Jay, here.
Have you ever been cut from a sports team? Dumped by your girlfriend? Let go from a job? Have you?
Well, all three have happened to me. While all, or none, of those things may have happened to you, I’m sure you’ve experienced some variation of a “break-up” (fired, divorced, separated, etc.). For me, there was something much better down the road. I just didn’t know it at the time. However, that’s not the point right now.
When you’re going through the experience of a break-up, it’s rarely a case of…snap…it’s over. Although, it might feel like it at the time. After reflecting on what was really going on, there probably were signs. You just may not have seen them. But they were there. You didn’t hustle enough. You spent too much time with your friends. You missed your sales projections. We’ve all been there.
Now imagine going through a break-up for almost year, but expected to perform as you should have all along and as though it’s not really happening. I doubt many of us have been there before.
There is a group of athletes at Oregon who are going through that right now: the University of Oregon wrestling team. They are the toughest athletes on campus. No doubt. And it’s not because I think wrestling is the toughest or most difficult sport. I don’t know. It might be. But the reason they are Oregon’s toughest athletes is because they have been put in the toughest position: performing as if the program wasn’t getting shuttered. And, it is. If you don’t think it’s getting shutdown, you’re still at Stage 1 of the Kübler-Ross model: denial. So, you need to catch up with everyone else at about Stage 3 or 4.
Honestly, I’m fairly indifferent to the plight of the wrestling team. And, unfortunately for the wrestling team, most Duck fans I’ve talked to feel the same way. What I’m not indifferent to, however, is the position these athletes have been put in by a combination of circumstances I don’t fully understand. The sport these kids love is being taken away from them at the school they used to love. I feel bad for them. And I think most Duck fans feel that way, too.
Last night at the UO-ASU basketball game, the 2007 University of Oregon football team was honored at half-time. And Duck fans made their feelings about them pretty clear with a good round of applause. Shouldn’t the end of the wrestling program, and its athletes, meet the same round of applause from Duck fans Saturday night at half-time of the UO-Arizona basketball game as the football team received? I think it should.
I know accepting such an invitation from the Athletic Department for that kind of recognition would probably signal a concession by the wrestling program that they have moved on Stage 5 of the Kübler-Ross model: acceptance. Considering they are wrestlers, I doubt they would ever want the Athletic Department to pin them down so publicly. But they do have Oregon’s toughest athletes pinned down and the three-count is over.
Wrestlers, I know your cheerleader girlfriend has dumped you for a boy of summer. And I know that recognizing your work at half-time would kind of be like going to a party for you thrown by your ex-girlfriend. But if you were invited to the party, Mr. Finley, Mr. Kearney, and wrestlers, would you accept the invitation or not?
So, I got cut, dumped, and laid off. Yep. Cut? After my knees were cut on four times in high school (two more after high school), sports simply weren’t going to be my thing. Dumped? Met and married the girl of my dreams. Laid off? From a job that was holding me back from pursuing my dreams.
Breaking up is hard to do. And there is a Stage 6. But that all depends on how you exit Stage 5.
Duckscussion: Should the wrestling program be honored at halftime of the Oregon-Arizona basketball game? If you were a wrestler, would you want to be recognized in such a way?
Clone Dixon not Sheep Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
It’s hard to say. If it is not already planned its kind of a cheap show of pity which most men want nothing to do with. I will say I agree wholeheartedly with you about the way they’ve carried themselves despite having the rug yanked out from underneath them the way they have. True professionalism shown from these young men and for that they deserve our recognition and appreciation!
GO DUCKS!
Jay Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Clone -
I think you’re absolutely right about the handling of something like this. It would have to be done from a historical point of view as a recognition of the athletes, the current program, and the history of the program. And I don’t think that has to be done from a position of pity.
Jay
DSN
Concerned Cougar Fan Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
who cares…its wrestling
Jay Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Not So Concerned Cougar Fan -
Who cares? I’ll tell you who cares. These kids do. And their coaches. And their families. And their friends. And their fans.
People may not care about the sport, but they should care about the athletes.
Jay
DSN
Iron City Duck Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Collegiate wrestling is dying. And that’s a freaking shame because America has produced many glorious Olympians from the collegiate ranks. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers are the most dedicated, committed, and intense athletes one will ever cross paths with. The University of Oregon wrestling program has carried itself with the utmost integrity during this ordeal. It would humor me to no end if they stood up the AD and refused to be honored at a half time ceremony at Mac Court. But the UO wrestling program is better then that. Concerning the incumbent AD, I personally feel (and many might argue due to the arena progress, re-instatement of baseball, and donations to the University) that the UO made a Faustian deal. The Oregon wrestling program deserves our standing ovation for the class they have displayed during this fiasco.
Todd Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Some things just go by the wayside… and then we remember fondly when they’re gone. Like drive-in movies, my old cassette tapes (that I still have, but never listen to), and 8-packs of Coca-Cola… they’re all great, but do we really miss them?
Maybe I don’t know any better because haven’t ever been to a Ducks meet. But honestly, I’m looking forward to new possibilities with baseball, and will bid wrestling adieu.
joe Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
no.
“Well, all three have happened to me. ”
- dude, you’re a loser! ;)
Jay Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Joe -
Dude, you just used an emoticon. I don’t think I need to say anything else.
Jay
DSN
Coastal Duck Says:
March 8th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
No doubt too late, but I was thinking to myself about the send-off of the program, which should be accompanied by a stirring rendition of “We Are the Champions” (by Queen).
David C. Nelson Says:
March 13th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I’m not sure how this fits on the Kübler-Ross model: As far as Oregon’s wrestling lettermen are concerned, there may be an grudging acceptance that Kilkenny will win Round One of this bout, but the match won’t be over until the great mat judge in the sky calls us home.
Before this crisis hit, the wrestling alumni were a dysfunctional group, split over loyalty to the current coach and dispirited by a recent record of mediocrity that didn’t reflect the Top Twenty tradition of the Finley years. We didn’t even have an alumni contact list.
Now we’re determined to bring our sport back, even if it takes the decades that Mel Krause endured to see baseball return. Certainly Oregon’s venerable former baseball coach didn’t fret with where he stood on a psychological model. He’s the one who put together the financial package that served as the basis for resurrecting the sport, once the wind shifted in Eugene.
There will be change in athletic and university administration in a couple of years. We’ll still be here raising money and making noise, despite your skepticism. Perhaps we’ll even write an addendum to Kübler-Ross. In proper academic language, it will resemble an old wrestling adage:
When you’re on your back, that’s when things get interesting.
Hank Hosfield Says:
March 13th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Wow, a Mac Court tribute from a group who largely never paid attention to wrestling? My heart skips anew. That’s so meaningful. Was the retirement gold watch your idea, too?
Thanks for paying attention to their plight, though. No joke.
But there are two recurring themes here that I find rather curious.
First, the idea that several have advanced that the wrestlers (and their supporters) need to accept this death of their program and move on, is absurd. Many things in this world are inevitable, but choices such as this hardly fall into that category. Never mind the greater truth that cutting the wrestling team was unnecessary, and the lesser of other possibilities. Some even consider it unjust. Do you believe that our community would be better if we all gently acquiesced to poor leadership and injustice? And do you really know what’s best for all of us who feel this loss most intensely?
Secondly, I question the notion that the fact that few ticket-buying fans seemingly care about wrestling should have any bearing on the greater valuation of the sport. The solipsistic belief that nothing matters beyond that which matters to me ignores many greater virtues. Sports exist primarily for the benefit of those who play. Colleges field teams because there is this belief in their educational importance. Wrestling exists at Oregon because it is a popular high school sport in our state, and because it teaches many unique and beneficial lessons. These truths are immutable irrespective of who watches or cares. The product of the program is similarly beneficial to more people beyond the wrestling program as its graduates matriculate and serve the greater community.
The prospective loss for all of us is greater than what many imagine.
Applause for a group of athletes whose quest for excellence included embracing anonymity rings a bit hollow. If wrestling is taken away from them as planned, I expect they will all move on to greater success on new paths regardless of whether anyone notices. I think it would be hard for wrestlers to view such an ovation as anything more than applause for being the victims of the death of their sport—something in which they had no part in creating.
Bob Tipsword Says:
March 13th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
To Todd,
I think you are missing the point. It is not wrestling vs. baseball, both sports can exist at U of O. The wrestling community has nothing against adding baseball, we just want our sport to stay, as it can and should.
David C. Nelson Says:
March 14th, 2008 at 5:59 am
The wrestling vs. baseball debate is a false dichotomy.
The University of Oregon, while not compliant with Title IX from a purely numbers standpoint, does indeed pass the “Prong II” test for making sufficient progress toward satisfying the gender equity requirements of the law. That is, we’ve added a women’s sport every three to five years, and the addition of competitive cheer continues that effort.
Whether or not wrestling survives, the UO will have to add another women’s sport some time toward the end of the decade.
Bob is absolutely right. Wrestling could indeed could remain at the UO along with baseball. From the beginning, however, Kilkenny and his assistant ADs have played the Title IX card. When the wrestling community demonstrated sufficiently, through the efforts of attorneys for the National Wrestling Coaches Association, that wrestling did not have to be eliminated in order to comply with Title IX, they toned down the absolute nature of their declaration.
In his interview with Daily Emerald reporter Doug Bonham, Assistant to the Athletic Director Neal Zoumboukos finally admitted what wrestling advocates have been saying along. Wrote Bonham, based on his interview with “Zoomer”:
“Contrary to common belief, the decision to remove wrestling is not a Title IX issue; Oregon qualifies for Title IX under history of expansion of opportunities for women, which doesn’t require removing men’s sports.”
There was no need to cut wrestling in order to satisfy Title IX. Wrestling was cut because the athletic department under the leadership of Pat Kilkenny, wanted to eliminate the sport. It does not fit into their idea of what a modern, sophisticated college athletic department should be doing. It’s as simple as that.
Jay Says:
March 14th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Jay, here.
Thanks for all of the comments. Very well thought out and civil. But I have a couple of thoughts on some of the comments:
David, I think there is a sixth step in the KR model. But that depends on how one handles the fifth step in the grieving process: acceptance.
Could that sixth step see the resurrection of the wrestling program? Possibly. My concern with that, however, is that I’m not sure what the national wrestling scene will look like in 5, 10, 20 years. If wrestling programs continue to disappear at their current rate, there may not be anything to come back to.
Hank, you seem like a smart guy. Smart alec, at times. But smart. So, here’s my question: if these athletes embraced anonymity so much, why have they decided now is the time to go public? Because I’m afraid anonymity was part of their problem all along.
College athletics do not exist in a vacuum. People have to know you in order to care about you. And the bottom-line is not enough people (fans and athletic departments locally, regionally, and nationally) care about wrestling.
In the end, that quest of excellence and embrace of anonymity served wrestling really well. Actually, too well. Because they became so anonymous no one knew who they were or cared about what they did. And it was only in the end that they decided they need to get some attention.
Recognizing them at Mac Court with the biggest audience they would have ever been in front of probably would have been a good step in putting a face on the problem you lament.
Bob, you’re right. It’s not baseball versus wrestling. It just seems like that to most people.
David (and everyone else who supports wrestling), here’s the bottom-line: the reason wrestling got cut was that there aren’t enough wrestling fans in the athletic department (I heard it from several people).
That’s it (Well, there’s also a little pride involved because they don’t like the idea of the UO competing in a Pac-10 that’s not really the Pac-10).
But they don’t like the sport of wrestling. Is it a good or fair reason? I doubt it. But that’s the reason.
So, where does wrestling go from here?
Take a lesson from baseball’s playbook. Steal their signs. First, have a very public, very well-known, very well-liked alum, like Mel Krause, wage a very big campaign to bring your sport back for a very long time. Second, wrestling needs a champion in the athletic department that is not associated with wrestling, like Joe Giansante served for baseball. Finally, your alum and champion need to have the ear of a sympathetic Athletics Director.
If you follow those steps, I think you can be successful.
Hank Hosfield Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Mac Court the largest audience these wrestlers ever appeared before? Oh, I dunno, Jay. The guys that qualify for the NCAAs wrestle in front of many more fans than The Pit holds. High School championships in many states draw more than this also.
But you do make a good point about not enough people caring about wrestling in athletic departments these days. Then again, this may say more about the composition of athletic departments across the college landscape than it does the shortcomings of wrestling.
Just the same, wrestling needs to do a better job of telling its story. I see many missed opportunities. I’ve been fairly critical of wrestling’s promotional efforts and the lack of creativity and stubbornness exhibited for so many years by the traditional stewards of wrestling in the USA . But I also see this changing for the better.
While no one goes into wrestling to become famous, no one goes into it to be regarded irrelevant, either. It’s just such a manifestly humbling endeavor that big ego types who might be more skilled at calling attention to themselves seldom survive the initial leveling. Those who prosper seem to be driven more by the sting of past defeats than belief in their own brilliance. But that’s also a stereotype that I wouldn’t choose to cling to, either. Because every athlete that goes into wrestling does so for uniquely individual reasons, consciously and subconsciously; unfortunately, those reasons are rarely illuminated. Not publicly. And it’s these universal human longings and frailties that reveal the the beauty of the struggle with which we all can connect.
At the risk of wandering off into the tangential boonies, I’m backing away from my laptop, recognizing that most people don’t get wrestling, and part of that is wrestling’s fault, because it doesn’t quite get itself, either.
While I don’t expect everyone to get wrestling, or to like wrestling, I know there are more than enough people who like it to make it viable for the UO to keep, and the fact that the UO is so eager to cut bait on it now at the very least is evidence of their lack of imagination. I would also add it displays their lack of commitment to the educational mission of the university. We know that Kilkenny and gang can do so much better than this.
You ask, why is wrestling seeking attention now? Because we believe that even if folks don’t like wrestling, the public cares even less for this kind of arrogance, dissembling, and poorly-considered screw job against a group of really good, hard-working Oregon kids who epitomize what college athletics are all about.
Furthermore, we’re fighting to preserve the future of wrestling for generations to come. Because we know that the prospective effect of dropping Oregon wrestling will do for future wrestlers what killing all the deer, and burning down the forest and paving it over will do for future Bambis. It’s a fragile system. It’s telling that the current leadership sees not something special worth nurturing, instead acts to annihilate an endangered species.
They would have been hell on bald eagles.
David C. Nelson Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Jay,
Some 30 years ago, when I was a student assistant to the sports information director at Oregon, I’d sit down with a young coach Ron Finley and try to figure out a solution to the dilemma you posed. How do we come out of the anonymous shadow of a non-revenue sport?
I could tell you of Saturday afternoons at Valley River Center, when Finley would set up the mats in the middle of the mall, holding wrestling exhibitions for legions of harried shoppers. There were halftime shows at the Pit, wrestling exhibitions between periods of Kamikaze basketball. The spectators gave us some attention, in between smoke breaks out in the halls (yes, you could smoke in McArthur Court in those days).
Then there were the countless visits to fraternity houses and the meetings of other student organizations, trying to exploit the social contacts that our wrestlers made with fellow students. Believe it or not, wrestlers aren’t hermits; they do have social networks–some of which flourished before Facebook.
But you have a point. Wrestling will probably never generate the frenzy of the Pit Crew. I just finished reading the Sports Illustrated story of the 30-plus death threats made against Kevin Love when UCLA visited McArthur Court last month. You’ll never find that intensity of fan “support” in wrestling. Thank goodness.
Instead, when you go to a tournament, you’ll find Duck and Beaver wrestles sitting together in the stands, reminiscing about old times together in high school, their parents hanging around to share in the conversations. Not one wrestling parent I know of has been hit in the back of the head with a thrown soda lately.
It’s something like the atmosphere you’ll find at an Oregon lacrosse meet, which averaged 264 fans per game in six dates during the 2007 season. Or, a Duck softball game, which drew an average 416 spectators per contest last year.
Yep. No frenzy. No poor sportsmanship. Just lots of good, wholesome competition and sportsmanship–which the wrestlers would be content to see continue forever–if indeed there were a future for our sport at Oregon.
My question: Since other non-revenue sports operate in the same realm of anonymity, why is wrestling the only one on the chopping block?
For an answer, you’re welcome to view our latest propaganda film. Pass the link on to your friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNnd9bchsT4
Jay Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 9:31 am
David -
[Jump to the end for my big idea.]
Watched the Youtube piece. Nice job.
So, what’s the Athtletics Department’s agenda?
I’ve talked to a lot of people about wrestling getting cut. And I have received almost a uniform answer. I’m going to be blunt here. But this is what most people said, “I feel bad for the kids, but wrestling is a disgusting sport.” Their words, not mine. (Actually, a shorter and more accurate response I heard frequently was, “It’s gross.”)
Again, is that fair or accurate? I don’t think so. But that’s the perception of wrestling. Spandex unis. Cauliflower ear. Sweaty guys really mixing it up. I’m sorry, but that’s what the non-fan thinks of when they think of wrestling.
David, I’ve been asking myself the same question you pose: since other non-revenue sports operate in the same realm of anonymity, why is wrestling the only one on the chopping block? Without making this really complicated, I’m going to make this easy and compare it to golf at the University of Oregon because it’s a good example.
So, why isn’t golf (both men’s and women’s) on the chopping block? Here are a couple reason where I think golf has it over wrestling. First, one of the administrators used to coach golf at the U of O. Second, men’s golf has a famous head coach. Finally, a lot more people golf than wrestle.
[As a note here, let's all get on the same page that the U of O is not going to cut any women's sports. So let's be clear about that. It's not going to happen.]
Are those simplistic reasons? Probably. But without going into finances, resources, and statistics upon statistics, those are the basic things golf has on wrestling. Can that be applied to other sports? No. But those other sports have other things going in their favor.
Golf, as a sport, has many fans inside and outside of the Cas Center. It has a famous coach, and a famous, local alum who gives money (Peter Jacobsen - I know about the Kesey family’s involvement with wrestling. Unfortunately, the Kesey name doesn’t have as much pull in the sports world, and in the Cas Center, as the Jacobsen name.). If golf was on the chopping block, weekend duffers could relate to that. I don’t think there is a wrestling equivalent for the casual golfer.
What’s the lesson for wrestling here? The answer is difficult because it’s not a function of an immediate action, it’s a function of time. If wrestling is going to come back, it needs a couple of things. It needs a super-wealthy and super-generous former wrestler to start giving to the U of O regardless of wrestling’s status. Consider it a legal bribe. Money talks. Get them hooked on the money. And I’m talking millions. The U of O will start listening only if they’re afraid they’re going to lose a lot of financial support from someone. The other thing that would help is a friend in the administration offices.
To put this in different terms, the wrestling program was fired. The boss didn’t like the job of wrestling. The boss wasn’t afraid of losing wrestling because it didn’t mean the company would lose any business. And the boss didn’t hear any different from middle-management because wrestling didn’t have any friends there either.
What was Oregon’s agenda? Fire wrestling.
[Jump to here.]
David, I thought I was done with this response. But I had a thought:
Start donating the 2+ million wrestling has raised to the U of O now.
This could accomplish several things. First, the wrestling program could essentially become that big donor. And it could get them hooked and dependent on that money. If that money is consistently in the budget, they will spend it. And the possibility of it not being there at some point will get their attention.
Second, donating that money will put the U of O in a very strange place. Do they or don’t they accept the money? I don’t know. But if they don’t, you get to keep your money and they look really, really bad.
To borrow a phrase from Sting, if you love wrestling, set that money free.
Brian Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
It’s refreshing to finally hear the truth why wrestling is being cut. The administrators think it’s gross, and they don’t like it. It doesn’t entertain them, or their apethtic fans. Forget about the thousands of kids who wrestle in the state of Oregon. They all must be gross. Coach Finley must be gross, because he was a wrestler. Dr. Glenn Jarret, an orthopedic surgean and Duck all-american must be gross. Sure seems like a stand up guy to me. Nice to know the smug athletic department at Oregon must think I’m gross too. I am a former college wrestler whose program was axed in 1987. We won our conference that year and had an all-american, but title IX was the reason they gave us . Maybe they really did think we were all gross. We do shower after practice. Not sure when college sports became more about the casual fan, and arogant administrators than the athlete, but that’s what it has become, and that’s sad. He who has the money calls the shots. The pussification of America rolls on. One more thing. The money I donate to wrestling better not end up in the hands of of Kilkenny. I will take it back.
Jay Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Brian -
I hope you understand that I’m not calling wrestling “gross”. But that’s the perception. Until wrestling asks itself some hard questions, it’s going to struggle.
Jay
DSN
Brian Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
15,000m fans that show up for a Iowa wrestling meet don’t think it’s gross either, and I’m not suggesting that’s your perception. It is the perception of an ignorant administration who make no effort to learn about the sport. 11 schools in the Big 10 still think it’s a great sport with a lot of value. Watch a track meet now days, and a lot of sprinters wear one piece lycra uniforms. Is that gross? They even hug each other after a race. They touch each other! Is that gross? The Big 10 athlete of the year last year was a wrestler named Kole Conrad. Same conference as Greg Oden. The big 12 conference athlete of the year last year was a wrestler named Ben Askren. Same conference as Kevin Durant. Maybe it’s the elitist Oregon administration that’s out of touch. I think a lot of basketball players are gross, with their gang bang tatoos. I don’t think you will ever hear of a wrestler getting busted for dog fighting. No you just get a bunch of hard working guys who love to compete, and earn their degrees. It’s a shame the folks at the U of Oregon see no value in that. They think wrestlers are gross.
Jay Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Brian -
Thanks for the comments.
You bring up another good point I want to touch on briefly.
I think miscommunication is a big part of the problem with wrestling. Part of communication is experience. Even though this argument hasn’t worked for soccer at a professional level, I think the fact that the casual fan can not go out and wrestle makes it difficult for people to connect to wrestling. If you think about a lot of the sports offered at the U of O (not all, but most), there is some aspect to those sports can be done by an individual. In wrestling, that’s tough.
I also don’t think that wrestling ever became a part of the culture in the Pac-10 like in the Big-10. When I was in high school, I attended a camp at the University of Iowa. While I was there, they were also hosting a wrestling camp. When I saw all these wrestlers there, I asked what was the deal with all the wrestlers. I quickly got an education in how good and popular wrestling is in Iowa. And it was an impression that I never forgot. Unfortunately, I’ve never felt that wrestling was as culturally ingrained here as it was there. In order for it to have survived, I think it probably needed to be.
Brian, I don’t think anyone in the Cas Center thinks the students who wrestle are gross or disgusting. I, sincerely, think they know that those kids are a dedicated, hard working bunch of kids. But they just don’t like wrestling.
I know I’ve tried to equate this to several situations. So, I’m going to try one more. The U of O has broken-up with the wrestling program. Wrestlers feel like the guy that just got dumped. You’re a good guy. You didn’t deserve to get dumped. You didn’t do anything wrong. She just doesn’t like you anymore. And no matter what you say or do, you’re not going to change her mind. At least not right now. And no matter how many questions you ask, you’re never going to get the answer you’re looking for.
Just like in broken relationships, I don’t think wrestling will ever get an answer that definitely answers the question as to why the U of O dumped wrestling.
Hank Hosfield Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Intriguing proposal, Jay.
But as appealing as money whipping the new greedheads in the Cas Center to do my bidding strikes me on a cynical, superficial level, the thought paying such a cruel-high duty to bankroll the interests of a department that not only doesn’t share my values, but apparently also regards me with disdain and thinks I’m gross, isn’t exactly winning me over. In fact, I find it demeaning and insulting. Maybe we can buy their love. But more than likely we’d be treated more like the schmuck that keeps buying the pretty girl dinner and show tickets but keeps getting the “I just think of you as a good friend” excuse when he tries to close the deal.
What’s greatly underestimated by Kilkenny and his cohorts is how many wrestling supporters are already giving to the DAF and the UO. I hear one of my teammates gives enough to the UO Foundation that two or three times a year they send representatives over to London where he is a banking executive to babysit his donation. His and other such gifts are undifferentiated and unrecognized as coming from wrestling supporters because that has greatly been the way of the DAF. Wrestling not only was never asked to fundraise, but they were actually told that this was not their business, and that DAF donors were especially off limits for further solicitation. So it’s not hard for me to imagine that much of the money that may walk away with wrestling is already in their avaricious hands.
Your revelation that the real motives behind wrestling’s demise being more about how icky they think our sport is isn’t exactly news to us. In fact, we’ve been well aware how much they don’t like our coaches, our program, our league, our fans, our money, hell, even our idealism and integrity. Kilkenny and gang dressed it up as something else, but virtually no one in the wrestling community was buying the fertilizer they’ve been spreading to justify their doing away with wrestling.
We’ve been pushing them to tell the truth for months. Hearing it’s more about naked, small-minded prejudice (how else should one regard such ignorant objections?) is only surprising to me in the sense that I’m always a little taken aback whenever I encounter those in high positions who shoot so low. Pat and Renee don’t want us in their cool club. Wow. That’s so junior high–not to mention, maybe even strangely homophobic. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to own up to such feelings. I’m quite certain they didn’t want the public pissing match that would follow; or how they might be publicly regarded as bullies, or even worse, king-hell snobs.
Long story short, I’m not much for paying people to like me. I may be wrong, but I don’t think the public has much respect for such things, either–they sure as hell don’t like snobs. Heaven help them if they find themselves defending that position.
Jay Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hank -
Wow. I didn’t think this post had these kind of legs. Anyway…
Here’s my very short suggestion: stop donating money to the U of O. Period. If you believe everything you’re writing to be true (or even partially true), don’t give money to Oregon. And encourage wrestling supporters to do the same.
Financially, boycott the U of O.
Jay
DSN
Hank Hosfield Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
PS–Regarding the theory that wrestling is less popular because it is not a sport most people can do, I think it ignores the fact that many people with no formal wrestling experience rough house all the time. It’s a natural human activity. They don’t think of it as wrestling, but it is as close to real wrestling as shooting hoops is to playing in an organized basketball league.
Jay Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Hank -
Come on. We’re not kids.
Rough-housing is not the same as the weekend golfer.
I tried to write that another way, but it ended up sounding silly.
J.
David C. Nelson Says:
March 18th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Jay,
Let’s be frank. Wrestling is being cut at Oregon because it is a convenient target. Oregon’s current wrestling coach has been on the job for ten years, yet he has had only two winning seasons and not one since 2002.
Usually, in situations like this, the athletic director makes a coaching change. But in this case, it’s easy for the new guy on the block, Kilkenny, to pull the plug on the program when his predecessor failed to exercise due diligence. Moos took away the wrestling room but otherwise didn’t pay attention.
Yes, all of those characteristics of a changing society you mentioned hold true. In the days before Spandex, just decades ago, wrestlers competed bare-chested. Among they ancient Greeks, they wrestled naked. But nobody thought they were either grossly sweaty or homosexual in the past.
I guarantee you that up at Oregon State, where you’d think the propensity of homophobia would be greater–owing to the perceived conservative nature of the school–nobody thinks wrestling is “gross.” Probably that’s because the program is on a firm financial footing: Several years ago the estate of a 1920s Olympic champion, Robin Reed, endowed all 9.9 wrestling scholarships several years ago. And two years ago, the Beavers hired a three-time national champion coach from the University of Iowa to continue their winning wrestling tradition. In Jim Zalesky’s first year, he won the Pac-10.
Alumni and friends of the Oregon wrestling program are as much at fault. Up until this crisis hit us, we didn’t even have a contact list for all wrestling lettermen. We were ill prepared to save the sport, and we’re just now getting up to speed. Unfortunately, the finish line is just centimeters ahead. Not good timing.
Yes, wrestling needs a sugar daddy. That will be hard to find because the sport takes an almost perverse pride in not being glitzy. When I visited a Beaver wrestling practice in Corvallis a few months ago, I noticed the wrestlers taping each other’s ankles. Do you think any Duck athlete in that overblown space-age training room in the Casanova center would want to get within a yard of another athlete’s smelly feet?
Yes, to some wrestling comes off as “gross.” That’s a reflection of our societal values, and not a good testimony of progress, in my old-fashioned opinion.
But for the most part, we wrestling alumni have brought this situation on ourselves by being asleep at the switch. Had we been vigilant, we could have overcome the gross factor.
Jay Says:
March 18th, 2008 at 1:34 am
David -
Whoa. Let’s back off the homosexual/homophic angle on this topic. For the most part, more women than men used the terms “gross” and “disgusting” to describe wrestling. Let’s not go down that road.
I’m not sure I have much more to say than these last few words. Wrestling is being cut because of a perfect storm of circumstances. At this point, however, it’s probably best to look forward, not back. So, I wish the wrestlers, the coaches, and the supporters the best of luck in the future, whatever that may hold.
One last thing: as long as wrestling is making noise, Duck Sports News will publicize it.
Thanks for the great discussion.
Jay
DSN
Brian Says:
March 18th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Jay,
Have you ever heard of a school turning down over 2.5 million dollars in donations? Have you ever heard of a school saying no to a facility that they don’t have to pay for? There is not a single reason why wrestling at Oregon needs to go. The wrestling community is commited to be ing self funded. The only thing the wrestling people ask of Oregon is to be called Ducks, and to represent the school. Is that asking too much?