Kansas City Here We Come
March 19, 2003 09:39 AM | General
March 19, 2003
KANSAS CITY – The West Virginia University wrestling team qualified nine wrestlers for the NCAA championships this weekend at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
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| A broken nose has forced West Virginia's 157-pounder Matt Lebe to wear a protective mask for the NCAA tournament. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
As the sports information contact for wrestling, I was fortunate enough to come along for the ride.
Hopefully this first installment of my daily tournament diary will make you feel like you're here as well.
The team left this morning at about 9 a.m. We were scheduled to leave at 8:45, but that’s pretty much like saying nine when traveling with the wrestlers.
It’s still a few days before the wrestling starts, so no one had that Mike Piazza super intense look on their face, yet.
The mood on the bus to Pittsburgh to catch the flight was normal, talk of impending war and brackets (both college basketball and wrestling) filled the bus. The general leader of discussions is senior Tom McMath. Tom expounds on the topics as he sees them and then flutters onto another. The other guys usually only interject their opinions intermittently but laugh at either the outrageousness of what Tom is saying, or at the colorful way he expresses it. Greg Jones’ high-pitched giggle usually carries through the entire bus.
Brandon Lauer is wrestling’s version of Andy Katz. He knows everything about everybody in every bracket, who so-and-so beat and when, what his high school record was and what his first girlfriend looked like. Brandon can host wrestling “Bracektology” for ESPN if physical education doesn’t work out for him.
One of the first things I learned about traveling with wrestlers is not to mention food and more specifically, not to eat around them. It’s acceptable if they talk about it, but they don’t want to hear “I’m so hungry” from some guy that never had to make weight. WVU’s 125-pounder, Seth Lisa, talks about food like it is a beautiful woman. Hearing him describe a chocolate shake is borderline erotic.
“Ahhh … I can’t wait … nice and creamy… Mmmm …”
I suggested we chose an over/under on what Seth will weigh by Sunday afternoon. I put forth 135 pounds, and I’m taking the over. Amazingly, Seth says that when he eats his knees and ankles swell. Well, I guess that’s better than going straight to your hips.
The flight was okay except for two things: One, I had to sit in the middle of three seats, which meant we had to have an arm rest standoff between myself, Ryan Wilman (on my left) and a guy from Slippery Rock (on my right). Second, the landing was a little rough. I wasn’t exactly sure how close we were to the ground, and we bounced off the runway like an over-inflated basketball. Wilman said it was like getting thrown to his back. I told him he shouldn’t know that.
At about 2:30 p.m., we piled into three cars and made our way to Kemper Arena. Assistant coach Whitey Chlebove drove our car and I spent the trip telling Matt Lebe how to win this week (like my wrestling career extended far beyond me as a 45-pounder getting pinned in elementary school). I told him if he didn’t fall asleep during portions of the match he would be able to beat anybody. Lebe had a tendency earlier this season to give up six-point moves. He’s still going to wear his “Darth Vader” mask to protect his broken nose this weekend.
The guys checked their weight and worked out for about an hour. One of the other things I’ve learned about wrestlers is that they aren’t afraid to get naked in open areas. All they really need is to be behind a corner, a curtain, or in some cases, behind nothing at all. It’s certainly disturbing to be having a normal conversation one moment and have them disrobing the next instant. Who needs locker rooms?
There was much deliberation about the size of Kemper Arena. These guys aren’t basketball players—the only time they compete in front of more than 12,000 people is at nationals. They kind of had the wide-eyes look the Hickory Huskers had walking into the gym to play the state championship game in Hoosiers.
It’s the change into that kind of environment that makes the NCAA championships difficult to treat like any other tournament. I think rolling around on those mats for a couple of days with no one in the stands will help them prepare and adjust.
After working out, we checked into this hotel that was absolutely amazing. I’m talking shopping malls and movie theaters inside the hotel—that’s something this West Virginia boy is pretty impressed by. Lauer and I had something to eat in the bottom floor and the rest of the guys played it pretty low-key, spending the night watching a movie, watching wrestling films on themselves or watching basketball. It’s still probably better for their attention to be diverted. It’s not time to be nervous yet, but the time is coming …
See you tomorrow morning.
