Who influenced you to become a Hawk wrestling fan

[Mendoza77]

I'm sure many of us can point to a specific person who turned us on to Iowa Hawkeye wrestling. For me, it was my uncle Dick, who took me to the infamous Iowa-ISU dual in Hilton in 1977, which ended in a 17-17 tie when the ISU heavy was DQ'd for stalling with 2 seconds left in the match. I recall screaming in the parking lot of Hilton "Eat 'em up, Hawks!". That was my first exposure to college wrestling, and made me a Hawk fan for life.

Death is a part of the cycle of life, and this morning my uncle Dick Howard passed away (brother of uncle Dale Howard - you might have seen his name on thousands of cars, or on the side of Carver - I was blessed to have two uncles like them). Uncle Dick and I spent countless hours over the years talking Hawk wrestling. He attended a large number of duals and some NCAAs, and loved telling me about being in Carver when Simpson pinned Voelker!

Thank you Uncle Dick! Who influenced you?

 

[Fan In Black]

Lincoln Mcllravy. I was a student and never cared for the sport until I saw him wrestle.

 

[crablegs1]

Lincoln Mcllravy. I was a student and never cared for the sport until I saw him wrestle.

This is awesome. Most people on here, I'd assume, likely come from lifelong wrestling families. Probably either wrestling themselves or having family that wrestled. Wrestling needs more fans that come into the sport like this.

What was it about Lincoln specifically that attracted you? Did you attend a dual and see him? What made you come to the dual if you didn't like wrestling?

 

[funnyfletcher]

Mark Reiland.

 

[witherman]

I was born a hawkeye, my mother and my grandmother attended (as well as myself). It wasn't until I moved to small town IA where I was introduced to wrestling in about 5th grade.

I'm sure you can do the math from there, but as soon as I learned about the sport of wrestling, I was a hawkeye wrestling fan.

 

[UndercoverHawk]

Life long Hawk fan in general. I never wrestled until my freshman year in high school and I only did that because nobody could make 103 and it was a free varsity spot. That’s when I started watching wrestling and that’s when Metcalf was here. He kinda started it and then cane Ramos. That’s who made me watch every meet I could. Even with his hissy fit after trials he’s still my second favorite hawk behind Clark.

Unfortunately I grew to be 6’2” and I was bad so my career was short lived lol. But my love for Hawkeye wrestling lives on!

 

[muddage11]

Life Long Hawk. Thanks Mom & Dad

 

[merr6267]

We heard Gable talk at a local HS when I was a freshman. (in West Michigan)
After learning about Iowa from my HS coach it was fun to see them at Midlands and the occasional beat-down at MSU.

What sealed the deal was attending camp in the summer of 2000. Tom talked about Terry to the group. The stories that Tom told were very similar to the stores in the "Terry" film.

I was sitting down on the mat tying my shoes before practice in the Fieldhouse when Terry came in, fresh from the trials, dropped his gym bag and hugged coach Siddens right over my left shoulder. He said to coach, "I did it. It wasn't pretty, but I did it."

Coach replied that he was proud of him, that he loved him and that now the work begins.

That whole experience at camp was not only what made me a fan of Iowa, but a bigger fan of wrestling all-together.

In a word, my coach was the one person, but he pointed me to all these great experiences.

PM

 

[Fan In Black]

This is awesome. Most people on here, I'd assume, likely come from lifelong wrestling families. Probably either wrestling themselves or having family that wrestled. Wrestling needs more fans that come into the sport like this.

What was it about Lincoln specifically that attracted you? Did you attend a dual and see him? What made you come to the dual if you didn't like wrestling?

A lot of my friends back home wrestled. We had two friends on the team. They came down for a meet. I think it was 1994. It was just his skill and relentless style. He seemed so dominate. I had been to many HS duals and 2 state finals but never seen anyone wrestle like him. Pretty sure I saw Ironside in HS. It may have just been the right time for me to become a fan, but it was watching him that turned me.

 

[SPGroth]

Parents got me into wrestling at an early age. Remember looking up the college duals on Iowa Public Television to see when the Hawks were be on TV.

 

[YoungGun07]

My uncle was a season ticket holder pre-Gable. When I was a kid he would bring me along to meets at Carver. He has since passed away, but is the reason I'm the fan that I am.

 

[Rustys Dad]

I never wrestled but had friends who did. I didn't become a die-hard wrestling fan until college ... when ... of all places ... I covered Iowa State wrestling for the Iowa State campus newspaper.

I've been a diehard Hawk for 37 years and always enjoyed wrestling but I didn't follow it that closely - until I started to learn more about the sport.

I covered Iowa State when Jim Gibbons was in his final year and the torch was passed to Bobby Douglas. During my time covering ISU wrestling I had the chance to interview several great wrestlers and coaches, and got to see first-hand how intense wrestling can be in the practice room

I was also impressed with how intelligent most wrestlers were - on and off the mat . Many sported high GPAs and were majoring in architecture, or geology, etc.

I was always a fan of college wrestling, and the Hawks, and Dan Gable. In college, I developed a deeper passion for the sport as I got closer to it.

Wrestling is a tremendous sport. It's the most physically demanding compared to football, basketball, baseball ... It's a sport of intensity and it's a sport where taking a second off during a match can cost you everything.

Go Hawks!

 

[CowboyUp61]

no one

 

[sstark46]

Lifelong Hawk fan, got "recruited" to wrestle as a freshman in high school as no one else could make 103 and I was promised a varsity letter for doing so. I ended up not being able to make 103 either but I stuck with the sport anyway and became a fan of it.

Edit: just realized my story is very similar to UndercoverHawk's haha

 

[so cal hawkfan]

My HS wrestling coach (Cal St Fullerton wrestling alumn) talked about how as a wrestler you can’t control whether the other guy is a better athlete than you, has more experience etc. What you can control is your mental toughness and physical preparation. Talked about being physically relentless and wearing out your opponents. We watched videos of the Brands and some of Gables practices. I was hooked. As a young adult I joined a submission wrestling gym in the LA area. Chad Zaputil and Ricco Chiaparelli were both coaches. I was star struck and got to learn from two of the best.

Good thread, Go Hawks!!!!

 

[butchinmi]

I'm similar to Fletcher. Started with Reiland, increased with Brands, cemented with Whitmer/McIllravy. Marv Reiland was my middle school coach, Whitmer was my HS Freshman year partner frequently (Got a single leg on him once. Remember telling my dad and him saying, "then what happened." I had to tell him I ended up on my back).

Watching McIllravy win it his freshman year live was the 2nd coolest thing I ever saw. Watching Whit win it sitting with his family in the UNI Dome was amazing.

Younger Whitmer bro introduced me to my wife at the 1998 National Duals in Iowa city. (Later learned I had part of an ice cream cone stuck in my nose that looked to be a booger. She somehow saw past that). Almost 20 years later still happy as could be. Now i'm just a fanatical long-distance fan of Iowa Wrestling.

 

[ferentzin04]

Lifelong hawk fan from a wrestling family. Mark Ironside was my first favorite Iowa wrestler though. Still probably my favorite wrestler. I have a program from the '98 Iowa-ISU dual that Ironside signed along with Gable, Joe Williams, Jeff McGinness, and Doug Schwab. I think I was in 6th grade at the time. It's hanging up with all my other Iowa stuff in my house.

 

[OILCHECKER]

Lennie & Jim Zalesky & Barry Davis. I had a connection to them which led to being an Iowa wrestling fan.

 

[Dagboi]

Winter 2008 in the warm, wintery womb of Carver-Hawkeye, dual against Michigan to clinch the regular season Big10 title and preserve the recently rediscovered #1 team ranking. My first live wrestling event of any kind, tagged along with an Iowa alum buddy (I come from SEC country).

Hawks were down 16-12 with two matches to go, needed both to win it. Carver exploded when Chad Beatty won his 197 match 2-1 on a LAST second takedown, setting up Matt Fields to win it at HWT with a tech. I’ve never heard a crowd so loud and losing their collective sh*t as that moment, and I was right there losing my voice going hoarse along with everyone else, all of 90 minutes into my wrestling fandom career. It was SO loud. And this coming from someone who was playing drums for the Georgia Tech basketball band when we upset #1 North Carolina (with Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace) on our home court in the ‘93-‘94 season, and who saw Neon Deion Sanders return a kickoff for a TD in the FSU stadium in ‘89. I thought THOSE were loud, but they weren’t even close to Carver Hawkeye on that takedown.

Been a fan ever since.

 

[madmustang4]

Gary Kurdelmeier. I was attending Iowa in the late 70's and GK was wrestling coach back then. Was really impressed with him, so just kept going.

 

[nameloc]

I'm sure many of us can point to a specific person who turned us on to Iowa Hawkeye wrestling. For me, it was my uncle Dick, who took me to the infamous Iowa-ISU dual in Hilton in 1977, which ended in a 17-17 tie when the ISU heavy was DQ'd for stalling with 2 seconds left in the match. I recall screaming in the parking lot of Hilton "Eat 'em up, Hawks!". That was my first exposure to college wrestling, and made me a Hawk fan for life.

Death is a part of the cycle of life, and this morning my uncle Dick Howard passed away (brother of uncle Dale Howard - you might have seen his name on thousands of cars, or on the side of Carver - I was blessed to have two uncles like them). Uncle Dick and I spent countless hours over the years talking Hawk wrestling. He attended a large number of duals and some NCAAs, and loved telling me about being in Carver when Simpson pinned Voelker!

Thank you Uncle Dick! Who influenced you?

Bannach brothers

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

My dad and Gary Kurdelmeier. Some of you probably know this story already, but what the heck.

Kurdelmeier and my dad were fraternity brothers in the DU house, along with guys like Wally Hilgenberg (played LB for the Vikings), Barron Bremner, Tom Huff, both of whom wrestled for Iowa (you youngsters might not know that Huff was one of something like 5 guys ever to beat Gable. The others include Larry Owings, obviously, and Lee Kemp. I’m blanking on the other 2.), and even Tom Brokaw. Impressive bunch, to say the least.

Anyway, in the mid-70’s, my dad wanted to support his frat brother, so we got season wrestling tickets. My family would go to all of the meets. The Fieldhouse was an awesome wrestling venue and the walls and rafters literally did ring in there. We used to take a whole bag of salted peanuts in the shell and throw the shells on the floor. Nobody cared. Was great family fun.

Our family “adopted” 118-pounder Mark Mysnyk, and I idolized him. Also looked up to Iowa greats like Chuck Yagla, Dan Holm, Tim Cyzewski, Brad Smith, Jan Sanderson, Chris Campbell, John Bowlsby, Bruce Kinseth, and the list goes on. Always wanted to be an Iowa wrestler growing up in Iowa City. Quite literally, they were my heroes. All of my friends felt the same way. And we got to train with them in the Iowa room as members of the Iowa City Wrestling Club, the kids’ club back in the day. Used to hang with them in the sauna, too. Was absolutely awesome.

Some 42 years later, Dad still has season tickets. Iowa wrestling is what Dad and I do. Some guys hunt with their dads, some play golf, etc. — my dad and I have always watched Iowa wrestling. Can’t imagine a better father-son bonding activity.

Tom talks about how wrestling is in the very fabric of Iowa culture, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a focal point of my relationship with my dad, and I’ll always be grateful for the countless memories we have of following the Hawks together. Looking forward to many more.

Dad’s pushing 80, but he’s in better shape than I am. We’ve got a long way to go, and I look forward to celebrating our share of additional national team titles with Dad in the years ahead.

 

[artradley]

Kurdelmeir's giant mat against OKIE.

 

[ih8iast8]

I'm sure many of us can point to a specific person who turned us on to Iowa Hawkeye wrestling. For me, it was my uncle Dick, who took me to the infamous Iowa-ISU dual in Hilton in 1977, which ended in a 17-17 tie when the ISU heavy was DQ'd for stalling with 2 seconds left in the match. I recall screaming in the parking lot of Hilton "Eat 'em up, Hawks!". That was my first exposure to college wrestling, and made me a Hawk fan for life.

Death is a part of the cycle of life, and this morning my uncle Dick Howard passed away (brother of uncle Dale Howard - you might have seen his name on thousands of cars, or on the side of Carver - I was blessed to have two uncles like them). Uncle Dick and I spent countless hours over the years talking Hawk wrestling. He attended a large number of duals and some NCAAs, and loved telling me about being in Carver when Simpson pinned Voelker!

Thank you Uncle Dick! Who influenced you?

My deepest sympathies Mendoza.

 

[MN Hawk Fan]

Watched one of the Brands brothers open hand slap an opponent who didn't want to wrestle him and basically was trying to not get tech falled - I was hooked.

 

[sabula]

I never saw a wrestling match until I attended UNI. Had some wrestler friends, so went to some meets and enjoyed it. Plus had a thing for one of the UNI Matmaids. Went to the UNI v Iowa match and said wow, I'm rooting for the wrong team. Just loved the way Iowa wrestled. Been a Hawk fan ever since.

 

[Mendoza77]

My deepest sympathies Mendoza.

Thank you - much appreciated

 

[Spoons]

Mark Ironside and Jonny "O"(from my home town)

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

Kurdelmeier and my dad were fraternity brothers in the DU house, along with guys like Barron Bremner and Tom Huff, both of whom wrestled for Iowa (you youngsters might not know that Huff was one of something like 5 guys ever to beat Gable. The others include Larry Owings, obviously, and Lee Kemp. I’m blanking on the other 2.)

I believe Bobby Douglas was one of them.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I believe Bobby Douglas was one of them.

I think you’re right. Good call.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

I think you’re right. Good call.

I think Gable might not have reached his 18th birthday at that time. I am pretty certain he hadn't yet competed collegiately.

 

[vhsalum]

My high school wrestling coach. I had no concept of college, college teams. Nothing. He just said the Hawks were the best and they were better than everyone. I lived overseas at the time and live in Florida now, so I've never ventured away.

 

[moug]

Todd Lickliter and the state of the Iowa Basketball program in 2007............

 

[UndercoverHawk]

Todd Lickliter and the state of the Iowa Basketball program in 2007............

I commonly refer to that as the forgotten years...

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

30 years of dominance- Not a wrestling guy but love the University of Iowa.....so watching any Hawkeye sport dominate is intriguing to me

 

[DeadHead11]

PD3 and Spencer Lee. I'm still fine-tuning the lyrics

 

[wasdt21]

in one way or another gable influenced us all.

 

[minnhawkeye]

When my boys where wrestling we always watched IPTN they carried Hawkeye wrestling.
So was Gable and all his crew at the time especially Brands,Ironside,Alger and Randy Lewis..

 

[Qued18]

Coach Rouse and Coach Murphy at Dubuque Wahlert in the early 80's. They had the posters up in their office and had another sign that said " It's better to wrestle and lose than to play basketball". It always stuck with me even though I never wrestled a single match in my life.

 

[Hawk Dominance]

Started wrestling in third grade(1982) ....into highschool. Growing up, you dream of being a hawkeye wrestler and being part of a program that imposes total will and domination against the field. I was an average high school wrestler, but loved the sport. What got me hooked was watching it on Iowa public television. It was one of my favorite things to do and imprinted a life long dedication to Iowa Wrestling. We will rise to the top again!