Battle within the Battle

[strange_daze]

Lots of conversations about the finals. Here’s one more that makes it about PSU and Okie State. (With apologies for the length.)

The order of matches is one of the main stories of the night:

 -Starocci was upset about it and chided the media in his post-match interview ('I think you guys have to look yourselves in the mirror....')

 -Cael seemed a bit rattled by it during his finals presser, though he attempted to shrug it off. (‘Usually events build up to the big match...but whatever, it doesn't matter....We're not worried about those kinds of things, really. It's not a big deal'.)

 -Key alumni (Nickle, Nolf) communicated about it on social media. Bo's posting also got taken up by the UFC community.

The general argument: Carter going for his fifth was the main event of the finals, and it should have been the ‘main card’. According to some PSU faithful, this is just another example of why wrestling is not as popular as it could be. 

There's also a bigger picture to consider. PSU had an historic tournament (total points, 10 all-Americans), and had Carter’s match been the finale, the celebration would have been seamless: an all-time individual merging with one of the all-time teams/team efforts. It’s great story.

We all know what happened instead: Wyatt pulled off the ‘unimaginable’ and essentially stole the show. By far, it was the most exciting match and outcome of the evening. For me at least.

Why this this is interesting, beyond the match itself: the wrestling community recognizes the insane output by PSU as well as Carter’s accomplishment. The story, however, has been about David vs. Goliath. It’s not the only narrative, of course, but it’s the main one, and as the wrestling pundits pundit, we hear about the positive effect it is going to have on recruiting for the Cowboys.

In an age where PSU has dominated so heavily, it seems like the community is looking for different narratives. We have had this with individual storylines, but Taylor has expanded it to the 'team' level in his move to OSU and in the exclamation point his wrestler(s) put on the finals and in effect the season.

It’s going to be years before David, or anyone else, can truly challenge Goliath. If ever. To me, though, it feels like something shifted on Saturday night—that wrestling, and not just PSU, got a win.  

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next: Will Cael want to schedule a dual and make this a rivalry, or will the two programs stay isolated outside of the NCAA tournament? I think the latter, but the decision is up to PSU. They are the best, but they also have the most to lose. 

Whatever the future holds: I say the battle within the battle was won by Taylor this time. It's a small victory, perhaps, but a meaningful one nonetheless.

   

[Wrestleknownothing]

I can certainly see where Starocci and the PSU community disagreed with the decision, but I agree that it is good for wrestling to feature multiple story lines. Wrestling out of order so that the two big stories bookended the night was awkward, but in retrospect, a good call. That the night ended with the second biggest upset of all time, made the decision makers look pretty smart.

About that last point, Jordan Burroughs needs to grow some thicker skin. Bragging about the decision on match order in the moment was the wrong emphasis. He should have been putting the upset into perspective and saved his victory lap for later.

[BarSeries]

Cael has to feel a little threatened that Taylor had just as many national champions this year as PSU.

I think the NCAA finals is the one night a year where the match order should be totally built from least to most anticipated.........be it fan poll, committee vote, etc.