Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD TIM OWEN | OWEN.TIM.BWI@ G M A I L . C O M A dream to be sold T he college wrestling season is reaching its crescendo, and it has never been so compelling. ESPN���s cameras will be rolling, and the arena will be sold out. With the potential to see the most hyped matchup in college wrestling history and a team title race that could come down to the final few bouts, more eyes are expected to be focused on this NCAA tournament than any tournament before it. Which, right now, is exactly what the sport needs. Wrestling is in the middle of its most significant match, and it���s not David Taylor vs. Kyle Dake. The sport is fighting against the International Olympic Committee and its decision to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 Olympic Games. It���s worse than death. At least that���s what Iowa���s head coach said in response to the news. Other Olympic medalists have returned their medals in protest, and a coach from Bulgaria is fasting. The announcement, which came early in the morning of Feb. 12, was the lowest of all blows to a wrestling community that consistently struggles for national and global attention. And it has left its most notable leaders stunned. ���It���s worse than death because you can���t control death,��� said Iowa���s Tom Brands, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist. Maybe not, but there doesn���t appear to be much the United States can do to control this situation, either. It���s now up to FILA, the world governing body of wrestling. Wrestling will compete with eight other sports for an inclusion spot in the 2020 Olympics. With some help from Russian oil businessmen, FILA is on a public relations tirade to get mankind���s oldest sport back on the event list. Even so, the Associated Press wrote that it is ���extremely un- likely��� that wrestling gets the inclusion vote in May. The United States may have a limited role in this uphill battle, but its wrestling community will scrap, scramble and sprawl to be certain that its sport continues to grow domestically ��� despite being eliminated by the IOC. The fighters will be out in full force in Des Moines, Iowa, at the NCAA Championships, and the most persuasive will be the wrestlers themselves. Their involvement is crucial, because even though the sport���s viewership and participation numbers have steadily risen in the United States during the past decade, there are concerns that the IOC���s decision will impact its growth. ���What if it does filter down to the college level?��� Iowa assistant coach Terry Brands said on KCJJ radio in Coralville, Iowa. ���You���re a fool if you think it���s not gonna. Or [filter down] to the youth. We just have to fight the thing and continue to sell the dream.��� The perfect time to sell that dream will be on this country���s biggest stage in March. Truthfully, Olympic wrestling isn���t as widely viewed here ��� one of the reasons why the IOC made the cut. Much of that could be blamed on NBC���s selective coverage, or maybe the fact that Olympic styles ��� freestyle and Greco Roman ��� differ from the folkstyle wrestling familiar to Americans. The Olympic product sometimes isn���t as enjoyable to watch, especially to the casual fan. But with Dake jumping up to 165 pounds to rendezvous with a returning national champion and hoping to make history on ESPN���s national primetime broadcast, the 2013 NCAA tournament is as appealing as ever. (Here���s hoping Taylor and Dake do actually meet.) Right now, that���s what the sport needs. And it would help even more if the stars align and the team title were to be decided in the final round. In the wake of the IOC���s decision to cut wrestling from the 2020 Summer Games, the sport needs to put its best product forward when it has the most media attention. It must show that in spite of the IOC���s ax, wrestling is alive and kicking in the United States. Statistics from the National Wrestling Coaches Association show that the number of American high school wrestlers has grown by more than 30,000 in the past decade, and more than 10,400 schools sponsor the sport, which is the most ever. More fans are watching, too, at least at the college level. For the 2012 NCAA tournament in St. Louis, a record crowd of 18,919 filed into the Scottrade Center for the final round. In all, 112,393 fans attended the sixsession, three-day event ��� another all-time high. And main events like Taylor-Dake prove that a wrestling dream still exists. Tight team races in front of the home crowd help, too. Sold-out arenas and national broadcasts heighten the visibility so that more Americans than ever can watch as only 10 of the 330 participating wrestlers reach the pinnacle of college wrestling. Once the opening whistle blows on the 2013 national tournament, the sport needs to deliver for its audience. It must have thrilling victories. Heartbreaking upsets. Eye-catching throws. Punishing pin combinations. Like a quick-snatch single leg, the sport has to reach out and grab the attention of even the most casual fan who tunes in. With moments like that, wrestling can prove that even without the Olympics, there is still a dream to be sold to this country���s youth.

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