2007 NCAA tournament thoughts
by Kyle Klingman

After only 100 seconds of furious wrestling, Ryan Lang of Northwestern and Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State received a standing ovation from those in attendance at the Palace in Auburn Hills. Their quarterfinal match - which ended in a fall for Lang - was one of the most exciting and electrifying bouts in NCAA tournament history.

Similar to Marvin Hagler's knockout of Detroit's Thomas Hearns after only three rounds of boxing, the match between Lang and Caldwell will be considered a classic. Their slugfest epitomized what wrestling is all about.

People across the country travel to the NCAA tournament to watch great wrestling, but this tournament represents something much more than the matches that take place over the course of three days. For the past 13 years I have had the privilege of attending this tournament, and every year this tournament offers something different.

This year, the NCAA tournament was about Gene Lybbert, an NCAA champion for Iowa State Teachers College in 1953. When I asked him if he was going to the NCAA tournament in Auburn Hills he responded by saying, "does the sun rise in the east?"

It was about Bill Nelson, Bill Smith, and Keith Young, all multiple-time NCAA champions for Iowa State Teachers College. They led what is now Northern Iowa to a team title in 1950. Like Lybbert, they never miss an NCAA tournament. Someday they'll get the credit they deserve at their home campus.

It was about Terry Brands, a two-time NCAA champion for the University of Iowa who I saw in the parking lot after session four had ended. Brands is one of my favorite people in wrestling but I had heard he wasn't happy with something I had recently written. So I gave him a polite wave, nodded my head and kept my distance.

It was about Lee Kemp, a three-time NCAA champion from the University of Wisconsin. Kemp has been getting more involved with wrestling and it was clear from the way he interacted with people at the W.I.N. Memorabilia Show that he can have a tremendous impact on the sport. After listening to him speak it's obvious why he did so much winning.

It was about Cole Konrad, who won an NCAA title at heavyweight this year. When he was readying himself in the tunnel for the last match of his college career he looked at both his arms and said, "I should go to the tanning bed."

It was about Ben Askren's friends, who were selling yellow T-shirts with a picture of Ben with the word "FUNKY above his puffy hair. They wouldn't sell me a shirt until after the tournament was over because they wanted to make sure Askren's eligibility was up before they started making money off his name. Smart move.

It was about Derek Moore's mom, whose son won an NCAA title at 141 pound and became the first All-American in Cal-Davis history. During Derek's semifinals match she was directly behind me and she was screaming so loud that I know I lost some of my hearing. You have to love passionate parents.

It was about Gary Abbott, director of communications at USA Wrestling. When I saw him in the media room he said I looked like Abraham Lincoln with my beard. Now I'm considering getting a top hat and doing some Lincoln impersonations as a side job.

It was about Tom Ryan, head coach at Ohio State University, who received a standing ovation after his speech at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes champions breakfast on Friday morning before the quarterfinals. Ryan spoke about his faith and how his son, Teague, impacted his life. Teague passed away unexpectedly on February 16, 2004.

It was about Jim Gibbons, the last Iowa State coach to lead the Cyclones to an NCAA title, who knows as well as anyone what the NCAA tournament means to wrestling. Like he always says, "We could have this thing in Gnome, Alaska, and 10,000 people would show up."

It was about John Smith, head coach at Oklahoma State University. Every time Smith walks by me he is biting down on his lower lip with an intense look on his face. Every time I walk by him I say to myself "Six World and Olympic titles in a row. How did he do it?"

It was about Mack Reiter, Minnesota's 133-pound starter, who failed to place this year after finishing fourth the previous two years. Despite his own misfortune, Reiter could be seen pacing back at forth at the side of every mat his teammates were on during the consolation round. You could tell it meant something to him.

It was about Captain J Robinson, head coach at the University of Minnesota. The usually talkative and unreserved Robinson was in anguish before Cole Konrad's championship bout. When I saw him in the tunnel before the Golden Gophers had clinched the title I asked him if he enjoyed this. His response: "No, not at all."

It was about American University's Josh Glenn, this year's NCAA champion at 197 pounds, whose victory over Iowa State's Kurt Backes clinched the title for Minnesota and relieved Robinson's pain. Robinson's response after Glenn's win: "It's over!"

It was about those people that I see every year at the NCAA tournament but I don't know their names.

It was about Jason Bryant, Webmaster of intermatwrestle.com, who was dancing a jig on media row when the hip-hop music came on before one of the sessions.

It was about Tommy Rowlands, a two-time NCAA champion and Ohio State's assistant coach who wanted me to write an article about how three eastern schools - Hofstra, Edinboro, and Ohio State - placed in the top ten. Here is your article Tommy.

It was about Dan Gable and Larry Owings. Their historic match gets brought up in some way at every NCAA tournament I have been to.

It was about Lou Lazarri, a well-known wrestling figure in the New Jersey area who looks like a miniature version of Dave Schultz. I've seen him at ever NCAA tournament with the exception of this year. He is better known by his alias: Screwy Louie.

It was about Larry and Judy Brody, who are quite possibly the biggest Iowa State wrestling fans on the planet. I see them at every meet or tournament that the Cyclones are at (they've boycotted Carver Hawkeye Arena), but for some reason I didn't see them in Auburn Hills. As if fate intervened, I saw them at a rest stop in Iowa. Against my will, they forced me to wear an Iowa State wrestling visor.

And, of course, it was about the Van Gelders: Doug, Seth and Beau. Every year we go to the NCAA tournament together and every year it's three of the most important days of our lives. (It was also about Ruth Van Gelder who made each of us our own bag of cookies for the trip).

Each year, the NCAA tournament is about something uniquely different, but in the end it's always about same thing: the great people who are involved with this sport. The NCAA tournament is just a big wrestling reunion where nobody says good-bye. Because you know the same people will be back next year.

Kyle Klingman is the associate director at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum. He can be contacted via e-mail at kyle@wrestlingmuseum.org .