I am a Chicago Hawkeye. I could not get to Coralville over the New Years weekend. So I attended the Midlands again this year as I do every year. But this will be by last. I want to watch the Hawkeyes in action. There was some good wrestling but not as nearly as much fun without the HAWKEYES! The attendance was not good. It was so quiet in the NOW Arena, you could clearly hear the parents of the wrestlers yell encouragements or instructions to their kids from across the arena. I sat near the families of the Wisconsin wresters. (Or and by the way - They dislike Bono and wish Barry Davis was back.) They echoed my thoughts. I think the long standing tournament (nearly 60 years) is in a lot of trouble with out the anchor of the Iowa wrestling team and it's wrestling fans. Too bad because it was easy for me to get to see some very good wrestling and see my Hawks. Now I will need to move my schedule around to get to Coralville (if possible).
The Midlands Wrestling Championship is in Trouble
- Thread starter mpfeiler
- Start date
'...reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated'.
I too a Chicago (Midlands) Hawkeye. The real issue with recent Midlands format is 'Location, Location, Location'.
If one team is enough to kill it then it was already doomed to fail. Just a matter of time. It was a shell of itself compared to the 80s and 90s before Iowa left anyway. Good on the Hawks for trying to get a new tradition new started.
Bono is hard to like. Davis is easy to like.
Davis had top-20 teams in 4 of his final 5 seasons. Bono has only had 1 in his first 3 (no NCAA in '20).
So they replaced a popular coach with an unpopular coach, and performance didn't improve.
I don't foresee bringing Davis back, but if I were Bono I'd opt for a 5-year adjustable mortgage.
One team that brings well over half of your attendees. That is a huge blow to the midlands and the Wisconsins of the world arsn't going to make up that loss.
Agree - it is/was a 30ish minute drive for me and a chance to watch the Hawks. Concession prices were ridiculous there, by the way.
The Edge seems pretty cool though…
I was pretty much the #1 Midlands fan until they sent it to that crappy arena outside of town, then:
Book below:
We're from West Michigan, and since the mid 1990's my HS coach took a group to Midlands for both days. Early morning leave time, sneak in a bunch of snacks, sit all day watching wrestling, see all the legends, sleep on the floor of the hotel, watch wrestling and drive home in a snowstorm. By the end we had over 40 kids in the stands for 2 days and the total cost for each kid was near $50.
Then they "temporarily" sent it to that hockey arena. Ticket prices jumped astronomically, attendance was, or at least felt sparse in the arena and we were forced to cut our trip to a single day. Our attendance dropped for my group as well, as the kids like the hotel and pool, but with the ticket cost going up so significantly, their cost doubled as it was the only thing they fully paid for. I emailed coaches Storniolo and Cysewski and told them that this tournament is where I fell in love with this sport (and Iowa) and was disappointed for myself and other kids that won't get to experience such a fun time like I did, and had continued to with the HS team.
Now, my coach retired, I'm raising his young grand kids, and we're part of a different school, but I don't see the magic coming back (for me, anyway).
Then they cancelled last year in a move of cowardice. (flame me if you like)
That was the last nail in a nearly sealed coffin to me.
I'm now almost completely uninterested in that tournament. Barring a return to Welsh-Ryan, and a significant change to the management of that school (read into it and my tin-hat how you may), I don't see it coming back.
Phill
Book below:
We're from West Michigan, and since the mid 1990's my HS coach took a group to Midlands for both days. Early morning leave time, sneak in a bunch of snacks, sit all day watching wrestling, see all the legends, sleep on the floor of the hotel, watch wrestling and drive home in a snowstorm. By the end we had over 40 kids in the stands for 2 days and the total cost for each kid was near $50.
Then they "temporarily" sent it to that hockey arena. Ticket prices jumped astronomically, attendance was, or at least felt sparse in the arena and we were forced to cut our trip to a single day. Our attendance dropped for my group as well, as the kids like the hotel and pool, but with the ticket cost going up so significantly, their cost doubled as it was the only thing they fully paid for. I emailed coaches Storniolo and Cysewski and told them that this tournament is where I fell in love with this sport (and Iowa) and was disappointed for myself and other kids that won't get to experience such a fun time like I did, and had continued to with the HS team.
Now, my coach retired, I'm raising his young grand kids, and we're part of a different school, but I don't see the magic coming back (for me, anyway).
Then they cancelled last year in a move of cowardice. (flame me if you like)
That was the last nail in a nearly sealed coffin to me.
I'm now almost completely uninterested in that tournament. Barring a return to Welsh-Ryan, and a significant change to the management of that school (read into it and my tin-hat how you may), I don't see it coming back.
Phill
