10. Fresh meat
I wrote about this a few weeks ago but the trend of freshman wrestlers will continue this season with the names of Logan Stieber, Chris Perry, David Taylor, and Ed Ruth. There's always delight in watching a young scrapper take out an established upperclassman. You just never want it to be your upperclassmen.
9. The wrestling state of Iowa
This certainly won't be the best of seasons for perennial powerhouses Iowa and Iowa State, but could it be the worst? The Hawkeyes earned their lowest preseason ranking in five years and Iowa State has too, registering at 30th. Neither team has a wrestler in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Tom Brands has said that nine of his starting spots are unsettled. (McDonough at 125 is the one exception.) It's clear that Iowa State is in transition and that regardless of the circumstances surrounding his dismissal from the team, the Hawkeyes will miss Montell Marion in March.
Dan Gable & Tim Johnson (Photo/The Guillotine)There will be 41 events streamed live on the Internet and on television. That's nine more than they had last season and 41 more than when I was in high school. The BTN isn't blindly committing to the development and growth of college wrestling ... That would be a fool's errand. The network actually makes money from their programs which consistently rank as their third most-watched sport behind football and basketball. Live streaming has allowed committed fans to watch their favorite teams, but these well-produced programs, with descriptions and explanations provided by professional commentators and analysts, brings new fans into the sport. New blood means more money and that means more matches on your DVR.
7. New head coaches
What can they do, and how quickly? Northwestern head wrestling coach Drew Pariano inherits a program that performed poorly last season in dual meet competition and finished second to last in the conference, with only one NCAA qualifier. The only thing keeping the notoriously energetic Pariano from becoming an insomniac is the return of 125-pound All-American Brandon Precin, redshirt sophomore 157-pounder Jason Welch, and returning NCAA qualifier Andrew Nadhir (149). Doug Schwab will also be fighting for wins this season as he rebuilds a Northern Iowa program years removed from the memories of impact grapplers like Tony Davis. I'm sure the fans of Northern Iowa are looking for the Mark Branch-like turnaround enjoyed by Wyoming. Fans shouldn't worry too much. My guess is that if you fast forward a few seasons you'll see a lot more purple atop the podium.
Kyle Dake (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)These are the most interesting and exciting matchups of the season. Each of these wrestlers is either trying to defend or recapture an NCAA title. And each has dominated in the past. The Nebraska and Wisconsin thoroughbreds are so evenly matched, but stylistically different, that no matter your level of clairvoyance, it's impossible to create a technical scenario where one could outright dominate the other. Jordan Burroughs is as quick as Andrew Howe is disciplined. Darrion Caldwell and Kid Dynamite (Kyle Dake) are similar as athletes with equal talent for the big move, which makes their possible matchup the most fan-friendly of the year. My hope is that these two meet in the NCAA finals so that SportsCenter has to cut away from traveling calls and three-second violations to these two guys exchanging high-flying mat returns.
5. Social media
Keeping up with your favorite wrestlers, teams, and wrestling sites has never been easier. Sign up for Twitter and make sure you're a fan on Facebook and you should have access to schedule changes, highlight films, and roster updates. Social media has allowed for total access to every program, conference and news outlet are working online to deliver quality content to fans regardless of geography or previous association. I know that Twitter makes some people feel like a 12-year-old, but all you have to do is check the feeds every once in a while or sign-up and receive all the information you need with basically no effort.
4. The influence of MMA
UFC titleholders Frankie Edgar and Cain Velasquez recently recertified that the toughness of college wrestlers holds currency which fighters of other disciplines simply can't match. This wrestling season will see more marketing from MMA brands and we'll all be guessing which of the wrestlers we watch at NCAA's will go on to counter-jab a Brit, or lock-in a triangle on a Brazilian. Whoever chooses to pursue a career in professional fighting, it's comforting to know that all the weight-cutting and days spent training for free, will finally earn some of these hard workers a decent salary. They're certainly more deserving than chubby baseball players.
Wachovia Center in PhiladelphiaApologies to the Midwest (I live in Chicago), but the NCAA wrestling tournament, one of only five profitable NCAA Championships and the biggest party of the season, is better than to be hosted in a city where you can't buy dinner past 10 p.m. or beer after midnight. The NCAA wrestling tournament is the premier show for athleticism in college athletics, and for fans and alumni it's also a chance to express their collegiate pride and pay good money to listen to Sandy Stevens call out mat assignments.
2. Cornell wrestling
Rob Koll has said he expects to win the NCAA tournament. It's a bold prediction no matter the team, no matter the year. They have seven All-American candidates, the best facility in the country, and a lot of momentum.
1. To be determined ...
Surprise conference champions and All-Americans are sure to change the late-night conversation at bars across Philadelphia. We have 18 weeks to discover a breakout wrestler, to watch for upsets, and to lavish attention on over-performing individuals and teams. Whatever the new theme for the season, InterMat will be sure to cover it, and you, with your fancy Facebook and Twitter can be sure to follow along.
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