Professional athletes are affected by travel, you think collegiate athletes are immune? Lol. It's not "the reason", there's rarely ever one thing. The guys they wrestled are really good, too, and maybe they're just better, we'll see. They definitely won that day.
NFL players fly to one city per week. And yet there's a documented effect. Multiple trips, sleeping in a hotel, changing time zones, plus actual athletic competitions. It matters. Again, not the sole reason for anything, and I'm not saying it would have changed a single thing. We'll see in March.Of course. Around the world or consistent travel across time zones over the course of a season. Definitely wears on anyone. But A flight to NY followed by one to Texas several days later is a different animal. “Oh no he had to sit on an airplane for a couple of hours????” That’s trying way too hard to make an excuse. They just got beat. That’s it.
NFL players fly to one city per week. And yet there's a documented effect. Multiple trips, sleeping in a hotel, changing time zones, plus actual athletic competitions. It matters. Again, not the sole reason for anything, and I'm not saying it would have changed a single thing. We'll see in March.