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'91 NCAA Finals @ Carver - Chants of "No more plants!"

Bones Malone

All-Conference
Jan 21, 2019
371
808
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Watched the special on the Brands brothers again last night following the Nebby dual. At ~40 min mark during the interview with Tom, they show a clip of him coming off the mat after winning his 2nd NCAA title. The Hawks had 6 in the finals that year & Steiner was coming up @ 142 lbs. In the background, you can see the podium being placed on the mat, along with these ugly teetering plants. You can also hear the fans chanting "No more plants! No more plants!". It was one of the most hilarious things I'd experienced. I'd kind of forgot about it until last night. We just wanted more wrestling and who needs plants on a wrestling mat. Just more evidence of what we already know, Iowa has the most passionate fans in the sport. Eventually, they discard the notion of bringing the plants onto the mat for the remainder of the night. Just curious who else has memories of this moment at Carver Hawkeye Arena??

And PSU fans were "butt hurt" last fall, thinking Iowa fans were booing their players @ Kinnick when the football kept falling of the tee and their defensive players were laying on the field with seemingly minor or fake injuries... Forget the drama, we simply wanted more football.
 
Never would have remembered the guys name but now remember Portland State. I can see the white/green singlet & remember the Iowa fans taking him on as “one of their own”. I didn’t even remember it was because he’d beat Brinz. Just thought it was because he wrestled hard.

Again, what a great tournament. Awesome memories made in front of predominantly die-hard Hawk fans.

We may be growing the sport but IMO the NCAA’s have become too big/commercial. It’ll draw an older “geriatric crowd” much as you see @ PSU duals but it’s lost some of the “quirkiness” of the on campus experience.

Thanks for sharing your memories. Go Hawks!
 
Never would have remembered the guys name but now remember Portland State. I can see the white/green singlet & remember the Iowa fans taking him on as “one of their own”. I didn’t even remember it was because he’d beat Brinz. Just thought it was because he wrestled hard.

Again, what a great tournament. Awesome memories made in front of predominantly die-hard Hawk fans.

We may be growing the sport but IMO the NCAA’s have become too big/commercial. It’ll draw an older “geriatric crowd” much as you see @ PSU duals but it’s lost some of the “quirkiness” of the on campus experience.

Thanks for sharing your memories. Go Hawks!
Russell had a great back-story, and I am sure I will butcher it 30 years later. He was one of the last D-2 and D-3 champs to automatically qualify for the D-1 championship. He was a 5th or 6th-year senior, and he was grandfathered-in so that he could still wrestle in the D-1 championship. And, the reason he wasn't at a D-1 school was that he had a seriously ill brother (?) that he needed to be near. Some of the above "facts" are right.
 
Russell had a great back-story, and I am sure I will butcher it 30 years later. He was one of the last D-2 and D-3 champs to automatically qualify for the D-1 championship. He was a 5th or 6th-year senior, and he was grandfathered-in so that he could still wrestle in the D-1 championship. And, the reason he wasn't at a D-1 school was that he had a seriously ill brother (?) that he needed to be near. Some of the above "facts" are right.
Pretty interesting fella. He placed 4th at DI's twice, and was a 4 Timer in DII, and 3x OW at DII's. The last DII Wrestler to place at DI's. Apparently he beat Pat Smith twice, once by fall. The fall was in a dual Smith's freshman year, and beat him 8-6 in a tournament the following year it appears. Yowser.

A 2x Olympic alternate, and Coached in the 2004 Olympics.

As of 2017, he was an Assistant Wrestling Coach for a local H.S., and apparently a full time Pastor.

"We're all looking forward to the new journeys in front of us, we all have a wrestling match of some kind ahead of us in life. There are always more battles to fight".

Amen to that.
 
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