Post State Finals Accolades and Discussion

[Thor]

6 hours ago, MattM said:

I feel the refs give you a little more leaway when you win a state title than they would after other matches.  That being said they likely don’t come out and say that and the narrative all year via the IHSAA has been to watch sportsmanship, including not over doing any post match celebrations.  I feel some kids cautioned on the said of ensuring they didn’t cost their team a point after having heard that all season. There are a few wrestlers that let a little added emotion fly.   If you  look at all the post game celebration of this years state championship team sports I’d say letting backflip or would be right in line with how others had celebrated.  Most refs also get the magnitude of the situations too, they just aren’t going to say ahead of time we will let you get by with 30sec of acrobatics if you win the state finals. 

They came right out and said it at the coaches meeting in Fort Wayne in November. Anything that looks pre planned gets hit, and I back flips would be pre planned. Which is still freaking lame. There’s nothing unsportsmanlike about doing a little extra celebrating in the greatest moment of these kid’s careers as long as it’s not directed at the other kid or coaches. 

[Ahawkeye]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

They came right out and said it at the coaches meeting in Fort Wayne in November. Anything that looks pre planned gets hit, and I back flips would be pre planned. Which is still freaking lame. There’s nothing unsportsmanlike about doing a little extra celebrating in the greatest moment of these kid’s careers as long as it’s not directed at the other kid or coaches. 

Agree 100%! It's the absolute pinnacle of Indiana wrestling. If he's not puting his opponent down, flipping the bird, or doing anything obscene then let the kid have a moment. We all love a good back flip, if they made it this far you know darn well they worked for it.

[BrodyHardcastle]

With as much backlash Leavell got this past week, him hitting the homerun, kicking down the wall, and unloading a clip was coldddddd.

[piscis1956]

7 hours ago, AlaskanMountie said:

I was referring to a team ring, not individual. Anyone paying attention this season would classify CP’s performance this weekend as incredibly disappointing. They had multiple guys underperform this weekend which was the only way they were going to lose the team race considering they had 2-3 more qualifiers than CG & BB. 

Yes, I did realize you meant team points.  And, yes, I realize the CP team and fans were probably disappointed by their overall team results.  And, yes, I realized they were the heavy favorites on paper going in.

That said, they weren’t out there on the mats wrestling by themselves.  There were other wrestlers out there from other teams who stepped up their own game and had a big hand in causing the results of CP and the East Chicago semi-states.  Those individuals deserve most of the credit for the final results.

 

I wasn’t exactly engaging in schadenfreude, but I very much enjoyed the success of the New Castle and Ft. Wayne semi-states especially after they had been disparaged so much this season.  
 

And I was completely in awe of how the individuals and teams from the Evansville semi-state performed at state after those individuals and teams had run the gauntlet for the past few weeks.  Brownsburg, Center Grove, Avon, and others were awesome in my opinion.  They were battle tested and ready.  
 

So I for one wasn’t the least bit disappointed in how things turned out.  (Of course, there were a few individuals who I would have liked to place a little higher, but that’s normal.). For me it was a great weekend.

 

 

[jets]

I’ll get thrown over the coals for this- and admittedly I don’t know much- but maybe, just maybe, the grind that is the Southern part of the postseason tourney (Moorseville, EVSS) had BB and CG ready to go (iron sharpens iron type of thing) 

And conversely, maybe the 3 week cake-walk of a postseason CP enjoyed had their egos a little inflated?? And that’s not a dig- I mean,  it’s only human nature 

[SIACfan]

Wow, I can't believe this topic is already 2 pages long & noone has mentioned...

 

Julianna Ocampo!

 

This fierce competitor not only made history but is a tremendous inspiration for all young girls everywhere.

 

Congratulations young lady, you deserve it!

[SIACfan]

23 minutes ago, jets said:

I’ll get thrown over the coals for this...

 

What fun would it be to throw you over them? You won't get burned.

 

Now many may want to drag you over them.

[awill0352]

7 hours ago, TeamGarcia said:

Your saying that cause you had 20 min ride back home . IK

I get what you’re saying.   Of course Indy should host all future State Finals as it’s centrally located, bigger city, bigger arena.   Just saying that Evansville embraced having the Finals more.   
now hopefully Ihsaa and Ticketmaster figure out the ticket debacle going forward.  

[markio]

I will say on behalf of the Ford Center, we really did try and I personally worked my tail off for this one. As a wrestling fan I was pumped to see it coming to our place. I’m sorry the lighting wasn’t the greatest for the finals, it was the best we could do with what we had to work with while trying to keep that finals feel. Originally they were just gonna keep the sports lights on, but I didn’t think that felt right. Had a blast all weekend and had the best seat I’ve ever had for a wrestling finals weekend. 

Edited February 18 by markio

[Ahawkeye]

You guys did a good job, my only complaint was the no pass outs on Friday night. You guys know that there's a lot of working families that go to this and to make them feed their kids with a $15 chicken sandwich is hard on a guy. Other than that I think the Ford Center did an outstanding job. Thank you for your hard work!

[carolann19]

The Ford center was absolutely freezing. Hard to enjoy when you are so cold. 

On 1/27/2023 at 8:18 AM, Y2CJ41 said:

Isn't Harper building a wrestling mecca complex? Maybe we can have it there at the Urban Swirl Fieldhouse.

 

On 2/16/2024 at 5:23 PM, KyleM said:

Super cold in here 

 

[awill0352]

6 minutes ago, markio said:

I will say on behalf of the Ford Center, we really did try and I personally worked my tail off for this one. As a wrestling fan I was pumped to see it coming to our place. I’m sorry the lighting wasn’t the greatest for the finals, it was the best we could do with what we had to work with while trying to keep that finals feel. Originally they were just gonna keep the sports lights on, but I didn’t think that felt right. Had a blast all weekend and had the best seat I’ve ever had for a wrestling finals weekend. 

Anyone who was at Gainbridge last year will tell you it was so dark it was hard to see the wrestlers.  
when they did finals walkouts the lights that were used to spotlight the wrestlers….could they not have been used to spotlight the center circle? 

[SIACfan]

7 minutes ago, markio said:

I will say on behalf of the Ford Center, we really did try and I personally worked my tail off for this one. As a wrestling fan I was pumped to see it coming to our place. I’m sorry the lighting wasn’t the greatest for the finals, it was the best we could do with what we had to work with while trying to keep that finals feel. Originally they were just gonna keep the sports lights on, but I didn’t think that felt right. Had a blast all weekend and had the best seat I’ve ever had for a wrestling finals weekend. 

 

Thanks Markio!

 

There was nothing wrong with how the Ford Center handled the event.

 

Now the IHSAA & Ticketmaster is another story.

 

The EVV SS seems to always be better attended then the Finals were. The only explanation for this is the ticket fiasco.

[Ahawkeye]

2 minutes ago, carolann19 said:

The Ford center was absolutely freezing. Hard to enjoy when you are so cold. 

 

 

Maybe I have more insulation but I never did get cold all weekend

[markio]

2 minutes ago, Ahawkeye said:

You guys did a good job, my only complaint was the no pass outs on Friday night. You guys know that there's a lot of working families that go to this and to make them feed their kids with a $15 chicken sandwich is hard on a guy. Other than that I think the Ford Center did an outstanding job. Thank you for your hard work!

I completely understand that, unfortunately calls like that (or maybe fortunately) are above my pay grade. 

[Ahawkeye]

3 minutes ago, markio said:

I completely understand that, unfortunately calls like that (or maybe fortunately) are above my pay grade. 

On another note every single employee of the Ford Center that I came across was very nice and helpful. Some venues that I go to such as gainbridge or Lucas Oil that is not the case. Instead of helpful they are aggressive and abrasive. It truly was a nice change of pace to be able to talk to someone that didn't act like they had better things to do than help you out. And I mean that for every single employee that I encountered.

[markio]

9 minutes ago, awill0352 said:

Anyone who was at Gainbridge last year will tell you it was so dark it was hard to see the wrestlers.  
when they did finals walkouts the lights that were used to spotlight the wrestlers….could they not have been used to spotlight the center circle? 

We discussed that, but it was nixed because there was concern it could almost blind the wrestlers in certain situations. If you were on your back or in certain positions with one of those super trooper spotlights hitting your face it would be extremely uncomfortable. 

[markio]

3 minutes ago, Ahawkeye said:

On another note every single employee of the Ford Center that I came across was very nice and helpful. Some venues that I go to such as gainbridge or Lucas Oil that is not the case. Instead of helpful they are aggressive and abrasive. It truly was a nice change of pace to be able to talk to someone that didn't act like they had better things to do than help you out. And I mean that for every single employee that I encountered.

I’m definitely passing that along to the staff. 

[Christopher Bohn]

7 minutes ago, Ahawkeye said:

On another note every single employee of the Ford Center that I came across was very nice and helpful. Some venues that I go to such as gainbridge or Lucas Oil that is not the case. Instead of helpful they are aggressive and abrasive. It truly was a nice change of pace to be able to talk to someone that didn't act like they had better things to do than help you out. And I mean that for every single employee that I encountered.

I would love to see how the security at East Chicago would handle a state tournament, considering their temperament at Semi State.

[Lawdiggity]

51 minutes ago, SIACfan said:

 

Thanks Markio!

 

There was nothing wrong with how the Ford Center handled the event.

 

Now the IHSAA & Ticketmaster is another story.

 

The EVV SS seems to always be better attended then the Finals were. The only explanation for this is the ticket fiasco.

Not the only explanation. I know quite a few families going as fans that changed their plans Friday due to the snow. We came down late Friday after work (missing Session 1) and what normally takes me 3 hours took 5.5. Not saying weather was the main reason but hard to say it didn’t play in to attendance. 

[Steve Smith]

11 hours ago, RAJR said:

From a distance, seemed like Evansville embraced the State Finals and did a nice job! Maybe some tips for future State Finals? Don't recall shuttles or food trucks in the past. Do recall being asked what's going on? We weren't staffed for this. Thanks to all tnvolved, especially the wrestlers laying it down on the mat!

One tip for future state finals: don't use Ford Center again! People in our section were bringing blankets for the second day. They were wearing their hoodies up and their coats all day.  I understand Evansville may not be accustomed to Indiana winters, but that was ridiculous.

 

The Fort Wayne Coliseum has experience hosting hockey games all winter and I have never frozen at a hockey game there like I did this weekend.  The city of Evansville was beautiful, though.

[TeamGarcia]

Dirty South did a great job ! If it wasn’t for #ticketgate2024 I’d give the event a TeamGarcia 

 

But overall 5 Stars . Was at the my hotel reading the flyers they had and it was pretty cool to see the hospitality. 
 

 

[Mattyb]

I concur with my brother @TeamGarcia .. it was a great experience. Soooo happy I booked a room for last night. 
 

I love the venue. The wrestling was amazing. 
 

Not allowing people leave is ridiculous. It’s not a 2 hour basketball game. I just kept buying new tickets to leave. 
 

Sooo good seeing all of my friends.
 

@Y2CJ41 @ontherise219 @TripleB and crew were everywhere! You guys did a great job covering the event and keeping us in the know. The broadcast from Chasers was a great time! 

 

All the young dudes enjoyed Buds!!!!

 

They had very cold “soda” at Tiki!!!!

 

Would not be mad if it’s there again! 

[Patrick Collier]

Of course Evansville embraced the State Finals, there is nothing else going on in that town.  Indy is a much more logical permanent location.  I really disliked the Friday schedule and format.  The crowd size appeared to be down considerably, lots of empty seats in a half-sized arena.  Will wait to see official numbers from IHSAA.

[IndyDog]

3 hours ago, markio said:

I will say on behalf of the Ford Center, we really did try and I personally worked my tail off for this one. As a wrestling fan I was pumped to see it coming to our place. I’m sorry the lighting wasn’t the greatest for the finals, it was the best we could do with what we had to work with while trying to keep that finals feel. Originally they were just gonna keep the sports lights on, but I didn’t think that felt right. Had a blast all weekend and had the best seat I’ve ever had for a wrestling finals weekend. 

The Ford Center was amazing!! Not one complaint. Thank you.