his tenure in Champaign. One of those times I drug him to a Hawkeye wrestling meet. He didn’t enjoy it at all. He couldn’t tell you this – but he got to see Tom and Terry Brands wrestle that night.
Last week, in a move that has been rumored on the internet since before the Olympics, Tom hired Terry to come back to Iowa City and be a Hawkeye assistant coach. That’s right – two of the most volatile (and successful) twin brothers in the history of wrestling have reunited and will be working together. The rivalry between these two in their younger days is legendary.
Hawkeye-land is certainly abuzz and the rumors – and questions – continue to fly. Will Olympic gold medallist, Henry Cejudo, and heavyweight, Steve Mocco follow Terry from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to train in Iowa City? Is Terry coming to Iowa City as much to restore the Hawkeye Wrestling Club to its past glory as he is to join the rebuilding of the University of Iowa’s wrestling dynasty? Will tempers ever flare?
The Hawkeye fan in me reacted like this.
The wrestling fan in me has more questions.
Most American wrestling fans were disappointed in the overall performance in Beijing – just 3 total medals. It wasn’t long before there were calls for a restructuring of the USA Wrestling coaching staff – even by national freestyle coach, Kevin Jackson, himself. In the past two weeks Jackson has resigned to become head coach at Sunkist Kids and former World Champion, Zeke Jones was hired to replace him as national freestyle coach. Then, resident development coach, Terry Brands left the OTC for Iowa City.
Are these just the natural personnel changes that inevitably follow a sub-par performance by a national sports team – or could they lead to a fundamental shift in how we train our Olympic wrestlers? Do we really need a national training center?
Do regional training opportunities make more sense? Many of our top competitors work as collegiate assistants to support themselves. For much of the year it is a conflict for them to leave their jobs behind and get to Colorado Springs for valuable freestyle coaching. Is it more logical to have top international-level coaches available at locations all over the country? The changes of the last couple of weeks have given us a de facto opportunity to find out.
Kevin Jackson moving to Arizona, Terry Brands to Iowa City and Zeke Jones to Colorado Springs certainly offers a high level of coaching at those three locations. Throw in John Smith in Stillwater, the New York Athletic Club and emerging private clubs like Sean Bormet’s Overtime and you have the potential for a network of training sites.
Is this an opportunity to create a new development model? As it always is – money will be a major factor. The United States Olympic Committee allocates funds to the governing bodies of all Olympic sports – including USA Wrestling. The level of USOC support, in large part, determines how much is invested in developing our national wrestling teams. At Sunkist Kids, Art Martori and others generously support the betterment of the sport. Are there enough other private funding sources to support the clubs in Iowa City, Stillwater and elsewhere to a level that will produce world and Olympic champions? Can a structure be created that allows the USOC to help with regional center funding?
Are these concepts worth discussing?
Come on fans – what do you think?
When it came time to leave the nest, Bruce and I and our friend, Doug, rented a two-room apartment across the street from the Pink Poodle in Davenport (it’s a laundromat – not a strip club). Our sibling rivalry occasionally erupted there and shouting matches would ensue.
After several months of this living arrangement we all three went our separate ways – Doug back to UNI and I to a different apartment and roommate. Bruce stayed on 15th Street and took on someone else to share the rent. Not long after that Bruce moved to the Pacific Northwest.
In that 35 years we have seen each other far too rarely - the deaths of our parents, an occasional business trip – I was even his “date” for his 35th high school reunion. For a short time Bruce taught at the University of Illinois law school and we did get together a few times during his tenure in Champaign. One of those times I drug him to a Hawkeye wrestling meet. He didn’t enjoy it at all. He couldn’t tell you this – but he got to see Tom and Terry Brands wrestle that night.
Last week, in a move that has been rumored on the internet since before the Olympics, Tom hired Terry to come back to Iowa City and be a Hawkeye assistant coach. That’s right – two of the most volatile (and successful) twin brothers in the history of wrestling have reunited and will be working together. The rivalry between these two in their younger days is legendary.
Hawkeye-land is certainly abuzz and the rumors – and questions – continue to fly. Will Olympic gold medallist, Henry Cejudo, and heavyweight, Steve Mocco follow Terry from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to train in Iowa City? Is Terry coming to Iowa City as much to restore the Hawkeye Wrestling Club to its past glory as he is to join the rebuilding of the University of Iowa’s wrestling dynasty? Will tempers ever flare?
The Hawkeye fan in me reacted like this.
The wrestling fan in me has more questions.
Most American wrestling fans were disappointed in the overall performance in Beijing – just 3 total medals. It wasn’t long before there were calls for a restructuring of the USA Wrestling coaching staff – even by national freestyle coach, Kevin Jackson, himself. In the past two weeks Jackson has resigned to become head coach at Sunkist Kids and former World Champion, Zeke Jones was hired to replace him as national freestyle coach. Then, resident development coach, Terry Brands left the OTC for Iowa City.
Are these just the natural personnel changes that inevitably follow a sub-par performance by a national sports team – or could they lead to a fundamental shift in how we train our Olympic wrestlers? Do we really need a national training center?
Do regional training opportunities make more sense? Many of our top competitors work as collegiate assistants to support themselves. For much of the year it is a conflict for them to leave their jobs behind and get to Colorado Springs for valuable freestyle coaching. Is it more logical to have top international-level coaches available at locations all over the country? The changes of the last couple of weeks have given us a de facto opportunity to find out.
Kevin Jackson moving to Arizona, Terry Brands to Iowa City and Zeke Jones to Colorado Springs certainly offers a high level of coaching at those three locations. Throw in John Smith in Stillwater, the New York Athletic Club and emerging private clubs like Sean Bormet’s Overtime and you have the potential for a network of training sites.
Is this an opportunity to create a new development model? As it always is – money will be a major factor. The United States Olympic Committee allocates funds to the governing bodies of all Olympic sports – including USA Wrestling. The level of USOC support, in large part, determines how much is invested in developing our national wrestling teams. At Sunkist Kids, Art Martori and others generously support the betterment of the sport. Are there enough other private funding sources to support the clubs in Iowa City, Stillwater and elsewhere to a level that will produce world and Olympic champions? Can a structure be created that allows the USOC to help with regional center funding?
Are these concepts worth discussing?
Come on fans – what do you think?
Monday, September 22, 2008
What fans want
I’m semi-literate when it come to the internet. Most of what I know about it I learned from Tom Terronez, owner of Terrostar , the company that created and maintains my business website. From day one Tom has preached the value of search marketing and the use of site analytics.
When I started the blog in July of ’07 it was an experiment. Did anyone really want to read the opinions of a wrestling fan in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Well – it turns out that a few people do. Just before Fargo this year I started a research project on my readership. The first year was a little hard because myspace was the primary home for the blog and all I had were the view statistics for each edition. In early July I moved the primary home to blogger and extended my google analytics account to include the blog.
Blah…blah…blah.
Here’s what I’ve found.
Editions with video are overwhelmingly the most popular. With over 3,200 views, by far the most popular blog was, “Banach is in trouble.” That one was written to thank Iowa Public Television for their years of supporting college wrestling. Pat Rowen of IPTV had graciously provided me with video of one of the biggest upset matches in the history of their broadcasts – Iowa State’s Dave Osenbaugh over Iowa’s Lou Banach. I agreed to leave the video posted for just one week and there was quite a clamor when I took it down (mostly from Cyclone fans).
The most visited page in my archives is “A short video history of American freestyle wrestling”. It became especially popular during the Olympics.
On average, the inclusion of a video in my blog will increase weekly visitors by 400+.
The most prevalent theme in the search phrases that drive people to the blog is “video”. There are a lot of folks out there looking for video of past wrestling greats. Since the first of July this year people have been driven to my site in their search for tape of Rick Sanders (the most popular), Wade Schalles, Doug Blubaugh, Lou Banach, Dan Hodge, Wayne Wells, Cael Sanderson and Sergei Beloglazov.
My conclusion – wrestling fans want more video. The sport lends itself to online viewing. Most match videos last around 10 minutes (so you can sneak one in at work). You can choose who you want to watch and which matches. So why isn’t their more available? In the case of the NCAA and its member institutions, it’s licensing. Last March I got press credentials for the Division II and Division III National Championships. I was classified as “new media” and admonished to read the appropriate rules carefully. Those rules clearly forbid the posting of match videos in their entirety. I can post a 3 minute “representation” (highlight clip), but not a complete match.
All governing bodies: USA Wrestling, the NCAA, the NWCA, individual colleges and tournaments, etc. are cracking down on the unauthorized shooting, copying and posting of videos. Why? If so many fans want to watch these matches, why not, “for the good of the sport”, let them? The week after Fargo the top search phrases for my blog were related to video of the Nate Moore/Eric Grajales match. Clearly, online video is a key medium for the promotion of the sport.
Answer – it just isn’t that simple. When my daughter was in law school she asked her attorney uncle for specialization suggestions. His reply, “Well, if you want to get rich – go into intellectual property law. That’s going to be in the courts for the next 20 years.” Each entity that sponsors or holds an event (i.e. invests the money) has the right to determine how that “final product” is used. In many cases this is further complicated by the web of relationships that frequently must be developed to promote or broadcast the event. Just try any kind of advertising use of that phrase that implies that only four college basketball teams remain in the tournament and see what happens.
I’m not sure that the real issue is availability. It might be cost. There are a number of places that offer match video, but some charge membership fees. Typically, the costs are quite reasonable, but wrestling fans seem to like to pinch pennies.
I also wonder this - if people can watch wrestling for free on the computer will they get off their butts and go to live matches – typically paying $6 - $10 per meet. Attendance at college dual meets is already a problem. Will greater internet exposure serve to motivate fans to attend live events – or will it keep them at home? We don’t have enough data to know yet.
Obviously, there is still a lot to be learned
Anyway, if you have the day off from work and want to watch some wrestling here are a couple of options.
Live Sports Video charges for some things and offers other things free. The 2008 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are in their archives.
The Wrestling Talk has an excellent collection of videos at all levels including the 2008 Olympics.
USA Wrestling has a video collection on youtube. Many are interview videos, but there are a lot of matches from 2007 Senior Nationals.
intermat has a great collection of technique videos in their premium section. As a fan, I have found them very informative.
Oh yeah – for that person looking for Sergei Beloglasov – here he is against John Smith.
When I started the blog in July of ’07 it was an experiment. Did anyone really want to read the opinions of a wrestling fan in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Well – it turns out that a few people do. Just before Fargo this year I started a research project on my readership. The first year was a little hard because myspace was the primary home for the blog and all I had were the view statistics for each edition. In early July I moved the primary home to blogger and extended my google analytics account to include the blog.
Blah…blah…blah.
Here’s what I’ve found.
Editions with video are overwhelmingly the most popular. With over 3,200 views, by far the most popular blog was, “Banach is in trouble.” That one was written to thank Iowa Public Television for their years of supporting college wrestling. Pat Rowen of IPTV had graciously provided me with video of one of the biggest upset matches in the history of their broadcasts – Iowa State’s Dave Osenbaugh over Iowa’s Lou Banach. I agreed to leave the video posted for just one week and there was quite a clamor when I took it down (mostly from Cyclone fans).
The most visited page in my archives is “A short video history of American freestyle wrestling”. It became especially popular during the Olympics.
On average, the inclusion of a video in my blog will increase weekly visitors by 400+.
The most prevalent theme in the search phrases that drive people to the blog is “video”. There are a lot of folks out there looking for video of past wrestling greats. Since the first of July this year people have been driven to my site in their search for tape of Rick Sanders (the most popular), Wade Schalles, Doug Blubaugh, Lou Banach, Dan Hodge, Wayne Wells, Cael Sanderson and Sergei Beloglazov.
My conclusion – wrestling fans want more video. The sport lends itself to online viewing. Most match videos last around 10 minutes (so you can sneak one in at work). You can choose who you want to watch and which matches. So why isn’t their more available? In the case of the NCAA and its member institutions, it’s licensing. Last March I got press credentials for the Division II and Division III National Championships. I was classified as “new media” and admonished to read the appropriate rules carefully. Those rules clearly forbid the posting of match videos in their entirety. I can post a 3 minute “representation” (highlight clip), but not a complete match.
All governing bodies: USA Wrestling, the NCAA, the NWCA, individual colleges and tournaments, etc. are cracking down on the unauthorized shooting, copying and posting of videos. Why? If so many fans want to watch these matches, why not, “for the good of the sport”, let them? The week after Fargo the top search phrases for my blog were related to video of the Nate Moore/Eric Grajales match. Clearly, online video is a key medium for the promotion of the sport.
Answer – it just isn’t that simple. When my daughter was in law school she asked her attorney uncle for specialization suggestions. His reply, “Well, if you want to get rich – go into intellectual property law. That’s going to be in the courts for the next 20 years.” Each entity that sponsors or holds an event (i.e. invests the money) has the right to determine how that “final product” is used. In many cases this is further complicated by the web of relationships that frequently must be developed to promote or broadcast the event. Just try any kind of advertising use of that phrase that implies that only four college basketball teams remain in the tournament and see what happens.
I’m not sure that the real issue is availability. It might be cost. There are a number of places that offer match video, but some charge membership fees. Typically, the costs are quite reasonable, but wrestling fans seem to like to pinch pennies.
I also wonder this - if people can watch wrestling for free on the computer will they get off their butts and go to live matches – typically paying $6 - $10 per meet. Attendance at college dual meets is already a problem. Will greater internet exposure serve to motivate fans to attend live events – or will it keep them at home? We don’t have enough data to know yet.
Obviously, there is still a lot to be learned
Anyway, if you have the day off from work and want to watch some wrestling here are a couple of options.
Live Sports Video charges for some things and offers other things free. The 2008 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are in their archives.
The Wrestling Talk has an excellent collection of videos at all levels including the 2008 Olympics.
USA Wrestling has a video collection on youtube. Many are interview videos, but there are a lot of matches from 2007 Senior Nationals.
intermat has a great collection of technique videos in their premium section. As a fan, I have found them very informative.
Oh yeah – for that person looking for Sergei Beloglasov – here he is against John Smith.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Don't know much about history
Don’t know much about history
I swapped a couple of emails with Mark Palmer Saturday. Mark is a staff writer for revwrestling.com whose Rev Rewind articles are among my favorite writings about the history of wrestling. (Mark’s latest is about Harold Henson, the first African-American to wrestle in the NCAA championships:
http://revwrestling.com/articles/3721/Rev-Rewind-Harold-Henson
From our online discussions came a question, “Just how important is it for young wrestlers and fans to know the history of the oldest sport in the world?” Is it even important at all?
Certainly a young athlete doesn’t have to know that Wade Schalles pinned 530 opponents in his career to learn how to use the “spladle” – the pinning move that was invented and perfected by Schalles – and knowing the facts of Wade’s career won’t make the athlete’s “spladle” any more effective. However, knowing the full scope of Schalles’ accomplishments can give a young competitor something aspire to.
(For a synopsis of Wade Schalles career, see his National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member biography at
http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/bio.php?id=83)
The future growth of the sport must be built upon a respect for its’ past. I’ve encountered far too many young wrestlers and fans that don’t know of Lee Kemp’s impressive resume. To paraphrase a comment made by Mark in one of his emails, we may one day have a Hodge Trophy winner that won’t be able to tell us after whom the trophy is named. Here’s some help:
http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/bio.php?id=6
Dan Hodge, probably in the 1957 NCAA finals
What about international wrestling? Should this generation of American fan or competitor bother to learn about the greats from the past in other countries? Keep in mind as you watch this next match that Sergei Beloglazov was a 2X Olympic Gold Medallist, 6X World Champion and 2X World Silver Medallist and that John Smith won the Olympic Gold twice and the World Championship 4 times. This is true greatness.
Have you decided to learn more about the history the “world’s oldest and greatest sport? Good! Here are some places to start.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
www.wrestlinghalloffame.org
The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute
You can order all of Mike Chapman’s great wrestling books here. One of my favorite features on their website is an old clip of Vern Gagne and Dan Gable.
www.wrestlingmuseum.org
www.revwrestling.com
Sports Illustrated recently added the SI Vault to its website. This is a searchable database of articles written over the entire history of the publication.
This one is about Dan Gable – written in 1969.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082230/1/index.htm
I swapped a couple of emails with Mark Palmer Saturday. Mark is a staff writer for revwrestling.com whose Rev Rewind articles are among my favorite writings about the history of wrestling. (Mark’s latest is about Harold Henson, the first African-American to wrestle in the NCAA championships:
http://revwrestling.com/articles/3721/Rev-Rewind-Harold-Henson
From our online discussions came a question, “Just how important is it for young wrestlers and fans to know the history of the oldest sport in the world?” Is it even important at all?
Certainly a young athlete doesn’t have to know that Wade Schalles pinned 530 opponents in his career to learn how to use the “spladle” – the pinning move that was invented and perfected by Schalles – and knowing the facts of Wade’s career won’t make the athlete’s “spladle” any more effective. However, knowing the full scope of Schalles’ accomplishments can give a young competitor something aspire to.
(For a synopsis of Wade Schalles career, see his National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member biography at
http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/bio.php?id=83)
The future growth of the sport must be built upon a respect for its’ past. I’ve encountered far too many young wrestlers and fans that don’t know of Lee Kemp’s impressive resume. To paraphrase a comment made by Mark in one of his emails, we may one day have a Hodge Trophy winner that won’t be able to tell us after whom the trophy is named. Here’s some help:
http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/bio.php?id=6
Dan Hodge, probably in the 1957 NCAA finals
What about international wrestling? Should this generation of American fan or competitor bother to learn about the greats from the past in other countries? Keep in mind as you watch this next match that Sergei Beloglazov was a 2X Olympic Gold Medallist, 6X World Champion and 2X World Silver Medallist and that John Smith won the Olympic Gold twice and the World Championship 4 times. This is true greatness.
Have you decided to learn more about the history the “world’s oldest and greatest sport? Good! Here are some places to start.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
www.wrestlinghalloffame.org
The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute
You can order all of Mike Chapman’s great wrestling books here. One of my favorite features on their website is an old clip of Vern Gagne and Dan Gable.
www.wrestlingmuseum.org
www.revwrestling.com
Sports Illustrated recently added the SI Vault to its website. This is a searchable database of articles written over the entire history of the publication.
This one is about Dan Gable – written in 1969.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082230/1/index.htm
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