Pico must have ticked Metcalf off
- Thread starter HoundedHawk
- Start date
He did seem very ticked off. Said "stay in the middle of the mat and wrestle" or something to that effect as well. Whatever Pico said or did really hit a nerve with Metcalf. Metcalf has always been a very humble and respectful guy, so for him to say something like that - well, must not have been good. Pico did seem to do an awful lot of blocking off and head slapping, which I am sure didn't please Brent too much.
This post was edited on 4/3 10:30 PM by Jackhawk87
This post was edited on 4/3 10:30 PM by Jackhawk87
Pico blocked the whole match, not sure if he made more then a shot or two. I'll have to rewatch the feed due to self induced alcohol impairment. Basically Pico started swinging for the fences last 30 seconds of the match.
1st period I was surprised how close it was despite action being one sided. 2nd period realize that Pico offered no offense so it became a defensive match and a moral victory match by keeping it close.
1st period I was surprised how close it was despite action being one sided. 2nd period realize that Pico offered no offense so it became a defensive match and a moral victory match by keeping it close.
At the end of the match Pico appeared to say something and looked to be a sore loser, then composed himself and went to shake hands with the coaches. Whatever he said pissed Brent off as he took the microphone out of the announcers hand and chipped at Pico. Was pretty entertaining.
This post was edited on 4/3 10:53 PM by uniosuhawk
This post was edited on 4/3 10:53 PM by uniosuhawk
Thought it was a good match. I am not much for the smack stuff from any sport. I hate to see wrestling go that way.
I was hoping Pico was going to wrestle wide open which would have Metcalf wide open and that means fur flies.
That would have been a real backyard brawl but Pico went for the close match. The close match is killing wrestling.
Can't wait to see WTT. How 'bout that Ramos kid huh!!!!!!
I was hoping Pico was going to wrestle wide open which would have Metcalf wide open and that means fur flies.
That would have been a real backyard brawl but Pico went for the close match. The close match is killing wrestling.
Can't wait to see WTT. How 'bout that Ramos kid huh!!!!!!
I have been hot and cold on cejudos but tonight he showed class.
McD looks real good to me. Iowa alums kicking ass at the next level. That will help the program big time if they keep it up.
We get a coue of world medals this year and eyes will become more focused on iowa for top high schoolers looking to international success after college.
We have a lot of good things happening in the program right now. I know 2nd place is a tough pill, for whatever reason, but we are in a good spot.
McD looks real good to me. Iowa alums kicking ass at the next level. That will help the program big time if they keep it up.
We get a coue of world medals this year and eyes will become more focused on iowa for top high schoolers looking to international success after college.
We have a lot of good things happening in the program right now. I know 2nd place is a tough pill, for whatever reason, but we are in a good spot.
I suspect some of the reason Brent grabbed the mic and scolded Pico was to hype the event and put on a show. I do think Pico's head slaps annoyed him and I doubt Pico's lack of offensive effort pleased him much, but I do think his rant with the mic was at least in part for show, in an effort to add some drama.
McD was extremely impressive. Much stronger, and much more polished. Looked far bigger than Escobedo but pretty much just toyed with him. Looks like Matt has raised his game beyond what Escobedo has to offer. Was happy for him that he could perform so well in front of the home-town crowd.
McD was extremely impressive. Much stronger, and much more polished. Looked far bigger than Escobedo but pretty much just toyed with him. Looks like Matt has raised his game beyond what Escobedo has to offer. Was happy for him that he could perform so well in front of the home-town crowd.
Please tell me that no one reached under the mat and pulled out a flimsy folding chair to beat their opponent with!
It sounds like this event was a pretty good production in terms of the match ups, that's good to hear.
Yeah -- the extra stuff was getting pretty cheesey. Really could do without the theatrics. For fans who want that, there's WWE. Real wrestling fans want to see quality wrestling -- not the bells and whistles. Don't mean to be a fuddy-duddy, and I'm glad they're putting on these events, but I hope they stay true to the sport and don't embellish too much with the theatrical stuff. Wrestling is a great sport because of its purity of competition -- not because of all of the extra stuff.
You're assuming stuff like Metcalf's intense talk was orchestrated and theater. I disagree. He wasn't acting.
I LOVED the event, but I agree that the producers tried too a little too hard. Putting on the Wrestling for Life hat (as I always do), which fired up the kids more about wrestling - the constant scramble that was the Welch/St John match and then the Ramos/Cejudo explosion or the between-match videos?
My first recommendation would be to make sure that you get the important stuff right before you add the fluff. I found the inability to get timely video for review annoying. Second, there needs to be an injury time limit in international wrestling. I don't question that Fredy Stroker was hurt, but you could see more than a few people heading for the bathroom and concession stand while they worked on him. It seemed to me that that entire series of events - the injury time and review - took almost 20 minutes. Almost any 12 year old will begin to fidget in that scenario.
That Boyd guy was really annoying. He shouldn't have been allowed on the mic. All the extra fluff was ok, except for the music they blared during the matches.
Terry Brands was in top form last night! Maybe because it wasn't a college match, so he didn't have to restrain himself. He went bonkers after the Ramos match. The wife says she loves to watch Terry and I have to agree.
Terry Brands was in top form last night! Maybe because it wasn't a college match, so he didn't have to restrain himself. He went bonkers after the Ramos match. The wife says she loves to watch Terry and I have to agree.
Really? I am willing to bet that there will be, at best, half that many people at any one session of the World Team Trials in Madison and it just might top the finals attendance at the World Championships in Vegas. I am very pleased with that number.
This is what I was getting at, and I agree 100%.
Hounded, I never said Metcalf was "acting". I do think there was an overall effort to add drama to the event, from the video stuff to the lighting to the loud music throughout every match, etc. It was my impression that Brent was playing into that a little with his comments after the match. I'm sure he was annoyed by Pico's head slaps, etc., but I also think the theatrics of the evening probably spurred him to grab the mic from Casber and be more dramatic than usual. I don't doubt that there was some sincerity in what he said.
I love the concept, and promoting excitement is great -- I just hope they remember to emphasize what's great about the sport and not sell out with cheap theatrics that define the fake stuff (e.g., WWE) more than the greatest sport on earth.
As for match excitement, I also agree with the comment about DSJ-Welch. Great action. Man, is Welch fun to watch, and he seems like a tremendous young man. Very cool that he's working to become an author. I'd put Ramos-Cejudo second. Cejudo is absolutely brilliant, but Tony's tenacity won out, and you couldn't have scripted a much better ending to that match. I'd put Metcalf-Pico third, mainly due to the hype. The action wasn't exactly riveting, but Brent did what he had to do.
Overall, a fun night. Hopefully the production for events like this gets refined and they remain true to the sport.
Really, but it's just my opinion. This event had McD, Ramos, and Metcalf, 3 of the biggest draws that the sport has, and it was in Iowa. I don't think being under 6K is really that great, especially since Iowa fans love to brag about being the best fans. I imagine it's very hard to make money for the promotion at that crowd level. As you mentioned if these 3 guys in Iowa can't bring a larger crowd, you can imagine even more disappointing numbers for WTT and WC and those are the very best of the best. Hopefully the numbers are supported by a strong PPV audience for those that couldn't make it.
If the World Championships can't beat that total, than I would advocate keeping them in places like Iran where they get tremendous support. Sort of like we all think college wrestling events should all be staged in Iowa.
The available seating was pretty full. It looked like a near-sellout. Not all of the seats in the arena were available, but it was a very good crowd, and the floor seats were just about full, as well. I don't know if you could really ask for much more, frankly. The crowd was big and got into the event. It was a very good atmosphere.
The attendance at the WTT maybe less than 6000 but the Worlds in Vegas I am betting will be sold out not sure what capacity seating is in Vegas but if I remember it is around 8000. I will be there
The upper bowl was not even half full, plenty of seats were still available. I thought it was tacky that half of the chairs on the ground were empty. To me that is a sign the prices were too high. If they wanted a full house then I think charging $50-$60 for reserved floor seats and $15-$20 general admission everywhere else would've been great. Want a good seat? Get there early. I think paying $30-$40 to watch 8 matches turned some people away.
All that said, what a GREAT night. Action in every match.
All that said, what a GREAT night. Action in every match.
From our seats, the place looked a lot more full than that. Might have just been our perspective, I guess, but the upper level looked well more than half full from where we sat, as did the floor seats.
From the article and why he was pissed after the match. I suspect the emotions were 100% genuine.
"He says, 'Hey, why don't you wrestle me next time?'" Metcalf said later. "Is that a real question? Was I blocking and defending the whole match? I don't think so. I was pretty active and trying to get to my offense against a guy who's very capable.
"I don't know what you want. Do you want me to fall over for you? I'm not going to."
DMR article
"He says, 'Hey, why don't you wrestle me next time?'" Metcalf said later. "Is that a real question? Was I blocking and defending the whole match? I don't think so. I was pretty active and trying to get to my offense against a guy who's very capable.
"I don't know what you want. Do you want me to fall over for you? I'm not going to."
DMR article
OK. That makes a lot more sense. I guess Pico's strategy was to block off and play defense and hope to get a late snap or score off of Metcalf being overaggressive/sloppy and that didn't happen. Pico gets upset that Metcalf didn't get overly aggressive and get out of position and talks some smack (maybe hoping he does next time they wrestle??). Metcalf was a lot more active and trying to get to his offense (without getting sloppy) than Pico was IMO. If I was Metcalf, I wouldn't be too happy about the comment either.
This post was edited on 4/4 4:51 PM by Jackhawk87
This post was edited on 4/4 4:51 PM by Jackhawk87
KJ Pilcher is working on getting "official" attendance numbers, but I have been in this arena 4 times for the NCAA Division III finals when attendance was in the 3,000 - 3,200 range and I would say that over 5,000 seems pretty accurate to me.
The atmosphere in there was great. It was a lot of fun, I didn't think it was 'wwe' at all. I think they are trying to make a ufc atmosphere which is fine. It was a really fun night of wrestling!
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
There were a few boos. Not a lot, but still too many. Every wrestler got a good ovation I thought.
I found it strange that they announced the Hawkeye second every time except for metcalf
Posted from Rivals Mobile
I think the crowd was a little rough on him especially for a high schooler being out there. However, if you aren't with us, you are against us (he is a gopher now). To me that was the intent. We aren't fans of calling bluff on injuries or more specifically in his case a timely injury timeout (he does have a bad knee). It just seemed a little TOO timely and he exploded 20 seconds later for a takedown.
That is who we are as Hawkeye wrestling fans. Fanatical and a little over the top. We have respect for our opponents, but we are going to make it tough on you when you "play the game" (stalls, fleeing, timely injury timeouts- in his case it was legit, just timely and worked in his favor).
Opposing fans don't treat us any different when WE stall or take lung timeouts. At Nationals, when we lose the place goes nuts, when we flee (we get booed). Understandable, but a little tough on Stroker. He did get cheered at the end for leaving it all out there and wrestling a tough match.
I thought the crowd was quite respectful of the non-Iowa guys. Every guy who beat an Iowa guy got a nice ovation after the match. Cejudo got a huge ovation after his match with Tony, which I thought was cool. Also neat that he went over and gave Terry a hug, if I remember correctly.
Stroker got some boos, but they were from a small minority of the crowd from what I heard. He got a nice hand afterward as I recall.
Speaking of Stroker, didn't Casber announce that he was "Oklahoma State bound" in the intros? Did I hear that right? Could have sworn he said that.
Didn't Fredy tweet Willie something to the effect that he can't wait to come to Carver and shut the crowd up? I can't remember. If he did, he can't be upset about the reaction, IMO.
I think Fredy is going to be in for a rude awakening wrestling in the BIG. Kid is good but not that good.
He was actually referring to Tristan Moran (OSU bound) which is one of the guys he will face at the Dream Team dual next weekend. Hard to understand, but that was what he meant. You have to listen pretty close.
This post was edited on 4/5 11:47 AM by HawkTalk3
