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Well, let me say an “evil” has been perpetrated on the sport of wrestling, by the nation's largest newspaper. Not the sort of evil that costs lives, or that will ruin a nation's economic base, of course, but an evil nonetheless.
But it is the type of evil that can eat at the fabric of the sport of wrestling and, eventually, cause damage to anyone who cares about Mankind's Oldest Sport.
It is now beyond debate that USA Today (1) sees no value in wrestling as a readership vehicle, and (2) cares nothing at all about the several million wrestling participants, coaches and fans in this country.
The proof has been there for several years. It reached its zenith on Monday, March 24. Go back and pick up that day's sports section and you will exactly what I mean when you begin the search for an article and photo about the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships that were held in St. Louis.
The newspaper gave wrestling's showcase event just over two inches! To add insult to insult, the information was buried in a column called “Notes”, under a story about which school was seeded No. 1 in the upcoming men's hockey tournament.
Meanwhile, that Monday, men's college basketball received 22 stories totaling 550 inches, and 20 photos. There was even a long story about the bands that traveled to the NCAA basketball tourneys, with three photos! The bands get more respect in USA Today than the hundreds of hard-working wrestlers that fought their way to the NCAA wrestling tournament!
The attendance in St. Louis was over 96,000 and the final three rounds were covered live by ESPN. Some 80 reporters from around the country were there to provide information for fans in their home areas. Some editors somewhere recognize that readers around the country want coverage of the wrestling tournament. But not USA Today editors, sitting in their ivory tower in McLean, Va.
On Monday, the editors could have cut their basketball coverage by just one story and about 25 column inches (leaving that sport with a mere 525 inches). They could have given wrestling one photo and cut basketball from 20 to 19. Would a single basketball fan be upset? Of course not.
Here is a copy of a letter that I sent on March 26 to the “Letters to the Editor” department at USA Today . I doubt it will be printed, so it is being offered here to fans of the sport:
Wrestling Deserves Better
“The editors in the sports department have done the entire wrestling community a grave disservice by the way they ignored the Division I NCAA championships last weekend in St. Louis. There were over 96,000 fans in attendance, live coverage for two days by ESPN and at least 80 sports writers from around the nation on site, but USA Today chose to look the other way in its own reporting.
“No one denies that men's college basketball is much more popular than college wrestling. That's not the issue. The imbalance of the coverage was obscene. On Monday, USA Today devoted nearly 550 column inches and 20 photos to the men's basketball tournament and two inches of story (buried in a column called “Notes”) to the finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. There were no photos.
“Why not show a little consideration for a sport that has been around for 5,000 years and has over one million participants in the United States today? Why not a 20-inch story and just one photo for wrestling? Would basketball fans be outraged to have 530 inches of coverage and 19 photos? I think not.
“The sports department at USA Today has shown time and time again that it has no consideration at all for fair play and responsible reporting when it comes to wrestling. Shame on them. – Mike Chapman, Newton, Iowa”
That's what I chose to do to relieve my anger and frustration somewhat. So what can other wrestling fans do who have endured this incredible slap in the face?
My suggestion is to write USA Today and tell the people there exactly how you feel. The publisher is Craig A. Moon and the managing editor is Ken Paulson. The sports editor is Monte Lorell. You can write them at 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia, 22108, or go to the web site and email them. I doubt it will do any good but it might make you feel a bit better.
THE ONLY WAY wrestling will ever get coverage for its Division I tournament is to get away from March Madness. The Madness is on the part of the nation's sports media, who have created this runaway train. They claim they are just giving the public what it wants, but they have created a much larger interest than would be there if it weren't for the incredible, overwhelming coverage they give the March Madness event.
Yes, basketball is much more popular than wrestling, but it has been taken to even new levels by the obscene amount of coverage it now gets. Media journalists have created the monster that is has now become. If wrestling was given such exposure – with nightly highlights on national TV and tons of newspaper coverage – it would be far, far more popular than it is now.
Will the college wrestling coaches ever change the season, pushing it into April and avoiding the basketball madness? The NCAA Wrestling Committee is meeting next month in Indianapolis, and the issue of changing the Division I season will be one of the main topics of discussion, as it has been for the past decade or so.
“There's certainly merit in taking a close look at moving the season back into April,” said Mike Moyer, executive director of the NWCA, recently. “There could be a benefit from the academic standpoint (giving student wrestlers the entire first semester to get acclimated), economically (shortening the season) and from possibly increasing media exposure by removing our premier showcase event from March Madness.”
As Moyer and the rest of us realize, change is never easy and can cause other problems. But changing the season is certainly an issue that deserves considerable discussion.
We know that if nothing changes, then nothing changes. I personally don't think wrestling can continue to exist in the media vacuum that it now finds itself in without sustaining further long-term damage. The total disregard of the sport by media giants like USA Today hurts wrestling, and will continue to hurt it, sad to say.
TO CLOSE THE column on a bit of a positive note, the WIN Show in St. Louis was another smashing success. The attendance was amazing, perhaps as many as 8,000 fans over the entire three days. At times, the two large rooms were so packed it was hard to move.
We had a great lineup of guests, and Steve “Dr. Death” Williams was one of the most popular. The former four-time All-American heavyweight from Oklahoma, who also played in four bowl games for the Sooner football team and then became a professional wrestling star, has a remarkable story to tell about his recovery from throat cancer. His book, “How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life,” is truly inspiring.
After his speech at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast on Friday morning, he received a standing ovation from the crowd. Between the breakfast and the WIN show, he sold all of the 50 books that he brought with him. Many fans came by the WIN show to meet Steve and talk further about his athletic career, his brush with death, and his faith.
“I had a great time reconnecting with the amateur wrestling world,” said Steve as I was taking him to the airport Sunday morning. “I want to do this again next year, for sure!”
* There's an interesting scene in the new movie, “Never Back Down,” now playing in movie theaters across the country. The story revolves a high school football player in Iowa who has to move in the middle of his senior year to a new school in Florida. There, he is caught up in the mixed martial arts culture.
Early on, he is introduced to the stud that will be his main adversary. When the stud asks the hero (played by Sean Faris, who could well become the new Tom Cruise) where he is from, the hero says he is from Iowa.
“Oh, the home state of Dan Gable, the great Olympic champion who never had a single point scored against him in the 1972 Olympics,” replies the adversary.
It's a short moment, for sure, but it's nice to see wrestling get mentioned in a positive light in some media these days. “Never Back Down” was released on March 14 and has been in the top six at the box office the last three weeks.
By the way, former Oklahoma State star Randy Couture has a major role in the movie “Scorpion King II,” which will be hitting the box offices this summer. The former Greco-Roman champion and mixed martial arts superstar is beginning to get noticed in Hollywood and has several more projects under way. With a few breaks, Randy could become the next Chuck Norris, which would be a nice boost for wrestling.
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