Why we loved Arch Matness

Every wrestling fan at this year's NCAA wrestling tournament has a moment, or thought they've been sharing with friends and coworkers. It might have been the dominance of David Taylor and Penn State, the stumbling of Iowa State or the surprise three NCAA championships by Cornell. There were hundreds of matches over three days by 330 wrestlers from 70 schools. That type of volume and variety made way for everyone to have their own weekend of emotional ups and downs while following their chosen favorites.

Most of our best moments come from the teams and individuals we support without rational thought -- the teams for which we have biases. Being in the media means I have to be objective about how I portray what I see, but I'm no different than any other fan. I rooted for the wrestlers I once recruited or coached, or for the teams in which close friends were at the helm. I cheered my ass off for U.Va.

The NCAA wrestling tournament is special like that. There is no limit to stories, or way to quantify for others the emotions you can feel in supporting your favorite wrestlers and teams. The editor of InterMat teases me because my favorite wrestler was 157-pounder Anthony Jones of Michigan State, a mild obsession that dated back to his performance at the 2010 Big Ten tournament. Why I held onto it, I don't know, but I even put him as an All-American in my pool. When he wrestled I couldn't focus on anything else. He wasn't a front-runner or world beater, just a kid I saw display a lot of heart two years ago in Michigan.

Penn State's Frank Molinaro hugs his coach Cael Sanderson (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

I also like Penn State and Cael Sanderson. They've challenged the Midwestern dominance of the sport and brought a hybrid style of funk and aggression that has propelled the sport forward. All the credit for that style can't be left in Happy Valley, though. Cornell head wrestling coach Rob Koll, who I first met in my first year of college, has been at the front of the technique curve, promoting a similar aggressive and fluid style of wrestling. Neither of these assertions means that I look at these programs through rose-tinted glasses. I read the complaints by fans and coaches about Penn State's lack of participation and nod along. I agree it would be nice to have everyone available for a dual team tournament in 2013.

The level of technique and competitiveness at this year's NCAAs was among the best I've ever seen. There was domination by several individuals, but if you look at historical data, it wasn't that much more than in years past. Only one wrestlers outside of the top three seeds won the tournament, and that was No. 4 seed Steve Bosak of Cornell. That result hints that while there is developing team parity in wrestling, the individual wrestlers at the top three of the weight class are typically just that much better than the rest.

Seeding was abysmal (bad enough to deserve its own article), but played little in the results of the tourney. What was most compelling was how clearly dominant wrestlers like Frank Molinaro and David Taylor were able to clear out their weight classes of top-level challengers. Looking at the final placewinners supports that assertion with the seeds to placing in those weights suffering the most upheaval. On the contrary, 141 pounds proved to be the toughest weight of the tourney, and the most predictable in terms of All-Americans. In my offline pool of 10 players, it was the most accurately predicted weight class. 149 and 184 were the least accurately predicted.

NCAAs is also a place to meet old friends and tell stories, something made easier by the prodigious amount of alcohol consumed in the city that brought us Budweiser. That wrestling fans like to booze is something I already knew, but it was nice to see so many fans alternatively enjoying the St. Patrick's Day festivities outside and the wrestling inside. We might be prohibitionists during the season, especially for those competing, but as the stress comes undone the familiarity with a pint of Guinness and cups of single malt whiskey seem to reestablish themselves, and the potent potable fall down our gullets with considerable ease.

Of course boozing promotes dancing, something that I found 94.8 percent of the wrestling public was incapable of doing in an inoffensive manner. I watched middle-aged men in team shirts waddle onto the floors they should have left to regulars. There was no harm in their lack of rhythm, and let's face it, wrestlers aren't meant to win Dancing with the Stars.

Appalachian State's Austin Trotman placed third at 184 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Booze-filled dance halls aside, the best moments of the weekend happened on the mat. Austin Trotman engaged with 17k fans after his upset of No. 1 seed Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming. The Appalachian State wrestler was no fluke and had an overtime match in the semifinals with NCAA champion Steve Bosak. Trotman finished third and his teammate Kyle Blevins fourth, the first All-Americans for Appalachian State since Mark Fee in 2003. Hats should be tipped to JohnMark Bentley, the former UNC stud who has shown himself to be an excellent head coach, and one I think will be mentioned for larger head jobs this offseason.

One of my favorite moments came watching Matt McDonough win the NCAA title. Wrestling is unforgiving, and McDonough has had to endure a year of promotions for Anthony Robles, who defeated him in the 2011 finals. McDonough is likely a four-time NCAA finalist and odds-on favorite to win a third NCAA title, but he may only be remembered popularly for that very publicized loss to Robles. I don't feel bad for him. Plenty of people work hard and never achieve their goals. I just liked to see him be dominant again and hopefully fans will see that work ethic and change the tenor of his wrestling legacy.

Minnesota's Zach Sanders' NCAA championship dreams were crushed when he fell to Penn State's Nico Medaludis (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)

The NCAA tournament is filled with highly-emotional moments. It was hard to watch Zach Sanders of Minnesota lose to Nico Megaludis of Penn State in the 125-pound semifinals. The Gopher senior walked off with his hands over his head, but only made it to the aisle behind the scorer's table before collapsing into tears. It was a reminder of just how hard these kids are working towards a goal, and that while beautiful, wrestling can take from you every ounce of your energy and never return to you what you think you deserve. There are no guarantees in this sport, and nobody to blame but yourself if things go pear-shaped. Still, I'd have liked to see him finish his career in the NCAA finals.

Speaking of blame, the worst call of the tournament was made during the overtime match between Nic Bedelyon of Kent State and Jesse Delgado of Illinois. Referees have bad days, too, but the series of calls in this match were inexplicably awful. For those needing a quick reminder, Bedelyon had Delgado in a leg turk with a crossface, earning what looked to be an easy set of back points. However, instead of looking for the fall, the referee simply stopped the match and gave the two-point takedown and win to Bedelyon. The call was then referred to the assistant referee who made mention that Bedelyon's other leg was trapped, and maybe, just maybe, it wasn't actually two points. They waived off the win and restarted the match in neutral. Of course, they shouldn't have, and the right call at the time was to just call back points and let the period run out. Giving two should have been dependent on Bedelyon's ability to keep Delgado in danger, not how his knee was being captured. From there the referee lost some confidence and gave a series of bad calls to both wrestlers, with the final coming in the form of a makeup two point takedown for Bedelyon. The right wrestler won, but man, it was ugly.

Jordan Oliver was close to securing a takedown in the closing seconds (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

So, what about that Logan Stieber-Jordan Oliver takedown? I don't want to cause trouble, and I don't have time to answer 347 emails from fans in Stillwater, so I'll just say, that there has been less called a takedown, and nobody would have complained were it called. However, that position for the defensive wrestler has become more popular as a means of transitioning a hip out from danger, particularly when only one leg is wrapped up above the knee (as it was with Stieber's leg). Someone made a valid point that it could only be two if Oliver is trying to get his head out of Stieber's crotch and does so. If he doesn't, then it's tough to say he's in control. Either way, it's a difficult call to make, but certainly not the worst no-call in NCAA finals history.

St. Louis was once again a great host. I'll never understand their regional obsession with toasted ravioli, but I can appreciate their hospitality. The city has the right type of layout for a wrestling tournament, and like many lamented over the weekend, we'd all like to see the event stay in one place, a sentiment I agree with, if for no other reason than we can all grow familiar with hotel and dining options. The NCAA should investigate trying to establish something like NCAA baseball has with its College World Series in Omaha, instead of delaying the release of the wild cards and brackets for five hours (... jerks).

For any of your friends wondering what it feels like to watch a wrestler that you love take the mat, have them watch the two videos below. Not only do they speak to the emotional torture of watching those matches, but also how much the coaching staffs of wrestling teams care for their wrestlers. This isn't a loose assemblage of talent, or a sad media-generated attempt to make for-profit sports look like they instill values, this is just two coaches, not knowing that they're being taped, showing why wrestling is the greatest sport in the world.

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