First of all, I am country boy and 4 days in NYC confirmed that. Noise, crowds, expensive food! Love getting back to Virginia.And I live outside DC. I will be hearing horns honking, sirens and trash trucks in my dreams

From the social in St. Louis last year to the packed house in NYC; the 10th place finish to a 4th place finish - the program is on the rise. The VT crowd was loud and supportive and many fans commented there in NY and afterwords in social media about the Hokie fans.

You cannot overstate the job the Dresser, Robie and Hoffman (talk about Zadick and St. John later) have done in bringing this program out of near death. Fund raising, camps, marketing, recruiting, hustling to build the VT Wrestling brand. It is a hell of a lot more than technique and drilling (though they do a crap ton of that too).

To beat so many B1G schools like Iowa and Minnesota where wrestling is almost more important (and as well funded) as football is a tremendous achievement.

To NYC. The Midwesterners like St Louis and I can say I wont miss NYC prices or crowds but I thought MSG did a pretty good job with it. Getting through security was pretty easy and they moved the crowds in pretty fast. It seemed to run efficiently from my perspective.

There was so much great wrestling even when it wasn't VT going. If everyone wrestled with the enthusiasm, abandon and athleticism of David Terao and iMar, the sport would be prime time!

The Good: An EPIC blood round. You cant imagine how deflated everyone was after Joey lost and got hurt and ZZ stumbled. Dresser says every year you have to ride the wave of disappointments and this year was a case study. The euphoria of the multiple blood round victories (with bonus) was something to see in person and VT crowd erupting. Hearing the PSU and tOSU fans commenting on what a great team and fan base. Epperly. What.A.Fight.Back. Chisko ignoring the pain, beating his chest. Ty going all out. Nick revenge on Gantt. Haught getting the Duke monkey off his back. McFadden grinning ear to ear with his wins. His big pin. McF beating Weatherman.

Bad: Joey getting hurt. Feel horrible for him. ZZ being 3 RT sec away. They will be back. Penalty point - did not like the call. Rider kid was still fighting him.

Ugly: Consistency in stalling calls. Are we freestyle now that push out is an automatic warning. Very inconsistently called. And while not ugly, you mean Nolf couldn't beat Martin so we could at least tie for third??? Coon stalling the whole match against Ty forcing Ty to shoot.

Future: I can't help wondering if Zadick and St. John in the room didn't help the blood round results. St. John working with the big guys has to help. Hope we can find a lightweight coach to help push Joey, Norstrem and the little guys. Joey getting healthy.

Nothing is static. Iowa, MN and other teams will not stand still. If you are not going forward, you are going backward so Raising the Bar continues. Fund raising for SERTC, Recruiting, Marketing/Brand expansion. Fan support. It is always 'What have you done for me lately' so I know the program is about moving forward.

Thanks to all of the fans that came to NYC, our dedicated coaches and wrestlers. JerseyHokie (finish that PhD!), HokieLifer and other posters for their insights. Whit for getting Dresser his contract and keeping Hoffman around! GO HOKIES!

P.S. Sat next to Dresser's mom for several of the sessions. Lovely lady. I know someone who dislikes Iowa wrestling and Brands as much as me. Made the viewing that much more fun..




[Post edited by HealthHokie at 03/22/2016 09:48AM]