As most of you will remember, there was an auction for a BBQ at Tom's house won by Hawkfromday1's bid of $10,000. So yesterday, the big day arrived. I can only speak from my POV but it was a heck of a fun night sitting around after a great meal. So I am just going to run through some highlights:
--I was the first one there and was led out onto the back deck. Introduced myself to Tom and he was like, "Yea I remember you...AZChief" with a dubious look
Big Ben Berhow was manning the grill cooking chicken and meat. For appetizers, they served Sushi. Hell, they even had a menu. Let me say that the whole set up was pretty awesome and Ben cooks a hell of a steak and sides provided by Mrs. Brands and Mrs. Novak were delicious. Randy tried to take credit for the macaroni but I don't know Ben is thinking about starting a side business related to grilling. As you may or might not know, Ben just got married and returned from his honeymoon in Italy/Sicily. So congrats to him.
--After all of Hawkfromday1's posse got there, dinner and beers were served. Also in attendance were Pinters and of course, HWC boss Randy Novak. After dinner, we sat out on the deck and talked wrestling for 3-4 hours. Every Iowa wrestling geek's dream scenario. Hell, any fan of the sport really.
--We got to ask Tom anything on our mind and he explained his POV on a variety of topics. Now, before anybody asks, what happens and is said in east IC on that night stays there. Just the rules of the game for everybody in attendance out of respect for Tom, Ben, and Randy.
--I will say that in going there, I was slightly worried...what if this coach I admire turns out to be a dick? I'd met him before but that was at the HWC Banquet while he was making the rounds shaking hands. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. Turns out, Tom is the furthest thing from it. He is humble, funny, no B.S., loves his guys (past and present)...everything that you see during an interview is the same when hanging out with the guys. I have a well-honed bullshit meter from my years in the military and all I can say is this dude is legit. The same with Ben as well...soft spoken, respectful and is real genuine. The type of asst coach you want mentoring your guys. At one point during the night, Tom went in and grabbed a bunch of HWC sweatshirts and handed them out to all of us to keep.
--As it got later, Tom brought us inside because we were starting to get loud. At this point, HFD1 was like, let's get out of your hair. Tom was like, nah guys, take a seat so we hung out some more in the house. I think we all learned a different definition of "punching" and we talked about Bigfoot theories as well. We wanted a pic of Tom "wrestling" with one of us so HFD1 was volunteered and he got to handfight a bit with Tom in the living room...here is the proof:
--As were are about to leave, we found out that Randy had packed HWC care package for all of us. In it were ASICS HWC backpacks with our last names on it, an autographed poster of Gilman with the "Fight for Iowa" logo, hats, HWC belt buckle and some other stuff...We also got an Iowa Wrestling Grizzly cooler. I actually had to use it today to transport drinks to Slater for my Dad's 80th Bday. Filled it up at 0900 and by 5PM, the ice still hadn't melted. A must have for anybody into hunting, camping, or tailgating. It was a hell of a swag give away for any Hawk fan.
--So I would like to pass on my thanks to both the Brands and Novak families, Ben and to HFD1 for inviting me along. I met HFD1 at NCAAs...he loves to have fun and is a big Hawk wrestling fan. Thanks a lot bro. It was a heck of a night and one I won't soon forget.
--I was the first one there and was led out onto the back deck. Introduced myself to Tom and he was like, "Yea I remember you...AZChief" with a dubious look
Big Ben Berhow was manning the grill cooking chicken and meat. For appetizers, they served Sushi. Hell, they even had a menu. Let me say that the whole set up was pretty awesome and Ben cooks a hell of a steak and sides provided by Mrs. Brands and Mrs. Novak were delicious. Randy tried to take credit for the macaroni but I don't know Ben is thinking about starting a side business related to grilling. As you may or might not know, Ben just got married and returned from his honeymoon in Italy/Sicily. So congrats to him.--After all of Hawkfromday1's posse got there, dinner and beers were served. Also in attendance were Pinters and of course, HWC boss Randy Novak. After dinner, we sat out on the deck and talked wrestling for 3-4 hours. Every Iowa wrestling geek's dream scenario. Hell, any fan of the sport really.
--We got to ask Tom anything on our mind and he explained his POV on a variety of topics. Now, before anybody asks, what happens and is said in east IC on that night stays there. Just the rules of the game for everybody in attendance out of respect for Tom, Ben, and Randy.
--I will say that in going there, I was slightly worried...what if this coach I admire turns out to be a dick? I'd met him before but that was at the HWC Banquet while he was making the rounds shaking hands. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. Turns out, Tom is the furthest thing from it. He is humble, funny, no B.S., loves his guys (past and present)...everything that you see during an interview is the same when hanging out with the guys. I have a well-honed bullshit meter from my years in the military and all I can say is this dude is legit. The same with Ben as well...soft spoken, respectful and is real genuine. The type of asst coach you want mentoring your guys. At one point during the night, Tom went in and grabbed a bunch of HWC sweatshirts and handed them out to all of us to keep.
--As it got later, Tom brought us inside because we were starting to get loud. At this point, HFD1 was like, let's get out of your hair. Tom was like, nah guys, take a seat so we hung out some more in the house. I think we all learned a different definition of "punching" and we talked about Bigfoot theories as well. We wanted a pic of Tom "wrestling" with one of us so HFD1 was volunteered and he got to handfight a bit with Tom in the living room...here is the proof:
--As were are about to leave, we found out that Randy had packed HWC care package for all of us. In it were ASICS HWC backpacks with our last names on it, an autographed poster of Gilman with the "Fight for Iowa" logo, hats, HWC belt buckle and some other stuff...We also got an Iowa Wrestling Grizzly cooler. I actually had to use it today to transport drinks to Slater for my Dad's 80th Bday. Filled it up at 0900 and by 5PM, the ice still hadn't melted. A must have for anybody into hunting, camping, or tailgating. It was a hell of a swag give away for any Hawk fan.
--So I would like to pass on my thanks to both the Brands and Novak families, Ben and to HFD1 for inviting me along. I met HFD1 at NCAAs...he loves to have fun and is a big Hawk wrestling fan. Thanks a lot bro. It was a heck of a night and one I won't soon forget.
