By DAN McCOOL
Tim Johnson is preparing to call the action of his 25th regularly-scheduled Iowa-Iowa State wrestling meet on Sunday.
Johnson said this Sunday’s 4 p.m. meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena could be one of the best in terms of interest about Olympic champion coaches Tom Brands at Iowa and Cael Sanderson at Iowa State, the talented freshmen at Iowa State and the fire seemingly relit for fans of the teams.
“This is what the fans in the wrestling world have been salivating for for several years, “Johnson said. “I’m here in Champaign, Ill., and it’s reverberating over here. I just wonder where the cameras will be – more on the coaches or on the center of the mat.”
In television lingo, it could be great theater. The intrastate meet has been dotted with electrifying moments, many of them in front of the red light of live television.
“I haven’t seen this kind of excitement in the wrestling nation in Iowa in over 25 years, “Johnson said, “so there is no doubt the potential is there for that type of theater.”
Johnson and Jim Gibbons, who at Iowa State won an individual NCAA championship as a competitor and the 1987 NCAA team championship as a coach, will open Iowa Public Television’s 31st season of televising college meets Sunday.
“I think there is another level of anticipation that we haven’t seen in a while about this because you’ve got two dynamic coaches, “Gibbons said. “I think it’s going to be fun to watch because there is a lot of unknowns. That always makes a pretty good meet.”
Can Sunday’s meet produce another moment that fans hope is on their VCR or TiVo?
“I think it’s got a long way to go to be a throwback to those days, “Gibbons said, “because back in those matches, you saw guys who were NCAA champions getting knocked off.”
Johnson said the return to coaching by Dan Gable, who was part of IPTV’s broadcast team for eight seasons after resigning as Iowa’s coach, means he won’t get as much of a workout during the meets.
“My right arm is going to be a lot less tired from not having to put my arm around Gable and keep him in his seat, “Johnson said.
-From the Des Moines Register, posted at the Wrestling Talk forum
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