TheMatside View, by Gary Abbott – 2004 in review and wishes for 2005
12/30/2005
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
It seems each year I write a column during the holiday season. (My editor tells me it has become a tradition, so I am required to do it once again). Anyway, it is fun for me, so here goes this year’s version.
One year, I made my wishes for the year ahead. Another year, I went back and listed the top stories of the year that had just ended. This year, I am going to do both.
My Top Wrestling Stories of 2004
1. King Cael wins Olympic gold – Everybody knew Cael Sanderson was talented and motivated. But winning an Olympic gold medal is very difficult, especially with only seven weight classes in each style and a very competitive field across the world. Cael stepped up and had his best international performance ever in Athens, beating old foes like Cuba’s Yoel Romero and wrestling each match with skill and intelligent strategy. His status as an American wrestling legend has been nailed down forever with his Olympic title added to his college achievements.
2. Women’s wrestling joins Olympics and U.S. does well – For those of us who have worked hard in building women’s wrestling, the inclusion of women’s freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics was an emotional and exciting two days. The competition was spectacular, and another obstacle has been taken down. Team USA had a nice performance, with inspiring medals won by Sara McMann (silver) and Patricia Miranda (bronze). All the U.S. women did a nice job handling the media crush that they endured as the only new sport in the Olympics. It was one of those positive things that will be remembered for a long time.
3. Entire rules of international wrestling completely change – During the Athens Games, the international wrestling federation FILA announced radical changes to international wrestling. The sport will take elements from sports such as tennis and judo to change how matches are scored and how tournaments are conducted. Wrestlers will no longer be able to go out of bounds while competing. There is a new clinch in freestyle wrestling. Everything is new. The idea is to make wrestling more exciting, something that will only be evaluated as the rules are used in 2005.
4. Oklahoma State continues to roll – John Smith has build a dynasty in Stillwater, winning a second straight NCAA team title and developing a program that has the potential to add a few more in the upcoming years. Smith has developed some tremendous individual talents, as well as a strong lineup from top to bottom. The exciting recruits just keep coming on board. Superstar Steve Mocco transferred in from Iowa, to boot. The scary thing is that the 2004-05 Cowboy team may be even better than the two previous champion teams.
5. The Rulon Gardner legend continues – Consider this. Already a legend, what would Rulon Gardner do for an encore? Gardner added to his legend by crashing his motorcycle, smashing his hand, then beating 2002 World Champion Dremiel Byers to make the Athens Olympic team. He got married only an few weeks prior to the Olympic competition. He handled numerous media requests with style and class. Then at the actual Games, he fought hard and came home with a bronze medal, becoming only the second U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win two in a career. And when he left his shoes on the mat after his bronze-medal win, the entire world learned about this wrestling tradition and he left a lasting image with the general public.
6. Hall and Paulson battle almost 17 minutes – You might think a match that goes 16:54 would be boring. Think again. When Olympic silver medalists and close friends Dennis Hall and Brandon Paulson wrestled for one spot on the U.S. Olympic Team at 121 pounds, their deciding match at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials never seemed to end. These two warriors pounded on each other forever into overtime, trying to determine a winner. The crowd at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis got caught up in the frenzy, as neither star could get that winning move. When Dennis Hall finally got the final takedown, the place erupted and the athletes embraced. Their post-match interviews were classics, and showed the world about the honor and integrity of wrestling.
7. – Iraq wrestlers train in the United States – A big story during the pre-Olympic crush was the fact that wrestlers from Iraq were training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in preparation for the Athens Games. This nation, which had been liberated by the U.S.-led coalition, was welcomed back into the Olympic family. Two wrestlers and a coach came to the USA for over a month in the spring to practice with Greco-Roman Team USA. The national and international media had a field day with the story. Then, two other athletes and a coach came out for more Greco-Roman training and to compete in the Titan Games in June. Alas, the story did not finish as had been expected, as Iraq’s soccer team qualified for the Olympics, and neither the IOC nor FILA gave the Iraq wrestlers a wildcard to wrestle in Athens. The international goodwill was great for wrestling, but the Iraq athletes never got to show their stuff at the Olympics.
8. Jantzen, Gentry win one for the academic programs – Who said smart kids can’t win? When Jesse Jantzen of Harvard and Matt Gentry of Stanford won NCAA Div. I titles in St. Louis in 2004, the world was reminded how special wrestlers can be. They come from some of the most demanding academic institutions in the world, yet both were able to be the best athletes in the nation at their divisions. Besides having tremendous talent, both wrestlers are great role models. So, no matter what anybody says, you can be a good student and a great wrestler at the same time. Believe it. Jesse and Matt have shown the way.
9. Jamill Kelly beats the odds – Three years ago, the idea that a kid that never won a state high school title, nor was a NCAA All-American could go on to win an Olympic silver medal would have been met with laugh. “Right! Sure! Are you nuts?” Jamill Kelly never listened to the doubters, trusting in himself, his coaches and his dream. Kelly went from high school in California, to junior college at Lassen, to the Oklahoma State campus and into international wrestling as an underdog. Not only did he make the 2004 Olympic team, but he came back from Athens with a silver medal. Kelly is an inspiration to every kid who has ever had to overcome obstacles to reach his goals.
10. Kyle Maynard inspires the nation with his courage – The wrestling community has known about Kyle Maynard, the inspiring wrestler from Georgia with congenital amputation, who was able to overcome his challenges and excel at wrestling. Now the world knows about him. He received an ESPN award as the “Best Athlete with a Disability.” He was featured in a national advertising campaign. An article on Kyle ran on the front page of USA Today, and he was interviewed on the Larry King show. He appeared on Judge Hatchett. ESPN the Magazine listed him in its top 100 sports stories. He is becoming a sought-after inspirational speaker. And at the Univ. of Georgia, he continues to wrestle on the club team there. Kyle Maynard remains an impressive person, and the story is being shared with the nation.
A few other important stories included:
* Karim Gaber reminds us why wrestling is exciting
* Troy Nickerson’s domination at the Junior Nationals
* Binghamton Univ. wrestling program saved by New York governor
* New college wrestling programs added on NAIA level
* The creation of the Top Gun program for officials
* The new USOEC Women’s resident program
* USA Wrestling teams with Jason Foundation to prevent youth suicide
* Damion Hahn and Tommy Rowlands end college careers as two-time champions
* Greg Jones wins NCAA title No. 2 and returns seeking No. 3
* Jim Zalesky’s Iowa Hawkeyes rally to take NCAA runner-up spot
I know I missed a ton of stories, so once again I will ask our web users to send me their top wrestling stories of the year, and post them on a thread in the International board on TheMat.com’s Bulletin Board.
Click here to post your list of top wrestling stories in 2004
My five holiday wishes for 2005
1. Team USA has a great World Championships in Hungary -It is always important to start a four-year Olympic cycle with a strong performance, and USA Wrestling enters the 2005 international season with many question marks in all three styles. There is also the challenge of learning to compete under the new rules of wrestling for every athlete on the Olympic level. In 2005, all three wrestling styles will be contested at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. My wish is for the U.S. teams to have a great performance in Hungary, bringing home many medals and some team trophies. We have the talent, but winning is so difficult on the world stage. Go Team USA!!!
2. Women’s wrestling makes a big jump forward – The spotlight of the first Olympic competition for women’s wrestling is now over, and it is time to take the sport into the future. What will the U.S. wrestling community do now about women’s wrestling? Certainly, the creation of the new USOEC resident team will assist the national teams effort. However, will the entire wrestling community embrace the sport, and provide new opportunities for young women to wrestle? My wish is for a major change in attitude within the wrestling world. My wish is for everybody to work together to build women’s wrestling, reaching out to girls and women and inviting them into our sport. It is up to each and every one of us to make that happen.
3. Real Pro Wrestling is a big television success – Entepreneur Toby Willis, along with a staff of talented people like Matt Case and Kenny Johnson, have worked for the last few years trying to make Real Pro Wrestling a success. There is a series of shows displaying real wrestlers in action scheduled for 2005 on PAX and Fox Sports Net, a full season of wrestling action with many of our best athletes on display. My wish is for Real Pro Wrestling to get great ratings and to impress the national television industry. If Real Pro Wrestling makes it, then it will be easier to sell wrestling television programming in the future. Good luck, RPW!!!
4. The Bush Administration has some courage about Title IX – George Bush has won re-election. His party dominates Congress. He got his four more years. Those who were let down by the Bush Administration’s lack of courage in fixing the Title IX mess in this nation will be watching closely during the second “W” administration. My wish is for Bush to get some backbone, follow the counsel of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and actually make some meaningful changes in the way that Title IX is enforced. Too many sports programs have been killed off by the federal quota. The time for change is NOW.
5. More young people join USA Wrestling and get out on the mats – I am very proud to work for USA Wrestling, an organization that provides quality wrestling opportunities to people of all ages. In order for wrestling to thrive and for our organization to reach its mission, we need to keep building and expanding the sport. My wish is for those within wrestling to continue to work hard to create more clubs, put on more tournaments, educate more coaches and get more wrestling into the public eye. We have so many positive things in wrestling that we can offer young people. Let’s work together to continue the momentum and grow the sport.
And my biggest wish is that each and every wrestling family has a prosperous, fulfilling and rewarding New Year! Thank you for being part of the wrestling family.
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