The GOAT Iowa wrestler is from PA = makes me smile

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

As a PA native it gives me great pride to see how Iowa fans universally recognize their GOAT wrestler is Spencer Lee, a PA boy.  I hope that once he finishes his amateur career he starts his coaching career in PA.  

I'm sure he'll eventually push the Brands out of Iowa City, but I think they are young enough that a 25 year old Spencer won't be evicting them from their offices any time soon.

How about Spencer Lee coaching at a place like Lock Haven?

[jchapman]

Cedar Rapids is in Pennsylvania?

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

6 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Cedar Rapids is in Pennsylvania?

He grew up in Saegertown, PA and Murrysville, PA.  He won 3 PIAA state titles in PA and was runner-up his last year where he lost to fellow Pennsylvania Austin DeSanto.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Jimmy Cinnabon

[jchapman]

Barry Davis is from Cedar Rapids

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

Just now, jchapman said:

Barry Davis is from Cedar Rapids

No Iowa fan thinks Barry Davis is better than Spencer Lee.

[bnwtwg]

jimmy unloading the midseason clip today

[jchapman]

11 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

No Iowa fan thinks Barry Davis is better than Spencer Lee.

Davis has as many NCAA titles, twice as many career wins and twice as many B1G Titles.  Plus, Davis had an Olympic Silver during college.  All this while competing in fewer seasons than Lee.

[ionel]

Joe Williams is from Illinois

 

[gimpeltf]

52 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Davis has as many NCAA titles, twice as many career wins and twice as many B1G Titles.  Plus, Davis had an Olympic Silver during college.  All this while competing in fewer seasons than Lee.

And more Hy-Vee donuts!

[Silver]

17 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

As a PA native it gives me great pride to see how Iowa fans universally recognize their GOAT wrestler is Spencer Lee, a PA boy.  I hope that once he finishes his amateur career he starts his coaching career in PA.  

I'm sure he'll eventually push the Brands out of Iowa City, but I think they are young enough that a 25 year old Spencer won't be evicting them from their offices any time soon.

How about Spencer Lee coaching at a place like Lock Haven?

Ahhh yes, just like Metcafeeeee

[Twooooo]

You make this lame post once a year about how some kid that grew up somewhere else is now another state's pride and joy.  It's called recruiting and all coaches do it.  Yes, Spencer is not from Iowa and yes he is our golden boy but guess what, if Spence wanted to stay in PA, he would have.  He had his choice and he chose to come to Iowa and I bet if you asked him now, he would call Iowa "home".  I don't understand why you make this post every year? Are you trying to say that Iowa fans shouldn't welcome outsiders into the state and welcome them as one of their own?

[Plasmodium]

SL is the Iowa GOAT?  When was the coronation?  I missed it.

[Twooooo]

17 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

As a PA native it gives me great pride to see how Iowa fans universally recognize their GOAT wrestler is Spencer Lee, a PA boy.  I hope that once he finishes his amateur career he starts his coaching career in PA.  

I'm sure he'll eventually push the Brands out of Iowa City, but I think they are young enough that a 25 year old Spencer won't be evicting them from their offices any time soon.

How about Spencer Lee coaching at a place like Lock Haven?

Also, isn't your GOAT coach from Utah and then wrestled in Iowa?  As an Iowa native it gives me great pride to see Penn State fans recognize their GOAT coach Cael, a Utah boy but also came from Iowa after his wrestling career.

[Wrestleknownothing]

17 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

As a PA native it gives me great pride to see how Iowa fans universally recognize their GOAT wrestler is Spencer Lee, a PA boy.  I hope that once he finishes his amateur career he starts his coaching career in PA.  

I'm sure he'll eventually push the Brands out of Iowa City, but I think they are young enough that a 25 year old Spencer won't be evicting them from their offices any time soon.

How about Spencer Lee coaching at a place like Lock Haven?

I knew once we got away from Conestoga wagons these darn kids would wander off too far. Mark my words, SpaceX will be then end of PSU dominance, too.

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

9 minutes ago, Twooooo said:

Also, isn't your GOAT coach from Utah and then wrestled in Iowa?  As an Iowa native it gives me great pride to see Penn State fans recognize their GOAT coach Cael, a Utah boy but also came from Iowa after his wrestling career.

This doesn't make sense. If you were actually from Utah, and Utah were actually a rival of Pennsylvania in terms of wrestling I might buy it.

Also, GOAT Coach and GOAT Wrestler are two very different things.  

Edited January 9, 2023 by Jimmy Cinnabon

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

13 minutes ago, Plasmodium said:

SL is the Iowa GOAT?  When was the coronation?  I missed it.

Go to Carver Hawkeye and survey the crowd.  I guarantee 95% will say it's Spencer Lee.

[SocraTease]

Lee has a few things that he does extremely well.  He was also apparently gifted with super hand and arm strength.  

But in my opinion at least and compared to other very elite wrestlers, he does not seem to regularly display the range and diversity of skills or moves that make him so interesting to watch aesthetically or athletically.

His game plan and path to victory are pretty predictable and well known, and few wrestlers can stop or delay it.  But he is still pretty predictable.

He's clearly a great wrestler, but he's also been put on his back a number of times, pinned once, ridden heavily a few times, and often runs out of gas in the third period throughout his career when the match goes that far.   Has that happened to Cael or Dake or the best of the 3-timers (Ruth, Nickal, Nolf, etc.) who wrestled many more matches in their careers?

I think it is also reasonable to say that it is easier to dominate at lower weights when others outgrow the lowest weight and you do not.  When you ascend in weight, I suspect you are typically dealing with more upperclassmen on a regular basis and more mature bodies. 

Compared to the innovation, creativity, technical skills, or stylistic flamboyance (for lack of a better phrase) of a number of other wrestlers in folkstyle (as well as freestyle), I just don't find his wrestling that interesting to watch.  It's clearly successful; it works; and he wins. No doubt about that.  That, of course, matters and in the ends matters most to many, but we all have our favorite wrestlers to follow, and he simply isn't in the top few for me.   

The GOAT of Iowa from PA ... well maybe but not the American GOAT in folkstyle ... not yet and not even if he wins his fourth.

[Twooooo]

16 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

This doesn't make sense. If you were actually from Utah, and Utah were actually a rival of Pennsylvania in terms of wrestling I might buy it.

Also, GOAT Coach and GOAT Wrestler are two very different things.  

So it's only because Penn State and Iowa are rivals that you want to try and bring Iowa fans down for liking an out of state kid?

[Wrestleknownothing]

23 minutes ago, SocraTease said:

 

I think it is also reasonable to say that it is easier to dominate at lower weights when others outgrow the lowest weight and you do not.  When you ascend in weight, I suspect you are typically dealing with more upperclassmen on a regular basis and more mature bodies. 

 

I always thought this too, but you inspired me to take a quick look. Per latest Intermat ratings 125 has the highest total of top 10 ranked wrestlers coming from upper classmen (Juniors and Seniors - however that is defined these days), with 9 of 10. 125 also has the most underclassmen in the 21-33 range.

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

27 minutes ago, Twooooo said:

So it's only because Penn State and Iowa are rivals that you want to try and bring Iowa fans down for liking an out of state kid?

Because Iowa has been dominant for so long and taken such great pride in Iowa being the best wrestling state...and the unadulterated worship of Spencer Lee, who happens to be from PA, contradicts this Iowa-centric mindset.

[Wrestleknownothing]

For Flo it is 10 of 10 upperclassmen in 125 in the top 10

Caveat: I have done nothing to make sure that each service considers wrestlers to be the same year in school. So if Intermat calls one guy a sophmore and Flo calls him a junior that could explain the difference.

[Wrestleknownothing]

and Wrestlestat

[Twooooo]

15 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

Because Iowa has been dominant for so long and taken such great pride in Iowa being the best wrestling state...and the unadulterated worship of Spencer Lee, who happens to be from PA, contradicts this Iowa-centric mindset.

I liked it better when you were off the boards.  You would be hard pressed to find any Iowa wrestling fan that still says Iowa is the "best wrestling state".  Do we have some good to great wrestlers, yup, but are we the best wrestling state for high school kids, of course not. 

I do think that we are the best wrestling state when it comes to fans and supporting our wrestlers, IE our attendance record every year.

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

Just now, Twooooo said:

I liked it better when you were off the boards.  You would be hard pressed to find any Iowa wrestling fan that still says Iowa is the "best wrestling state".  Do we have some good to great wrestlers, yup, but are we the best wrestling state for high school kids, of course not. 

I do think that we are the best wrestling state when it comes to fans and supporting our wrestlers, IE our attendance record every year.

When was I off the board? So you admit PA is the best wrestling state?

[Twooooo]

33 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

When was I off the board? So you admit PA is the best wrestling state?

When you left the other college wrestling board.

I would say that PA generates some of the best college wrestlers from high school kids, yes.