WRESTLING WEEKEND

Everybody always says that the NCAA Tournament is the culmination of the wrestling season. In a way, they are right. But really, the NCAA Tournament IS the wrestling season. Essentially you need to find a way to punch a ticket, and whatever you do over the course of three days is going to determine how your year went. Because the stakes are so high, few weekends in any sport carry as much drama. You are always a second away from glory or a second away from disaster. There are too many heroes to count, to many turning points to notice, too many warriors to recognize, and just too much good wrestling for me to feel like anything I write here can sufficiently sum up the weekend. But I m going to take it a paragraph at a time and give it a shot. More than anything, the NCAA Tournament is about guts. If I had to pick out one snapshot from the entire weekend, it would have to be Dustin Fox, blood dripping from his face, nose mangled as all hell, with his arms triumphantly up in the air and a 1,000 kilowatt smile. It's no secret that I have been rooting for Bergman all year, but Fox absolutely gutted this one out and found a way to get his hand raised. And hopefully somebody has a good shot of him right after he won, that's what wrestling is all about.
Never in my life have I been so confident that somebody would win a match after being taken down twice in the first period. After Brent Metcalfs second escape, all I could say was buckle up, because the pedal is about to be pressed to the floor. Sure enough, he wrestled the rest of the match like his singlet was on fire, destroying Bubba Jenkins in the process. The more I see him wrestler, the less human I think he is. Then all doubt goes out the window when I hear him speak. Tom Brands has completely brainwashed this poor kid into a killing machine. He was even remotely excited after winning his first National Title, just focused on the next time he going to wrestle. It takes a different mindset to succeed in this sport, and Metcalf has perfected it.
Show of the night goes to Coleman Scott. Single, cradle, celebrate. He looked like a five ton weight was lifted off his shoulders. I always wonder what that exact moment is like, when you reached the pinnacle of your sport, and that instant you dreamed of since you were a little kid finally comes true. I love celebrations because it gives us a glimpse into just how great that feeling is. Watch Scott celebrate, I could not fend off an ear to ear grin. It one of the best parts about sports, the pure, unbridled joy of victory. Here to another great college wrestling season.