Q: Is a Vision Quest remake still underway? Is Taylor Lautner still targeted to play Louden Swain? Can an argument be made that turning high school wrestlers into heartthrobs (in the eyes of high school girls) will grow participation in the sport faster than any other organized marketing campaign?
-- Jeremy H.
Foley: In December 2009 there was a rumor that Taylor Lautner had approved a script for a remake to Vision Quest. Since then it's been radio silence. Despite the unlikelihood this movie happens at all, let's go ahead and take a look at what problems face a possible VQ remake. There are many, namely how you develop the story.
The central problem facing a script writer and producer of a VQ remake is that the book was about wrestling, but the original movie was based on sex. And not the kind of sexual overtones that attract teenage girls, but the type that keep middle-aged men chuckling.
If sex makes you uneasy, then stop reading because Vision Quest is essentially the story of sexually-deprived teenager committed to having sex with a troubled 20-something runaway. Within that description are plenty of modern day taboos, and dozens of unquotable sexual innuendos.
How would you cast Carla in a remake?Writer math: If police make an average of 50 of these arrests a year and incidents are reported at a clip of 1-100, that means there are 5000 of these interactions going on across the country RIGHT NOW. Who would want to create that type of media firestorm around their movie? It's a bee's nest that's not worth the honey. Can you know how many mini-van mothers already slip into the local Regal Theaters to take a peek-a-boo at Lautner's vacant eyes and prodigious chest? Now can you imagine if they watched a movie with themes of pedophilia? (I recognize that Carla was not a teacher and Louden was 18 years old, but that wouldn't matter.) Not to mention the come-ons by the traveling salesman/tai-chi expert. But hey 800 million Chinese can't be wrong.
Vision Quest as we remembered it could never be made with Lautner. If they make the movie and he's cast it's not because they want you and me to watch the movie, it's because the studio wants to appeal to the Twilight gals. The wrestling themes would be diminished, the love angle pumped up -- though to a fellow girl, as Carla would be eliminated altogether -- and we'd be left with a disaster of a film.
But that's a moot point, as its probably not getting made. For now we can all look forward to the Bennett Miller movie Foxcatcher, which has the potential to be a great film about American wrestling hero Dave Schultz.
Q: Do you think that Blair Academy would be the No. 1 team in the nation if it were not a private, boarding school? St. Edward was within points of beating Blair Academy this year and, while St. Edward is a private school, it is not also a boarding school. The same goes for schools like Apple Valley (Minn.), St. Johns (Mich.), and Brandon (Fla.). I know that Blair Academy has an amazing wresting program, but do you not think that it is at the top nationally year after year because of recruiting? If Blair Academy's recruiting capabilities were not a factor, which high school team do you believe would be the best nationally over the past decade?
-- Kristin F.
Foley: Blair Academy has several advantages over a traditional public school, but none is bigger than the talent of the programs' head wrestling coach Jeff Buxton. The school has excellent facilities, significant administrative support, and the ability to board their wrestlers, but when it comes down to how they got there and how they manage to keep winning national titles, nothing is more significant than the head coach.
Jeff Buxton (Photo/Rob Preston)All of the other schools you mentioned have "recruited" out-of-state, out-of-area wrestlers to join their programs. In fact, regional relocation happens all the time across the country. When Colonial Forge head wrestling coach Bill Swink moved to Virginia, my high school program and others in the area lost a few state placers of Division I quality. Why? He had a track record of creating state champions, and many parents in the region thought that a state championship might earn their kid a DI scholarship. It's as much a best-for-my-kid decision as it is a financial one.
I imagine that as a parent I'd try to give my kid the best of everything, and would consider relocating him/her to the best field goal kicking academy in the country, if I thought it gave them a chance at succeeding in attaining their dreams.
Q: It seems every national tournament, wrestling fans talk about how classy a wrestler is. Have you ever noticed, the "classy" wrestler is always the one who lost? I think this thought is overblown. If a wrestler loses, we feel empathy for them, so we watch how they handle themselves after a match. If they shake hands, pat the winner on the back and keep their composure, they are classy. If they get mad, show they are upset or show emotion, they are not classy. Why is the loser only classy? No one focuses on the winner because since he wins, he's expected to be jubilant, happy, jumping for joy. How come the winner is also not classy? I think winners can be classy too but we focus on the losers because we feel bad for them. Also, I think fans focus too much on how a person reacts in the seconds after a tough, grueling match. What do you think?
-- Matt K.
Foley: Maintaining your emotional composure is a pretty common theme within sports. If you play beach volleyball at the Olympics, lose in the quarterfinals, and then punt the ball into the ocean like Pele, you'll have earned some "classless" coverage from the media (likely Deadspin.com).
Same goes for all sports, but in wrestling you have 17k eyes trained on a guy wearing nothing but a single piece of lycra. If he reacts, even if he makes a face, we're likely to see it and judge him. Football players have teammates and helmets, same with baseball players. But in individual sports where every eyebrow raise is caught in high definition reactions are much clearer to witness.
But really what you're asking then is why in sports do we care how a loser of a contest acts, and why after suffering a life failure should we expect him or her to remain as composed as a Hindu bovine. That's difficult to unwind, but I'd guess it's been ingrained in us since we were little and playing tee ball.
The truth is that games are less fun when the loser freaks out; anger turns what should be fun into something of higher importance. I'd need a psychologist to state that with authority, but I think I really FEEL like this is true. Think about it. Who is the last player you'd want to play 18 holes with? The rage-a-holic. Hands down. I once saw a guy throw his Blackberry into the water after missing a 10-foot putt. Why? Now you're going to have to relive that stupid putt for the next 48 hours as you replace your phone. You know ... "It's only a game, Focker!"
As for the winners, I've written before that I think wrestling should allow for a little more post-match celebration. It would attract fans and grow the sport, band give these young adults to happy-happy joy-joy feelings after accomplishing a lifelong goal.
As for what's classy and what's not? It's tough to be the arbiter of those things, but my advice is to not BOO any wrestler. Chances are you can't whip the ass of the winner, or the loser, so unless he pushes his opponent off the platform, stabs him in the chest or declares a voodoo curse, it's probably classy for all of us to simply cheer, take photos, and then write something snarky about them over email with our college buddies.
Q: I think 184 is going to be loaded next year with two national champions (Ed Ruth, Steve Bosak) and two multiple-time AAs (Robert Hamlin, Kevin Steinhaus). What's your early prediction? I say Ed Ruth by major decision over any one of the other three.
-- Ronald M.
Foley: Are there preseason lines for 2013 NCAA champions? I'd put thousands of fictional dollars on Ed Ruth to not give up an offensive point next season. He'll be a three-time NCAA champion, even if he wrestles the next two seasons at heavyweight.
Q: What is the best post-match tournament food you've ever had? It could be a meal that was more sentimental than good (for me: Mustard's Last Stand after Midlands is up there) or just straight up awesome food (Peter Luger's Sunday lunch ... yeah).
-- Derek S.
Foley: The only meal to come to mind was one I shared with my parents at a small restaurant outside Albany, N.Y., after I was knocked out of the 2002 NCAA tournament.
Like most guys, I was cutting a lot of weight that season and was in search of that first post-season meal to enjoy free of guilt. We'd spent what felt like an hour driving around in search of a familiar sign post, but it was snowing and I was getting hungry so in frustration we stopped at a small restaurant inside a converted early 20th century house. I think they served American fare like steaks, lobster and the such.
The NCAA tournament had been the capstone of my three-year journey from walk-on to starter. I'd been a marginal high school wrestler, making all my dreams of starting more like the green light at the end of Daisy's dock than something attainable. Still, no matter how complicated my dreams made those three years, my parents had been there to support me.
Missed gatherings? "We understand."
Weight-cutting on Christmas Eve? "Can we drive you somewhere?"
As I started to succeed, however modestly that was, they never added expectations to my career, or pressured me to do more. Their self-worth wasn't connected to my win/loss record, just the effort I was putting forth.
My parents were visibly proud that night. I was upset I hadn't placed and even more troubled that in the round of 16 I lost to a wrestler I'd lost to five other times in college. They would hear none of the negativity and just kept repeating to me how proud they were for having made it this far. I should've known that they'd respond like that. That they'd be supportive, but it still gave me comfort to know they were on my side.
As for the meal? I remember it was cold in the restaurant and that I wore a jacket. I remember that my dad ordered a martini to celebrate and my mom encouraged me to order "anything off the menu." I couldn't tell you what I ordered that night, but I know that it was my favorite post-match meal.
Q: There are tons of transfer rumors about all of Wisconsin's top redshirts and they recently lost the commitment of Devin Peterson. What is the fate of Barry Davis going to be?
-- Josh Z.
Foley: Coach Davis and his supporters have to be concerned about what's gone on the past two seasons, first with losing his top assistants, then with the uncertainty of his lineup heading into the 2012-2013 season. The timing has been plain awful.
However, I'm more than a little optimistic that Barry will be given a very long leash in turning around the program. Since the last mailbag when we discussed Wisconsin, fans that were very passionate in their support of the program have contacted me. Each of them said that they expected Tyler Graff to "one-hundred percent" be wrestling for Wisconsin next season. Their numbers were then eighty percent for Rutt and fifty percent for Howe. I'm doubtful on Howe, but a team with All-Americans
Can Barry Davis right the ship at the University of Wisconsin? (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)I'm Team Davis.
Q: Joan Jett vs. Pat Benatar UFC rules ... Who Wins?
-- Phil K.
Foley: Love is a Battlefield!
Pat Benatar is a hit-making machine. Joan Jett is a talented lyricist and hard-core rocker. Lock those two in the cage and anything can happen. Do we know for certain that they wouldn't just drop the gloves, pick up the microphone, and collaborate on a new hit? Because if they did that we'd all be winners. All of us would win, Phil.
If they find a reason to scrap I'm going to say that Joan Jett's anger will carry her to a dominating first-round submission via guillotine choke.
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