There have been plenty of other freestyle wrestling matches over the past few years, but none included this number of popular American wrestlers. That concentration drove viewership and positive replies on social media. Hopefully it will also drive more change in folkstyle.
First, you have to credit NYAC tournament director Hooman Tavakolian with bringing in FloWrestling for greater distribution, and for working with USA Wrestling to make the tournament the first qualifier for the Olympic Team Trials. That combo helped to ensure that many of the nation's best showed up in the Big Apple.
But the real star of the event was the wrestling itself. Even as the sport's A-List wasn't on hand, the action never lulled and the matchups felt naturally compelling. Little hype was necessary.
Speaking (I think) objectively, most of the wrestlers on the mat will never earn an international medal, but didn't matter much to the fans because the action -- and the sport of wrestling -- was well served by rules that promoted action and kept eyeballs on the mat.
The NCAA had to have seen some of this wrestling, but it's unlikely that they will care to recognize what they saw, but the truth is out there --enforcing a firm boundary and not allowing self-exposure helps create high-scoring matchups.
Thanks to the Bill Farrell International more wrestling fans have seen what a lack of action can mean for the sport. My hope is that the NCAA sees the benefit of positive change and makes the necessary changes this season, because unlike in their matches, there is no time to waste.
To your questions …
Q: Will Mark Hall win six NCAA titles for PSU? Or am I underestimating him?
-- @alliseeis_
Foley: You are very much underestimating his ability. Given the hype he will most likely retire in 2026 as the all-time winningest NCAA wrestler in history. He'll have never been defeated, have won nine national titles and three Olympic gold medals.
This is fact.
Of course, there is a slight chance that he is a two-time NCAA champion and is among the top 100 that have competed in the sport. Though to be honest, I don't think you can assume even one NCAA title for a wrestler until he's had a college match. The NCAA history books are riddled with high school wrestlers from which everything was expected and yet nothing materialized.
All the hyperbole and doubts aside, I think that Mark Hall is a great wrestler and entering the best wrestling program in the nation. Best of luck to the kid.
Q: Replace the singlet. Establish a stepout rule. Sorry no questions
-- @ShogunOfSonoma
Foley: Um, hallelujah.
Though I would never have though this five years ago, I think we are going to see a grassroots movement to the two-piece uniform, and a lot of the momentum will pick up after the Rio Games.
Q: Any idea what the world record is for largest attendance at a wrestling meet?
-- Andrew H.
Foley: Well, kinda. Actually, it's really difficult for many record-setting institutions to distinguish between professional wrestling and amateur wrestling. Guinness currently states that Ric Flair (USA) vs. Antonio Inoki (Japan) was the most well-attended wrestling match in history with over 190K fans packed into a stadium in North Korea.
Major Senegal matches typically draw 60K or more fansThe match at Kinnick would definitely be the record-breaker for NCAA wrestling, though even there I'd be hesitant to jump in with both feet since I could imagine a scenario in which some 1920s era program packed some stadium. But I have no proof of any Gatsby-era opulence in the wrestling ranks so for now the Hawkeyes and Cowboys seem to have captured a sliver of history.
Oh, and by the way, Muhammad Ali was in attendance …
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
The Inoki vs. Flair Match in North Korea ("Wrestling diplomacy at its best!")
Q: If we move in the direction that you are saying we should then why not just convert all of America to freestyle? I'm not opposed to this by the way. I personally enjoy folkstyle more but that is what I was raised on. If the rules were changed and back exposure was strictly penalized and there was a pushout rule then you have two competition types that are so similar they might as well merge into one (freestyle) and we can join the rest of the world. Do you want to do away with American folkstyle? If rules like these were created then you basically would be, because what would remain would look nothing like the folkstyle of the last 80 years. (You may say that is a good thing.) You refer to the proposals as modest but I feel that is a major understatement. It would be a huge change.
-- Dustin K.
Foley: The rules of folkstyle have already been adapted so many times, and changed to benefit safety and other norms that wrestlers of 80 years ago would hardly recognize what is on the mats.
Freestyle is simply a better product. Fans who have never seen the sport before can be impressed by big moves and a lot of action, while newcomers to NCAA wrestling simply have to watch a couple of guys look like they're trying to hump a doorknob.
That's extreme, of course, but the styles are already very similar and yet Americans are losing on both ends: less compelling product at home and failure to realize potential at the international level.
Traditions are important, but isn't one of America's most important traditions that of being globally dominant in sports? Adaptation and innovation? Those seem like the more important American traditions, not the bastardized NCAA rules that matured from late 19th century catch-as-catch can rules.
Be nostalgic, but stay clear-minded.
Q: Is Andrew Long the best 141-pound wrestler in the country this year?
-- @Robbybobbi
Foley: Absolutely not. Wishing him the best at Grand View, but by no means do I think he is outperforming Dean Heil, Jimmy Gulibon or Joey McKenna.
By the way, McKenna … Wow.
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