Humility

[LionsFan]

CJ just became a 4x undefeated state champion. Acting as if it were another match is plain ludicrous. None of you on here have ever come close to accomplishing that, therefore, you do not understand how it feels. Another problem is that a lot of you believe that your OPINIONS are facts, which is not true. The "proper behavior" after winning is a matter of OPINION. So for some of you to get on here and bash a 17 year old kid who just won his 183rd consecutive match and 4th state title because he celebrated really bugs me. Just because CJ's behavior is not in correlation with your OPINION on how to win, does not give you the right to say it is wrong. Someone can just as easily say doing nothing after a win of that magnitude is wrong. That is the beauty of life, you can live how you feel is correct. Congratulations to CJ. You earned it.

 

First off, let me say that I was rooting for Red and I am glad he won. Those types of kids come along once in a lifetime, and his wrestling ability has been a pleasure to watch. Now I was a little surprised at how he reacted. I was hoping for some break dancing or something. I did not expect him to run off the mat like that. As far as his dad acted, that is another story. The article in the Star quoted Sr. saying " I don’t want to say it’s done, but we’ve put in the work to prepare for this – he says it almost sympathetically." To me Sr. knew it was going to happen already, so why act like he did? I for one would have gone crazy if my son just won his 4th state title and finished undefeated, but the way he talked about it happening before hand, made my wonder why he acted like he did. Anyways congrats to Chad and I can't wait to see what he does at Nebraska!

Edited February 24, 2016 by LionsFan

[hook and half]

As a Mater Dei fan, I have witnessed tremendous battles waged by the Wildcats against the top teams in Indiana.  Like most fans, I’m thrilled when we win and crushed when we lose.  However, I always appreciate great wrestling, and great programs.

 

How do the top programs, year after year, seem to never really have “down” years? 

 

It seems like they have common threads, beginning with the coaches. 

 

Mater Dei annually competes against hall-of-famers Bob Harmon of Castle and Bob Hasseman of Franklin.  It seems like every year we also see the likes of Jim Tonte, Brad Harper and/or Dave Maldonado. So, what do they have in common?  For one, they are old school.  Their athletes are in-shape, hard-nosed and disciplined.  By and large, their personal conduct is outstanding.  Why is that?  I’m guessing because that is what their top-tier coaches demand.

 

For example, Shawn Streck, by all accounts, is a great kid.  By his own words, he engaged in a regrettable action at state.  What did Coach Maldonado do?  Although I can’t read lips or hear his words, if you review the video and watch his reaction, you can bet he was NOT saying “Oh, you are just a kid, it is okay.”  Young Shawn felt what it was like to have his chest poked a few dozen times and have his butt chewed.

 

It seems like the best programs hold their kids to a higher standard.

 

The coaches seem to be in it for their athletes, rather than some sort of ego magnification.  I have watched Bob Hasseman coach at the Mater Dei Classic for 15 years.  At the end of this year’s tournament, I was speaking to a friend when Hasseman approached him.  It took me a few seconds to realize who he was.  Since I view him from the stands, and do not have a particular reason to look at him, it would explain my momentary lack of recognition.  I think what this means, for Bob Hasseman, is that producing state champion wrestlers and teams is more important than Bob Hasseman being the center of attention.

 

When you speak to kids that populate the top programs, you will consistently hear the word “team.”  In Blake Rypel’s post-match interview, he didn’t talk about himself, but about how he was part of a team and how his team helped him.  Imagine that; crediting others for your success…  The concept is:  if my team is better, I am better.  If I put my team first, everything else will work out.

 

There is more than one way to accomplish any task.  If hashtags, burger king crowns, non-stop self-promotion, “I, I, I”, “Me, me, me” and/or emulating professional wrestlers/managers work for you—have at it! 

 

The perennial top teams take a different path.

[KarlHungus]

[allyourbase]

High five hook and half.

[Dingo Brigade]

I am aware that some people take issue with Red Sr, but only a fool or someone not paying attention would criticize his results as a coach. His kids over achieve every year, with very few exceptions, and he is just as emotional and impassioned when coaching wrestlers who don't happen to be his son. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and Red Sr's methodology has worked very well for his kids. Chris Lytle chooses to work with him, as do numerous red cobra kids. I get that he's "new school" but I don't get all the venom thrown at both Reds.

[The Guru]

The worst sportsmanship I've seen in the NCAA tournament was from Brent Metcalf vs Caldwell in the NCAA finals.    Brent Metcalf doesen't want to give his opponents the satisfaction of seeing him celebrate.  But he turns to the biggest Jackass when somebody beats him.    Not the best example of you most humble guy.

 

On a side note,  I was in attendance at the NCAA finals in St Louis that year, and by chance my tickets were in the Iowa section which was the largest section at the meet, so I  was surrounded by a lot of Black and Gold.   I was with my sons, one who was attending Ohio State at that time.  Note Iowa had a small lead going into the finals ahead of the Buckeyes, I think about 6.5 points.  OSU needed two wins from Reese Humphrey and Pucillo (who wrestled Herbert) to pass Iowa and also  needed Metcalf to lose to win the National title.   My son's girlfriend was roommates with Hump's girlfriend, so Reese and him hung out and were  buddies.    We had our OSU gear on and were pulling for Hump.   When Hump was up, the whole Iowa section, gave him the a very loud boo and we took it personally.   We didn't like it and let some of the Iowa fans know.   But unfortunately,  Hump got upset by the MSU kid, which mathematically eliminated OSU from the team title. 

 

Of course Caldwell surprisingly comes out and beats the crap out of Mefcalf.  It wasn't even close and ended Caldwell's 50+ win streak.   Needless to say we were being loud and obnoxious about it in the middle of the  Iowa section, since they booed Reese and all.    And when Metcalf assaulted Caldwell at the end of the match,  we let IOWA fan know.    We were over the top and yelling, DQ him and throw him out.   Iowa fan was mad at the loss, and they didn't like the obnoxious OSU fans in their section cheering Mefcalf's demise and suggesting that they DQ their best wrestler.    Of course this would of took his points away and given OSU the national title.       After that,  a few angry Iowa fans got in my face and requested that we go sit in another section.  I think a guy was ready to throw down,  but noticed my 9 year old son, and backed off.  It was all pretty exciting. 

 

To finish, they did take a team point from Iowa for the unsportsmanlike, which gave OSU the possibility to win if Pucillo pinned Herbert.   But that's too much to ask and didn't happen.   We stayed in the Iowa section for the entirety, and received many awkward glances the rest of the night.     

If you start your celebration with time on the clock and you get cracked, you deserve it. Which is exactly what happened in the GODcalf/Caldwell match. 

[The Guru]

I really don't see anything wrong with what Chad did or said post-match. He's been on a tear at the national level for years and won BIG matches, and he wrecked Indiana for the 4th time and won ANOTHER huge match to do it. If you can't publicly say "I'm the man" after doing what he did in high school, when can you? Down 4-0 off the bat? The kid was stone-faced the whole time and made it happen when he got an opportunity. 

[Old Region Fan]

Colts ?    Are we in Baltimore ?  No wait   I'm Confused      GO BEARS