If Iowa starts another Dynasty (heaven forbid) ...

CycloneWanderer · 03-22-2008, 10:01 PM

would that be good for the sport of wrestling? Especially now with what looks like wrestling trying to break into the television market doing the ESPN thing. People like to see competition and no one likes a blowout. There are some nice stories but after a while will people just stop watching if there is no more competition for the team title?

scottie33 · 03-22-2008, 10:03 PM

You can get between 2nd-5th place without being in consolation round therefore you were on either ESPNu today or ESPN tonight.

scottie33 · 03-22-2008, 10:04 PM

Weren't the consolation matches and other matches on ESPNu all weekend long?

CycloneWanderer · 03-22-2008, 10:09 PM

I'm talking about team placements. Without the team scores, everything on ESPN I watched the last day has been about personal stories about a few wrestlers. If Iowa keeps winning and all the personal stories become "this kid's dream was to wrestle for Iowa and now he is going for a national championship," will that hurt the advancement of the sport? From a team standpoint - battles to be second-best aren't as cared about.

jbhtexas · 03-22-2008, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by CycloneWanderer

No one likes watching people battle for 2-5 place (ex.- very few/none of the consolations were televised nationally on ESPNything).

That would pretty much make it like what pro golf has become anytime Tiger is playing...

Cyclone62 · 03-22-2008, 10:14 PM

ESPN is doing the best job of keeping the sport alive out of any media outlet for two reasons. One, they are explaining the sport (which is huge) to people that don't follow it. Two, they are putting it on on National TV. If the viewers on ESPNU continue, and even rise, the entire tourney will be on ESPN or ESPN2 soon enough.

CycloneWanderer · 03-22-2008, 10:17 PM

Ok, new question since no one understood my first one: If Iowa becomes a continuously dominant force (check 75-00?) how will it affect the sport as a whole?

scottie33 · 03-22-2008, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by CycloneWanderer

Ok, new question since no one understood my first one: If Iowa becomes a continuously dominant force (check 75-00?) how will it affect the sport as a whole?

I really didn't follow college wrestling until I got to ISU in 2004 so I wouldn't really know...I think with ESPN and ESPNU broadcasting it, it's only going to bring more recognition to the sport and it can't only go up I believe.

CycloneWanderer · 03-22-2008, 10:26 PM

I hadn't followed wrestling much before these last few years, either. I just would like to hear from some of the people who may have been around to see wrestling before and during the last hawk dynasty. All speculation is welcome though : )

Jeremy · 03-22-2008, 10:35 PM

I honestly don't think any one team's success, or lack thereof, has any bearing on the overall success or popularity of the sports. That's like asking if college basketball should be less popular now because Duke isn't dominating. Wrestling is one of the rare sports that most people don't completely understand and where any team can be competitive despite their conference (i.e. Central Michigan).

Cyclone62 · 03-22-2008, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by CycloneWanderer

I hadn't followed wrestling much before these last few years, either. I just would like to hear from some of the people who may have been around to see wrestling before and during the last hawk dynasty. All speculation is welcome though : )

Wrestling is believed to be dominated by Iowa, Okie Lite, ISU, Oklahoma, and Minny. Switching from Okie Lite to Minny to Iowa to ISU isn't going to change it's popularity at all.

CycloneErik · 03-22-2008, 10:41 PM

They could have something to talk about besides who got arrested.

Maybe we could have threads or CyBookie events: Higher #, football arrests or wrestling titlists?

MontyBurns · 03-22-2008, 11:37 PM

If Iowa starts another dynasty it won't really matter. It's just wrestling. Nobody cares about it outside of the state of Iowa...and not many care about it inside the state.

But I wouldn't worry about it. This year's Iowa wrestling team is a combination of Iowa's recruits and Virginia Tech's recruits that Tom Brands stole when he gutted his employer's program in order to come to Iowa. Of course they're going to be good when they combine the best wrestlers from two programs on one squad. It's a one-time-only deal. Let's see how good they are long term when they're limited to one recruiting class per year.

CrossCyed · 03-22-2008, 11:38 PM

So, how much of this is Gable and how much of this is Brands?

Cypwr · 03-23-2008, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by CrossCyed

So, how much of this is Gable and how much of this is Brands?

They're really one and the same.