Relating to Wrestling

Wrestlers take pride in being unique. Cauliflower ear is a badge of honor for many. Maintaining one's competitive weight 20 years after competing is also something wrestlers take pride in. And of course, for many, claiming they almost beat a top wrestler, is a given. It's called success by association, says Kyle Klingman, executive director of the Dan Gable National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum.

“I didn't place at state, but I beat the guy who placed second and fifth,” is a common claim to fame for some ex-wrestlers, hoping to boast their credentials as the years pass, Klingman says. If they wrestled a high school state champ or collegiate national champion as a youth, they will be sure to share the story. Some will share results; others will stop, omitting the results if they lost.

Wrestling is unique in that it has three distinct styles: folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman. Football, basketball, baseball and soccer can't claim that.

For wrestlers, wrestling fans, parents and coaches, there are many aspects within the sport that only wrestlers can relate to. And that’s what makes wrestling special.

“Wrestlers pride themselves as being different, and our unique sayings and lingo prove this,” says Mark Reiland, who didn't have to stretch any accomplishments throughout his Hall of Fame career, when he became a two-time state champion at Iowa’s Eagle Grove High School, and an NCAA champion in 1991 for the University of Iowa under head coach Dan Gable. Reiland went on to coach Iowa City West High School to several team dual and traditional state titles.

If one thing is true about wrestlers—everyone has a Gable story. Reiland of course, has many. For others, they remember the time they spoke to him, shook his hand, heard him speak, or had that one-on-one chance of a lifetime meeting. He is also one of a few wrestling personalities who is simply known by one name: Gable. Basketball has Steph, LeBron, Michael, Magic, Bird, and more. Wrestling has Gable, Cael, Burroughs, Brands, and Snyder—all household names that everyone in wrestling knows.

What are some other unique elements of wrestling, true to wrestling culture, and only something wrestlers and wrestling fans truly understand? We take a look here:

To tuck or not to tuck: Wrestlers are the only athletes who take pride in tucking their sweatshirts into their sweat pants. And this is not just in practice, either. It happens at the airport when wrestlers travel, or when Olympians like Jordan Burroughs go to the grocery store. In the USA Wrestling article To tuck or not to tuck? Burroughs bragged about wearing his tucked-in sweatshirt and sweats in public, saying: “I'll be with my wife and kids, we’ll be going to Whole Foods or a restaurant after a training or lifting session and people will stare at me like ‘What is that guy wearing?!’”

Weight management: Only wrestlers can understand the challenge of moving up a weight class (one may succeed at 133, but not fare as well at 141). The average Joe does not understand the difference those eight pounds can make. Speaking of eight pounds, the average Joe certainly doesn't understand the challenges of losing weight to make weight. Only wrestlers truly understand this battle within the sport.

Credentials: Only wrestlers understand what it means when someone says: “He’s a two-time All-American.” Wrestling takes it further, too. A successful high school wrestler could claim to be a four-time state qualifier (simply listed as 4X, meaning 4 times), three-time state placewinner and two-time state champion. Confused? The wrestling fan is not. This person, then, could conceivably say they were a 4-time qualifier, 3-time placer, 2-time state champ and the wrestling world would understand.

Fargo: A wrestler can simply say the word Fargo and the wrestling world knows what they mean, referring to the U.S. Marine Corps Cadet and Junior Nationals held annually in mid-to-late July at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D. It’s the largest and most prestigious tournament in the world.

Junior Triple Crown: Speaking of Fargo, only eight wrestlers have won the prestigious Junior Triple Crown, which is awarded to any athlete who wins a USA Wrestling national title in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle in the same year. It was accomplished just recently when Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois capped off an exceptional 2017 season. After previously winning a national folkstyle title, Cassioppi also recently won Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman national championships in, of all places, Fargo. Triple Crown has become one of the most prestigious honors in wrestling. Only wrestlers and fans would understand the magnitude of such an accomplishment.

OW: A wrestling fan can ask who the OW was, and one will simply know they are asking who was named Outstanding Wrestler (MVP in other sports) for an event/tournament. These types of acronyms, and other unique wrestling terms were covered in-depth in this USA Wrestling glossary of terms article.

The singlet: Only wrestlers understand what it’s like to wear the singlet. They know the feeling of stepping on that mat, with what seems like the whole world watching. Teague Moore, head coach of American University, a 1998 NCAA national champion for Oklahoma State and a former competitor for Real Pro Wrestling, a professional wrestling league using a combination of amateur wrestling rules, and which had wrestlers go shirtless, said this about the singlet: “Jordan Burroughs looks good in it. An eighth grader with a slight weight issue trying wrestling for the first time doesn’t look good in it. I think someone actually said, ‘so how can we turn off as many pre-pubescent boys from trying our sport as possible? Let’s make them wear this singlet.” Wearing a singlet might be an uncomfortable experience for some, but it evokes a sense of pride for many.

There are many other aspects of wrestling that stand out to wrestlers and fans only, including:

Blood round: The trendy new name for making it to the Round of 12. What’s the round of 12? Read this article to learn more. If you're a wrestling fan, however, you truly know what that means. “Blood round is not about bleeding,” Reiland says.

Better in one style versus another: A youth wrestler may excel as a freestyle wrestler, but not fare as well in folkstyle or Greco-Roman. Why? Only a wrestler understands the subtle differences of the three styles.

Taking an Olympic year: Common at the collegiate level during an Olympic year, college wrestlers use it as an extra year of training, with hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. And when the casual fan hears that person is taking an Olympic year, they assume that person has a legitimate shot of making an Olympic team, when in reality, many do not. But it sounds good to the general public—and provides an additional year of international training, which is valuable to any wrestler seeking a long-term future in the sport.

The never-ending handshakes: This may be confusing to even wrestlers as to why this is part of the sport: Shaking hands before a match, after a match, and after the dual. Sportsmanship at its finest, or too much? 

Throwing headgear: Only a wrestler understands so much frustration that they know what it’s like to throw headgear. One time, a University of Iowa wrestler was so frustrated in a loss against the University of Minnesota, he threw his headgear right into the trash when leaving the mat.

There are many other aspects that make wrestling unique. A high school wrestler could lose a close match, but be elated because he or she helped his team hang on and win a close dual meet, making it a true team win, and considering it a win, even though it was a loss. Sending someone out there with the hopes of “not getting pinned” is something wrestling fans truly understand. There are more sayings too, from one is good on their feet to tough on top to needs work from the bottom. All are part of the wrestling language. What else do wrestlers deal with, go through, or associate with that is true to the sport? Share your own examples below.