Three Days of Fury

From Thursday, March 20th – Saturday, March 22nd, 330 of the world’s best-trained amateur athletes will battle for supremacy in ten separate weight classes over the course of six three hour sessions. Eight mats sprawled across the arena floor with 16,000 rabid fans at every session screaming and cheering is truly a sight to behold. Everyone in the arena fills out their brackets first with their predictions, then again while the wrestling is happening. Oh, and I say bracketS because wrestling doesn’t have one bracket with 64 teams, it has 10 brackets with an average of 32 wrestlers. And as I watch Iowa’s Brent Metcalf with envy and shiver at the sight of Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson, I realize how fortunate I am to coach the sport that I love at its highest level of competition.

Unlike No Other

Wrestling is a sport that is unparalleled. While you are part of a team and have coaches to train you, when the whistle blows, it’s all on you. There is no one else to help you, no one else to block for you, no one else to make a play for you. And there’s nowhere to hide. If you run, the crowd will let you know by showering you with an outpour of boos. Every match is not only a battle against your opponent, but also a personal battle within yourself. At some point during a match, one wrestler will be forced to make a decision. The two gladiators will push each other until the point comes when one wrestler can either decide to continue to push and wrestle to win, or just wrestle to not get completely killed. When the former is the choice, magic happens. And at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, that’s usually the case; that’s why these wrestlers qualified for the tournament.

So, for the next few weeks when you are looking at your bracket and analyzing it to death, remember this: You filled out your bracket trying to pick the best team in the land. I filled out ten brackets trying to decide who are not just the best wrestlers, but also the toughest competitors.

If you would like to see for yourself, the finals will be broadcast live on ESPN on Saturday, March 22 at 8:30 pm EST. You won't regret it.