That Cormier lost was a disappointment to many wrestling fans, but the class with which he handled the setback and the deluge of personal attacks by Jones exemplified the wrestler's class. Cormier showed fans the means to improve not through blustery proclamations, but in the honest, eye-piercing and resolute determination of a wrestler. Cormier showed the sporting world that character can trump accomplishment.
Daniel Cormier at the United 4 Wrestling event in 2013(Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)I'd love nothing more than to see Cormier win the UFC light heavyweight title, but in a sports world rotten with flawed figures immune to admitting defeat, I'd rather have a one-loss Cormier as a role model to young wrestlers than I would the most recent version of champion Jones.
To your questions ...
Q: Thoughts on the new law in California for football regarding full contact in practice?
-- Tony R.
Foley: No brainer.
Football is dying. Nothing can save the sport from the PR disaster caused by the admission that hits to the head causes trauma, including the scary-as-hell CTE. The sport is withering away on the brain stem and we have front row seats to the disaster.
The NFL's "Heads Up" movement won't do much to change the NFL's future because mothers -- now given the heart-wrenching details of the consequences of slapping skulls together for years on end -- won't allow their sons to play the sport. As time passes the numbers of participants will plummet and so will the numbers of fans and ad revenue. Add in the increased medical costs assumed by the NFL and massive bills for litigations and settlements at ALL levels and you have a sport with no more than 30 years left of commercial viability.
If you want to see contact, grow masculinity and see skill, support rugby sevens.
Q: Just wondering, as an example, I see Ohio State did not compete in the Midlands or Southern Scuffle. If Logan Stieber or some of his teammates wanted to compete as open, would their coach be upset with them? For a wrestler not to compete from December 14 to January 4, won't he/she get rusty? I think university wrestlers don't have enough matches to begin with, 32 matches a year, compared to 50 of a high school kid! All that practice for 32 matches a year is a lot of fluff -- all that practice is really working for Taylor Massa
-- Paul L.
Foley: Let's turn that theory on its head. Do you think that 50 matches is too much for a high school student?
The difference is the quality of competition and how much time it takes to prepare and recover from events. Most wrestlers in high school can finish a weekend tournament because many of their matches aren't difficult. In college almost no match is "easy" and almost all cause some sort of minor soreness or pain. When our top athletes reach the international level that number of matches drops to 15-20 a year.
I'd argue that wrestling should have a single semester season which runs at least four weeks shorter, and which would have fewer matches. That would mean better matches once they are competed and allow for the sport to optimize fan involvement. We don't want to suffer from an over-saturation, a la the UFC, but we also want our athletes to remain sharp.
Taylor Massa is a stud!
Q: I saw that Brent Metcalf is wrestling Aaron Pico at Agon, and Jason Welch is wrestling DSJ
-- Andrew L.
Foley: Agon has risen from the ashes and put together one hell of a show. The freestyle rules seem to attract the best guys in the world (shocker, I know) and that means Agon is able to better promote their presentation.
I'll definitely be watching this one, as I suspect will many fans of international wrestling.
Q: Back when I competed in the Midlands there were a lot of post-grads competing. Late 80's-90's. Since the Scuffle has taken away a lot of the top college teams, why doesn't the Midlands award any post-college wrestler $500 if they win a title and $250 for a finals appearance? Can they do this? If so, what are your thoughts?
-- Joe P.
Foley: I doubt they'd be allowed to hand out prize money at an NCAA event, even if only to post-grads. The problem with Midlands and post-grads is that the style isn't freestyle, there is an excellent chance of getting hurt and (as you stated) they don't earn money for participation.
The other issue is that there are enough post-grad wrestling opportunities now between expanded budgets at the club and national level, that many wrestlers don't need the extra matches in order to stay sharp -- they can travel overseas.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
In Focus: Bubba J
Cormier after the loss
Link: Wrestling Diplomacy
Q: So my original devil's advocate question was going to be "Why NOT add a pushout point to college wrestling?" Then it dawned on me that edge wrestling does not happen on its own -- somebody is teaching it. From junior high on up, former wrestlers turned coaches are the ones that have taught today's wrestlers how to wrestle at the edge of the circle. It was more comfortable for them and it is safer for their teams. Can we break that cycle? Is there ANY support from the coaching ranks to add a pushout rule to collegiate wrestling?
-- Brad B.
A follow-up statement/question ...
Q: After watching the tOSU/Iowa dual this past weekend, I'm finally on board with you that the pushout rule is something to be considered in college wrestling. About half of those matches had almost zero action from the neutral position and included a lot of backing out and edge wrestling. This trend toward inaction is finally starting to get to me as a wrestling fan. The sport is a tough enough sell when it's exciting but if we are going to be subjected to 2-1 matches decided by riding time for 5 out of 10 dual matchups, then even as a hardcore wrestling fan I'd rather spend my entertainment dollars elsewhere. Is there any consideration from the powers that be to make rule changes forcing some offensive action? Pushout or otherwise? (Disclaimer: this is not meant to disparage wrestlers like Stieber, Jordan, and Sorensen who actually put on a show.)
-- Pat S.
Foley: Very interesting and valid point about what wrestlers are being taught in the room. Teams have styles and those styles are being promoted by the coach.
The support for a pushout rules is growing among fans and (I think) college coaches. Almost every wrestling fan wants the same outcome -- for wrestling to have more scoring and to create exciting matches. Right now the lack of an out-of-bounds line is resulting in too much scrambling on the edge and not enough technical action. There is blatant stalling that is not being credited with points for opponents. Too much of the sport has become gamesmanship, and that means less action. Less action means fewer viewers.
It's always a terrible idea to predict the actions of the NCAA Competition Committee, but I suspect we will see a pushout added to next year's rules. The rules might not be exactly like the one seen at the international level, but the success of that rule in creating action has become too incredible for the NCAA to ignore.
Q: What did you think about the fact that the Big Ten Network broadcasted all the matches for the Midlands on the Internet for free vs. Flo's coverage which had to be paid for? The Southern Scuffle unfortunately was available only on Flo's premium service as well. They very well could do the same for conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament, but ESPN3 will more likely also broadcast them for free. I can understand certain things being only available to premium members, but why not broadcast the wrestling to all when other sites already do it for free? You think they might do that someday? Maybe when they reach critical mass and can afford to do so?
-- Frank C.
Foley: Well, all three charge for their online video use, and that I don't think will ever move over to a free platform. That BTN didn't this time is because the event was being broadcast and is a part of many people's cable package. However, know that in having a cable package you pay for that channel every month.
ESPN charges one of the highest monthly rates to cable companies, and just last week announced plans to run their entire selection through an app for $20/month.
I don't know Flo's financials, but I'm 99 percent sure that they will never stop charging for video content as it provides them a massive annual revenue stream.
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