The’s meet was 11th-biggest crowd in college wrestling history
By Andy Hamilton
The Iowa wrestling program appears back on track to regain at least one title this season — its crown as the national attendance leader.
Sunday’s dual meet against Iowa State produced the 11th-biggest crowd in college wrestling history and the second-largest dual turnout in the sport in 15 seasons. The announced attendance of 13,732 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena watched Tom Brands and his No. 8 Hawkeyes handle Cael Sanderson’s fourth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones 24-6.
“I think it’s great for wrestling, “Brands said. “You get 13,000 people in a building to watch and it’s not even 1 and 2.
“The matchups brought the crowd out, the buzz brought the crowd out, (Dan) Gable and Brands against Sanderson brought the crowd out. But in the future, there’s going to be more at stake. It’s not going to be about the new coaching changes, it’s going to be about athletes.”
The Hawkeyes hadn’t wrestled in front of a crowd this big since 2002 when they went to Minnesota and the Gophers set a national record by cramming 15,646 into the Target Center.
Iowa hadn’t put this many in the seats in Iowa City since Gable was coaching and Brands was wrestling and 15,291 came through the doors to see the Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones 29-8.
“I don’t know if we’ve had a crowd like that in a long time, “said Gable, now an assistant to Brands. “I can’t remember the last time we had a crowd like that. They said 13,700 or something, but it was pretty much full. There’s a lot of people who get in free. We give out quite a few promo tickets.
“It was about as full as you’re going to get without standing room only. Maybe we can do that next time.”
The Hawkeyes put on a good show for the home fans. Iowa won eight matches, including six that were decided by two points or less.
“I don’t think anybody who left wouldn’t want to come back, “Gable said.
Iowa’s attendance sagged last year. The Hawkeyes ranked second in the country, averaging 3,569 for seven home duals during Jim Zalesky’s final season as head coach. Oklahoma State led the nation by averaging 3,782 for eight home duals.
When Brands left Virginia Tech to come back to Iowa, some wrestling followers argued that his departure from the East Coast program might not be good for the sport. On the flip side, though, his return to the Hawkeyes has ignited interest in the Iowa program again.
Attendance has skyrocketed during Brands’ first two meets as the head coach of the Hawkeyes. Iowa already has drawn 18,637 in its two home meets. Oklahoma State, Iowa and Minnesota were the only three programs that drew more than 18,000 for their entire home schedule last year.
Sunday’s crowd alone would’ve been good for seventh in total attendance last year.
Said Sanderson: “That’s national tournament-type atmosphere.”
There was national tournament-type drama and intensity to go with it from the opening bout.
Iowa’s second-ranked Mark Perry Jr. came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat No. 4 Travis Paulson 6-4 in overtime at 165 pounds.
“The 165-pound match stirred up a lot of action just because of the way it went — being behind, coming back, tying it up, going into overtime, questioning the calls and then the other coaches coming out backing up their side, “Gable said. “It got a little bit heated.”
By the end of the match, Brands and Gable were jawing in the center of the mat with Sanderson and Cyclone assistant Tim Hartung, who spent the past two seasons on Zalesky’s staff.
“It’s just friendly conversation, “Sanderson said with a smile. “We were asking them where they were going to have their dinner after the meet, those types of things.”
By the end of the night, Gable and Sanderson were debating the semantics of the sign language used after the first match.
“Gable was flipping us the bird from across the mat, “Sanderson said. “That’s pretty good.”
Gable said he didn’t “flip him the bird; I flipped him the arm.”
“The bird, I know what that means, “Gable said. “I don’t know what (the arm) means. To me, it meant, ‘Come on, guys.’ He had just called me a crybaby right before that or something. Sometimes you get a little emotional, but that’s part of the game. That’s probably why he won the Olympic gold and it’s maybe why I won one, too.”
Nevertheless, three Olympic champions arguing, gesturing and going to bat for their wrestlers in the middle of the mat won’t hurt show business. Eight matches that came down to the wire won’t hurt, either.
“I saw a pretty good show if I’m a fan, “Brands said. “There’s a lot of ingredients there.”
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