There is plenty to discuss about the United States' horrendous management of the virus and its outcomes. We've become fatigued. Leadership is non-existent. Conspiracy theories distract and misinform. People are dying in record numbers.
But the wrestling community is about to feel the impact in a very real and direct way. The number of cases is terrifying because there is an exponential spread. What is 144K today will be 300K in a few weeks without proper mitigation, and given the exhaustion there is unlikely to be new restrictions put into place until it's far too late.
There will be new restrictions and they will impact wrestling. Even in the states where rules have been lax there is an inevitable change coming when hospitals become overrun and constituents demand government action. I don't know for certain, but I'd guess that the first sport to be canned in the winter will be wrestling.
Even before this recent spike we were seeing states placing limits on competitions. That is certain to expand as cases and deaths increase. Wrestling won't be a priority for any state administrator.
I hope that we can accept this as the cost of the virus and not blame the administrators who are being put in this impossible decision. We will wrestle again, but I don't know if it'll be until the Summer of 2021.
To your questions …
Q: What are your predictions for this weekend's Burroughs-Zahid event on Flo? Aside from JB vs. Zahid, what match on the card are you most excited about?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Predictions are below.
Match 1: Kyven Gadson df Kollin Moore, 4-2
Match 2: Kayla Miracle df. Ana Godinez, 10-0
Match 3: Sammy Sasso df Tyler Berger, 6-1
Match 4: Alli Ragan df Lauren Louive via Fall
Match 5: Alan Vera df. G'angelo Hancock, via TF
Match 6: Anthony Echemendia df. Evan Henderson, 8-3
Match 7: Jordan Burroughs df Zahid Valencia, 9-2
Jordan is always must-watch TV. He's a superstar who always delivers an entertaining match. The sock pulls, the double legs, the moments of trash talking and posturing. I love it all and won't be missing him compete this weekend.
Anthony Echemendia after winning a Fargo title in freestyle (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)I'm intrigued by Anthony Echemendia. He's being touted as the next superstar from the United States and it'll be interesting to see how he handles a veteran like Evan Henderson. From what I've seen of Echemendia it'll be a good test and allow him to showcase his on-the-mat personality rather than just his online persona.
This will be a great event. Very interested in how it all plays out.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
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Q: I read the article about UWW's Individual World Cup. What do you expect the field to be like? Will we see several world champions and world medalists? How large do you expect the brackets to be?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The Individual World Cup is the first event planned by United World Wrestling since the completion of the Pan Am Qualifier in March. To not have a tournament for nine months is an incredible amount of time for an international federation to be idle.
While cases are increasing globally the event is being planned for Serbia in December. There will be a number of protocols in place, which I think will be announced in the coming weeks.
As for the field, I think we will see the full lineups from Russia, Turkey, Georgia, India, and Iran. That's just a guess as they haven't opened the new entries up, but those nations had shown original interest. I'm hopeful for 40-plus nations and average brackets of more than 16 wrestlers per category and that will almost certainly include a large number of world champions and medalists.
I'm hopeful for a good turnout!
Q: Jordan Burroughs has used his social media to speak out about police brutality in the past. He tweeted this past weekend that he's proud to be an American and mentioned how the new president will represent the country with class and dignity. Do you wish more of America's top wrestlers would use their platform to speak out on issues?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I think that a lot of our top athletes and coaches do express their political opinions online, but the vast majority are on the other side of the issues from Jordan Burroughs. That's why when Jordan mentions something "political" online he is attacked in a broader manner than some of the Division I coaches who have more conservative opinions.
Jordan has a platform and he knows there will be blowback but takes his responsibility seriously. He's a leader in our community and has always conducted himself with dignity. Can't imagine there is value in tuning him out or shouting down his ideas.
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