The excitement just jumps off the page

[dragit]

https://nusports.com/news/2025/12/26/61st-annual-ken-kraft-midlands-championships-set-for-december-29th-and-30th

 

[Truzzcat]

I wish the high school kids were wrestling in this rather than Powerade that would up the excitement level quite a bit.

[Caveira]

A once proud event.  

[NM1965]

12 hours ago, dragit said:

https://nusports.com/news/2025/12/26/61st-annual-ken-kraft-midlands-championships-set-for-december-29th-and-30th

 

The excrement just jumps off the page!!

Midlands: a colossal downfall. What happened? 

[ballz]

They cancelled midlands the one year, all while they still held a basketball game. Hasn't be close to the same since

[Rassling2]

6 hours ago, NM1965 said:

The excrement just jumps off the page!!

Midlands: a colossal downfall. What happened? 

Just like the sport itself. We have weak has-been D3 minded individuals running / ruining our sport as evidenced by empty stadium seats and piss poor coverage. 

[TexRef]

18 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

I wish the high school kids were wrestling in this rather than Powerade that would up the excitement level quite a bit.

Bob Dole

[dragit]

13 hours ago, NM1965 said:

The excrement just jumps off the page!!

Midlands: a colossal downfall. What happened? 

A lot of stuff I think.  Biggest issue probably is one that's out of their control -- with the NCAAs the only thing that people really care about, the in-season tournament is way, way down the priority list.  Even CKLV, which had been the one recently worth planning around to watch, fell way down this year.

Also it did seem like Midlands got complacent.  When they didn't let Mark Hall wrestle his freshman year I thought that was a mistake.  And then the Covid cancellation and moving it off campus to that brutally antiseptic arena an hour away.  And ultimately, like Sterling Cooper in Mad Men, they were too dependent on one client -- Iowa, and you could feel their interest sapping every year.  I'd walk through the parking lot and see all those Iowa plates and say to myself, when they bail out, the roof is going to cave in.

All of which leads to that press release I started the thread with where they name not a single team or wrestler to entice the fans.  Because they couldn't have done so and kept a straight face.

It's really sad -- it was something to plan around back in the day.

[NM1965]

1 hour ago, dragit said:

A lot of stuff I think.  Biggest issue probably is one that's out of their control -- with the NCAAs the only thing that people really care about, the in-season tournament is way, way down the priority list.  Even CKLV, which had been the one recently worth planning around to watch, fell way down this year.

Also it did seem like Midlands got complacent.  When they didn't let Mark Hall wrestle his freshman year I thought that was a mistake.  And then the Covid cancellation and moving it off campus to that brutally antiseptic arena an hour away.  And ultimately, like Sterling Cooper in Mad Men, they were too dependent on one client -- Iowa, and you could feel their interest sapping every year.  I'd walk through the parking lot and see all those Iowa plates and say to myself, when they bail out, the roof is going to cave in.

All of which leads to that press release I started the thread with where they name not a single team or wrestler to entice the fans.  Because they couldn't have done so and kept a straight face.

It's really sad -- it was something to plan around back in the day.