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).