With case numbers plummeting, deaths receding, and the number (and rate) of vaccinations increasing it's safe to assume that the 2021 season will be the only one competed under the stringent COVID protocols of the NCAA and its member institutions.
While there is reason to be optimistic and look forward to normalcy, now is not the time to lose focus or give into COVID fatigue. And that goes for the wrestlers!
Coaches I've spoken to are extremely proud of their wrestlers and how much discipline they've shown the past several months. When this started most athletes were wrestling in masks. They're getting tested three times a week and several times before competitions, not to mention the number of tests they have to take to get out of COVID protocol.
Teams are often broken into small groups where they can only train with a certain number of athletes. Then, when they go home they are restricted to who they can see. No dining out, church, pickup basketball, or whatever. The lives of these college athletes is completely controlled by COVID and the consequences brought down by potentially falling out of line and infecting teammates and/or bringing them into protocol.
For the number of teams active this season and the asks being made of these young men, it's incredible to me just how successful the season has been thus far. There have been more than two dozen match cancellations, but given all that's at risk, and how often it's begin risked, that's an obscenely low number for a bunch of 18-23-year-old men on a college campus.
Nobody can predict what will happen next, but for now, on the cusp of the conclusion of the regular season it's impressive to me, and I'm sure all fans, that these coaches and their athletes have navigated these difficult times so well. It's an impressive nod to the resiliency and toughness of our community.
To your questions …
Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie, along with assistant coach Jared Frayer (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Q: Who will be the first ACC program to win an NCAA team title? How far away is that from being a reality?
-- @DHoff_dissident
Foley: Virginia Tech has looked sharp this season. Any question marks around the program following the departure of Kevin Dresser have been answered several times over. This program is a powerhouse and Tony Robie is one of the absolute best wrestling coaches in the nation. Given current momentum there is every reason to believe that Virginia Tech earns a team trophy this year and can be on top inside five years. Anything is possible!
NC State is equally impressive and while not as powerful as years past, can very easily find a year to sprint to the top. Their teams are unique, scrappy, and give fits to all their opponents. The only catch has been an inability to overperform at the NCAAs. That's not to say they always underperform, they just haven't had a year where everyone is exceeding their seeds, pinning opponents and bringing heft into the final rounds. Given another successful few years the stability of the lineup could provide that type of return and a march to the top of the team podium.
Q: Did Penn State finally find its answer at 125 pounds with Robert Howard? Where do you see him fitting in the mix?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Bergen Catholic for the win! When talent meets coaching, the fans win, but nobody more than Penn State. I have no idea if he is the answer
Q: When do you think there will be an announcement on tickets for NCAAs? How many fans will be allowed to attend?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The Olympic Trials in April will host 5,000 fans in Fort Worth for a stadium that holds 15,000. Social distancing, mask-wearing, and at 30% capacity.
The NCAA hasn't announced any plans to sell tickets for the tournament, but the word on the street is that they won't be moving any tickets to fans. Coaches are still waiting to find out about their allocations.
Q: Any takeaways from the Captains' Cup?
-- Mike C.
Foley: We need more women's wrestling at the college level. I loved seeing the enthusiasm and direction that the event took. What the women wanted to achieve on the mat was exactly the same as the men -- win. But on camera the mood of the wrestlers, the feeling, the interactions were all a little different than the men and it was much appreciated.
Q: After a hard work week, do you think fans of wrestling prefer escapism or to have politics mingled in with the sport they love?
@NathanJohn_319
Foley: The idea that a columnist needs to provide his/her audience with escapism is nonsense. Am I meant to 'stick to sports' because a joking reference to a callous, cement-headed choice by an American senator? There are plenty of reasons to read columns, and plenty of reasons to avoid them, but don't pearl clutch because the author takes a jab at a member of your political team. We're all big boys and girls and those in power need to be held accountable.
Anyway, that's enough mingling for this week.
Q: Are you paying for this vacation with GameStop profits?
-- @knarkill
Foley: Sunny Cancun for Cruz. NYC flurries for Foley.
The GameStop phenomenon was an incredible watch albeit from the sidelines. I have a very normal level of risk tolerance. I like surfing but avoid big waves. I love motorcycles but keep it inside the speed limit. I enjoy making a profit from doing nothing, but almost completely avoid the stock market. In the end I agree with the adage that in a gold rush it's better to sell the shovels.
The GameStop pump was insane for 450 million reasons, but I was shocked by how many people I knew in the wrestling community were posting about their gains and losses. My theory is that the community has long been involved in cryptocurrencies and because some of the monied leaders in the sport (e.g. Novo) have such an outsized presence in the space (and hires wrestlers) that the trickle down has meant more wrestlers in crypto. Being that crypto is a highly volatile 'asset' the risk tolerance needed to trade GameStop or Dogecoin was already baked into the Wrestling Investor's DNA.
Of course, there is no way to know if our community is more risk tolerant than say swimming or track and field, but from my very stable, very boring investment portfolio I was gobsmacked by how many 18-55-year-old white men I knew who had $1000+ invested into a brick-and-mortar video game store most popular in 2009.
My gut is you and many others made it out alive and for that I'm thrilled. You guys take the big waves -- I'm happy on the long board.
Q: Any predictions on Tuesday's NLWC event? Some wrestlers will be competing in multiple matches.
-- Mike C.
Foley: First, let's recognize the brilliance of the Rokfin model. They don't produce the event, or pay the athletes, or advertise, or promote, or have any financial interest in the storylines. They just have a place for creators to post and for customers to put their credit card information. When people do sign up to watch the content the company takes a $9.99 cash rip, while the creators are given tokens worth a price that can, and does, fluctuate.
Forgive the lack of nuance in this business model, but if you told me 20 years ago that I could pay people with a currency of my own creation, while I was being paid in cash for people to watch THEIR content, while also simultaneously creating the rules for the currency AND being the largest holder of said currency -- I'd have asked where I could sign up. As stated previously, I'm remarkably risk-averse when it comes to these types of things, but am I alone in wondering how this will pan out in a few years? Gotta be some hiccups, right?
Anyway, I have a genuine curiosity in how this plays out in the long run and will watch with wonder (and maybe some envy) as it proceeds. No predictios. Just super interested.
Vito Arujau df. Zach Sanders, 10-3
Vito Arujau df. Sean Russell, 11-8
Thomas Gilman df. Zach Sanders, 10-2
Thomas Gilman df. Sean Russell, 5-0
Yianni Diakomihalis df. Nahshon Garrett, 10-0
Zain Retherford df. Nahshon Garrett, 6-2
Zain Retherford df. Evan Henderson, 7-4
Kyle Snyder df. Nate Jackson, 6-4
Kyle Snyder df. Gabe Dean, 8-3
Kyle Snyder df. Scottie Boykin, 10-0
Gabe Dean df. Bo Nickal, 3-2
David Taylor df. Max Dean, 10-0
Kyle Dake df. Vincenzo Joseph, 7-2
Jason Nolf df. Kyle Dake, 4-2
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