Sports Column By Ben Elder
Sports Editor
Who ever thought watching two men wrestle in tight leotards would be so fun?
Well, in Stillwater, Okla., that could be the best thing you have ever seen ever to grace the stage of Oklahoma State athletics.
That’s right folks, it’s about a month away from wrestling season, and I just can’t wait any longer.
For wrestling fans like me, it is hard not to get excited about coach John Smith and his Cowboys.
This year, the Cowboys are back with a vengeance and ready to claim the program’s 34th NCAA National Championship.
While most might tune into wrestling season right when they are about to claim another championship, I think that this year the Cowboys should get the support they deserve from the start.
Every time I hang out with my grandfather, he always tells about the wrestling stories from the glory days of Oklahoma A&M.
From his account, wrestling was the premier sport of the university.
No matter what, he said, it was always hard to get a ticket to see Art Griffith and his boys wrestle. Every time the Cowboys stepped out onto the match, a sea of crazed fans would surround them.
And those same men ” just like my grandfather ” still come and see every wrestling home match.
That is why when you look around Gallagher-Iba during a current wrestling match, you might find it a little odd.
No youth or vitality is present in the building, no crazy guy in an orange suit, no 70-pound freshman being thrown to the air when Steve Mocco pins a 285-pound opponent, in just 14 seconds. Simply put, that crazy spirit doesn’t exist.
While you might hear it get loud from time to time, it’s just not the atmosphere that champions deserve.
To me, this is bewildering.
Recently, I did a little bit of research to figure out just why.
If you ask people why they wouldn’t attend a match, most of the time they would tell you they love OSU sports but are not interested in the sport of wrestling.
For many reasons, I can respect their opinion. But that is kind of like saying you “like Old Milwaukee’s Best beer, but not Guinness.”
Actually, I would be the happiest man alive if I could drink Guinness and watch Cowboy wrestling at the same time.
Sound uncanny?
Not really. It’s all about acquiring a taste for perfection, or winning you could say.
The Cowboys have a rich history of this, and they continue to do this as well.
So the next time you reach for that two-week old Beast that it is in your refrigerator, throw it away and grab a Guinness.
It will taste better.
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