The crowds each day were just under 6,500 fans at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)IOWA CITY -- It was late Sunday afternoon and Carver-Hawkeye Arena was rocking.
A boisterous crowd of cheering fans rose to their feet and chanted U-S-A, U-S-A.
The winning wrestler raised his arms in the air in celebration and the crowd roared.
It didn't matter that the wrestler was David Taylor, who competed for Iowa Hawkeye rival Penn State.
What mattered was that Taylor was competing for the United States of America. And that's what makes the World Cup such a special event.
Patriotism and enthusiastic are at its peak when the eight best teams on the planet gather for the annual international dual meet wrestling competition.
And this year was no exception. A loaded U.S. squad, features numerous Olympic and world medalists and Hodge Trophy winners, stormed to the team title this past weekend in Iowa City.
The U.S. downed a strong Azerbaijan team 6-4 in the gold-medal match to capture its first World Cup team title in 15 years.
The fans that were there saw a tremendous show by a number of highly skilled athletes. It was a rare and unique opportunity to see a star-studded collection of American wrestlers battling some of the best wrestlers in the world in Iowa.
Kudos to Iowa City and for the fans that came out, but the crowds each day were just under 6,500 fans. That's only half the capacity at Carver-Hawkeye.
The University of Iowa led the nation in college dual meet attendance with an average of nearly 9,000 fans per dual this past season.
It was surprising and disappointing to not see more people show up for a major international event like the World Cup.
There were a few factors that likely kept some folks away. Six-time defending champion Iran wasn't there. Neither was perennial power Russia or traditional stronghold Turkey.
It was sad to see Iran not show up after the U.S. went all the way to Iran to compete in the 2017 World Cup. Iran did come to the Los Angeles prior to that for the World Cup. The absence of Iran definitely hurt attendance in Iowa City. No doubt some of the rabid Iranian fans who live in the U.S. would have made it to Iowa City if their country would have competed.
Other factors that may have kept people away was fans not having an understanding of just what a World Cup in wrestling is. Most people identify the World Cup with the huge soccer extravaganza.
Carver-Hawkeye attracted huge crowds for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials, but not so much for this event. The sides were mostly filled, but the end zones on both sides had mostly empty seats.
Ticket prices was another issue with why many people didn't go. A two-day adult ticket was $75, but when you consider the entertainment value of the World Cup that seems more than reasonable. Those prices likely kept a few people away.
Again, the fans that were there provided an awesome atmosphere for the event. They were knowledgeable, loud and very much into the U.S. matches.
The pro-Iowa crowd also supported past Ohio State stars Kyle Snyder and Logan Stieber along with Cornell's Kyle Dake, who beat two Hawkeye wrestlers in the NCAA finals.
And the athletes were very appreciative of the crowd support and they conveyed that during post-match interviews.
The fans that did show up were fantastic, providing thunderous applause in support of the American team.
Japan finished third at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The Carver-Hawkeye fans also cheered on the Japanese wrestlers as they ran onto the mat to celebrate after winning the bronze-medal dual. The Japanese athletes pointed to the fans and acknowledged them in appreciation of their support.
The World Cup, as expected, was an entertaining event to watch. It features a fan-friendly format where they can focus on just one mat while the U.S. team wrestles.
The 10-man American team is one of the best it has ever had with the nucleus of that being athletes who led the U.S. to the team title at the 2017 World Championships.
Fans were treated to seeing two American legends, Snyder and Jordan Burroughs, take the mat. Snyder is the youngest U.S. wrestler to win the Olympics and the World Championships while Burroughs owns an Olympic gold medal and four world titles.
Burroughs is a fan favorite who always puts on a show. And he's a class act who appreciates the support that he receives. Just watching him compete is worth the price admission.
Fans also had an opportunity to see hometown hero Thomas Gilman, a three-time All-American for Iowa and a 2017 world silver medalist, compete in the event.
There also was an abundance of international standouts that included three-time world champion and Olympic medalist Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan, world champion Yuki Takahashi of Japan, two-time world silver medalist Reineris Salas of Cuba, and Olympic and world medalist Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan.
There were some outstanding matches between some of the best wrestlers on the planet.
Even with some missing teams and missing fans, the World Cup was a success.
The quality of competition and the entertainment value it provided was top-notch.
It's an awesome event with an excellent format.
It's unfortunate that a lot of people missed out on seeing an exciting event.
Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.
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