I’m not much of a movie buff, but I do remember the scene in Field of Dreams when one of the old-time baseball players asks “Is this Heaven?” and Kevin Costner answers, “No, it’s Iowa.”
No matter how many times I have come to Iowa, I can confirm that in regards to wrestling, Iowa is like heaven.
Trust me, I am not saying this because I have any connection to this place. The only reason I have ever come to Iowa is because of wrestling obligations and activities.
My first visit was in 1978 when I wrestled at the Junior Nationals in the old Fieldhouse at the University of Iowa after my senior year in high school. For a young wrestler, that was a big deal. I have been coming back to this state ever since, dozens and dozens of times, just because of wrestling. And as long as I am involved in wrestling, I will gladly keep coming back.
For many of the young women who are training this week at the University of Iowa, this may be one of their first visits to the state. Some may have competed in the World Team Trials when they were held in Council Bluffs, yet this may be their first time in Iowa City during wrestling season. My sense is that they are quickly figuring out what I have always known. Wrestling is important in Iowa.
The first day we arrived in Iowa City this trip, I got up early for breakfast. The first commercial on the morning news in the hotel showed Dan Gable selling cars for a local dealership. Where else can you see a wrestler on TV commercials?
A number of local businesses have been sponsoring meals for the women’s team, because they support wrestling. When our women athletes have been going to the local malls and restaurants, the people they meet randomly know all about wrestling. They may not know about women’s wrestling, but you don’t have to tell them that this isn’t Hulk Hogan stuff. They treat the women wrestlers with respect, because they are wrestlers.
When you enter Carver-Hawkeye Arena, then go up to the Dan Gable Wrestling Center (the Iowa wrestling room), you walk into a place which is full of wrestling history. It is like you are on hallowed ground. The tradition of wrestling here oozes out of the padded walls. And then when you spend a few hours here, and see that there is constant activity in this place from the crack of dawn until the wee hours of the night, you can sense the commitment to excellence here.
Today, the women wrestlers were invited as guests for the local Convention and Visitors Bureau annual luncheon, featuring the business leaders of this city. The keynote speakers at their CVB luncheon were Dan Gable, Tom Brands and Terry Steiner. There was a brand new wrestling mat placed in the middle of the dining room, and our women wrestlers gave a freestyle demonstration. They were given a standing ovation when they were done, and many people stayed a little longer to talk to the women in person.
A local radio station invited Coach Steiner and a few of the women athletes, Leigh Jaynes and Kelsey Campbell, to talk about wrestling and the Olympic Trials this morning. They were given almost a half an hour to talk about themselves and wrestling. This is not the only media opportunity. There were more than a dozen reporters at Iowa practice on Tuesday and many talked with Coach Steiner and the athletes. The Iowa alumni magazine now wants to do a story on Terry Steiner and his return to the Iowa campus.
The women wrestlers are not here on a tourist visit. They are doing three workouts every day, plus watching the Iowa college team practices each day. Even in the limited number of hours they have spent out of training, they are starting to see the picture.
There will be other opportunities to soak in the wrestling culture. Tomorrow morning, after their early, early practice, the women will have a chance to go to Dan Gable’s house and spend time with him in a very personal setting. I have not been there myself, and I hear it is a great visit, so I am fired up about this.
Tomorrow night, the women are guests at the Iowa vs. Illinois dual meet in Carver-Hawkeye. The average attendance here is very, very high, so there should be 8,000 or more fans in there to cheer on the Hawks. The women will have an opportunity to showcase women’s wrestling before that huge crowd. And for a limited number of the fans there who have also bought Olympic Trials tickets, there is a special edition Dan Gable Olympic bobble-head being given out.
On Saturday, the team is doing another appearance at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum up in Waterloo, which is another shrine for wrestling history and culture. For both Coach Steiner and me, it is our first visit there also. It will be another chance to see that wrestling history is important in this state.
What excites me after a few days here is that the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling is a big deal here. The city is proud that it received the bid to host it. The organizers want to do a great job putting on the event because they love and respect the sport. The goal is to set attendance records and send people home feeling good about Iowa and good about wrestling.
If you have a chance at all, make sure to be here in Iowa City for the Trials, April 21-22. It will be a marvelous show. I know this for a fact.
Wrestling is important here.
