Somehow word has to get out about the Oregon State wrestling team. I know it was a Friday night in the wild town of Corvallis with so much to do, but 667 fans? Really?
That was the first meet I covered in two years but I remember bigger crowds in 2008, and 2005 when I covered a full season.
I know the program was huge in wrestling’s heyday, and the chance of getting back to that level is long shot. But the Beavers are in the middle of a big season.
They have won 12 straight and are 13-1 overall. They’ll make a run at a team Pac-10 dual meet title, in the conference tournament and have an interesting postseason.
Check out my story in Saturday’s GT on the 33-9 victory over UC Davis here. The next contest will be 2 p.m. Sunday in Gill Coliseum against Cal State Bakersfield.
Colby Covington was impressive at 174 pounds. He tossed around his opponent with ease. He had him up over his shoulder twice.
Heavyweight Clayton Jack tossed his thick opponent down with a thunderous thud, another impressive feat.
To seen what these guys do, check out the 2008-09 season intro video.
Random notes
Here’s a link to the gymnastics team’s meet preview for the road contest with Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Former OSU OL Andy Levitre was named to the Sporting News All-Rookie Team for the NFL.
Here’s the meet preview for wrestling against Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon.
22 comments
aaron_ says:
Jan 16, 2010
Wrestling is a tough sell isnt it. Unfortunatley it soesnthave the appeal that baseball, football and basketball does. It will never have the appeal of those three but to only have 667 people is bad. The Beavers have a good team this year, students, alum and the townspeople should go out and support them. They are not at the level they were in their hayday but it is a good team. Go Beavers!
angrybeaver says:
Jan 16, 2010
Can someone explain to me why there aren't more things to do in Corvallis? You have a university with 20,000 students and yet there's very little to do. Why isn't there some expansion/business following the success of the athletics? Seems like a really great place to open typical college fare etc. Does anyone go to town meetings that involve development/planning and therefore could give some insight? I think if there were more things to do in town we'd get higher caliber recruits and wouldn't have the podunk reputation. I mean Cliff is a writer for the team and he's still making fun of the fact that there's nothing to do.
http://angrybeavers.wordpress.com
angrybeaver says:
Jan 16, 2010
As far as wrestling…I'd never go myself. It's just not an exciting sport to watch, and honestly, it makes me uneasy seeing men groping each other. I know that's going to come off wrong, but I'm sure a lot of guys feel that way and it's part of the reason people don't go out and watch the sport.
Ted0 says:
Jan 17, 2010
That'd be very stupid to drop a sport that's having a lot uf success just to add a sport for the purpose of helping a second sport.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 17, 2010
How exactly is that stupid when "success" = 667 fans?
With a better/faster football team maybe they'd sell out those 6,000 seats, which would equal a lot more money than 667 wrestling fans.
Ted0 says:
Jan 17, 2010
A track program wouldn't automatically mean "a better/'faster football team" and would be stupid to do it on a maybe for more sold seats. Wrestling is having a success the team is a Top 25 team right now and pretty sure had an All American last year. Dropping the program would just be abondoning all the current wrestlers.
getbeaver says:
Jan 17, 2010
U apperently have never watched a wrestling meet. U r a complete tool. Wrestling is by far the hardest sport out there. The reason wrestling is not as popular is because f@g$ like u think they r "groping each other"! Tell that 2 a wrestler and get ur @$$ wooped. And do some research on some of the football players. U might find that a bunch of them including 3 starters on D who were bad @$$'s @ "groping each other" in high school.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 17, 2010
Considering 667 people went to watch a top 25 team I'd say my opinion is the majority and yours the minority. Sorry, tool.
ckirkpatrick says:
Jan 17, 2010
Getbeaver,
Since you are a new to doing comments, I approved what you said but I edited some things. Now your comments don't have to be approved by me to get on the blog. I don't usually edit comments, but you make a good point but some of the words you used were derogatory.
I hope you comment more, but comments can't be aggressive to the posters or make personal attacks on anyone. That's my standard on the blog. Attacks on opinions are OK, coaching decisions or player actions.
ckirkpatrick says:
Jan 17, 2010
Wrestling won't be dropped because the scholarships are endowed, so it's very cheap. And OSU has great history in that program.
Men's track is in the process of being developed without the loss of a sport.
tradernum1 says:
Jan 17, 2010
Describing wrestling as "men groping one another" is incredibly ignorant, a put down of one of the toughest sports around, and unworthy of the athletes at our school who work extraordinarily hard, are well coached, and tough as hell.
If you've never seen an OS match fine, you're just another loud mouth idiot.
If you have seen an OS match, you're just another loud mouth idiot.
Man up, and apologize.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 17, 2010
I'm not going to apologize for perception, and that is the perception by the majority of people. Again, just look at the attendance numbers, cost of admission, etc, and they say it all. If you look at my first comment, I said I know it's going to come off wrong (and offend some people)…but I think these hard truths should be spoken. I'm sure there's a lot of skill and strategy but the truth is that the sport makes a lot of men uneasy. Why do you think pro-wrestling made a mockery of itself? It was to dissuade people from all the touching. Now go play with your Hulk Hogan figure, friend, and stop shooting the messenger.
http://angrybeavers.wordpress.com
maisela says:
Jan 18, 2010
I guess I'm not included in your majority and neither are the 10,967 people who attended the Oklahoma State v Iowa dual on Saturday night. Wrestling actually is a really popular sport especially out here in the Midwest. Try attending a dual before you spout off about "I'd never go myself. It's just not an exciting sport to watch, and honestly, it makes me uneasy seeing men groping each other." That's just a plain ignorant comment.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 20, 2010
How is it ignorant? I watched it in-person in high school; I've seen it on TV. That's just how I feel, man, and I think a lot of guys do. If you don't then go have a blast watching it. You're just in the minority, which is fine, but let's call it what it is.
beeverluv says:
Jan 17, 2010
In the end grappling is an art, and most people don't understand the artistry involved. Like it or don't. Unless you were one of the 667 at the meet, you apparently don't like it. But that's no reason to remove the program.
There's also absolutely no excuse for OSU not to have a track and field team. Wrestling never had the success our track teams had–unless there's a wrestling move named after Les Gutches that I'm not aware of. Yet an athletic director who just had it in for the sport dumped it. And don't give me the line about 'budgetary concerns'. If that were true, then Lynn Snyder would not have simultaneously added soccer and wasted the money sunk into refurbishing our track facilities. Unforgivable Lynn.
Bring back track and field because it's the right thing to do.
And I think wrestling is a tough sell. Otherwise I wouldn't be posting under a title which says so and an article which backs up the title.
beeverluv says:
Jan 17, 2010
I know some of you will contend my statement about relative successes by bringing up Dale Thomas' tenure. Track and field and wrestling have similar NCAA success over time. But this isn't a world in which almost everyone wrestles. There aren't large groups of people wrestling down the road in front of my house. I'm not aware of the two dozen or so national publications with names like Wrestler's World.
The point is that, while we have had great success in wrestling on the collegiate level, the greatest test of an Olympic sport is Olympic success. And in a much much deeper talent pool Oregon State track and field has enjoyed that success.
ejs says:
Jan 17, 2010
i notice a lot of wrestling banners and murals on the walls and rafters at gill……..maybe angrybeaver has never been in gill…….i agree with beeverluv,grappling is an art
etcetc says:
Jan 18, 2010
As a former wrestler I have thought about the question of why wrestling does not get the crowds that more popular sports do. After all more attention is given to sports with much less activity such as golf and baseball. Here are some reasons for its lack of attention:
1. It has promoted poorly. Dale Thomas was a rare exception in that in the early seventies the attendence at meets ranged from 1500 to over 5000.
2. Title IX has been killing college programs.
3. Many people confuse it with profession (faked) wrestling.
4. It is not very recreationally oriented.
The fact that mixed martial arts fighting has been so successful (and employing many wrestlers) shows that there is a demand for combative sports if they are promoted well. It seems to me that knowing about the athletes and making the sport dramatic is what is most important. The most popular sports also have a symbiotic relationship between the media and the sport. For an example, the Portland Trailblazers, needs the Oregonian and TV networks to publicize their games and help the public become familiar with the players. In return, the interest generate helps sell newspapers.
OrStFan says:
Jan 19, 2010
Cliff, Do the wrestling community a favor and remove the comments on this blog. It needs a do-over.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 20, 2010
Why would you ask him to censor any of the comments? They are all fine. This is what happened over at blitz and it made the forum sterile with one viewpoint. It's also what happened in the book 1984. Pretty sad you'd suggest that as a solution. Just defend your points or don't read the comments…nobody is forcing you.
ckirkpatrick says:
Jan 19, 2010
I'll address this later in the week, and give people another chance.
I think people make good points. Discussion without name calling is good.
Cliff: More on wrestling « Cliff Kirkpatrick says:
Jan 20, 2010
[...] funding, while general sports fans said the typical of not liking dudes touching dudes. You can check it out here. One person commented about the success of mixed martial arts. Millions are made on pay-per-view to [...]