4 Days of Championship Moments: My Journey to Appreciating Wrestling

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — On the eve of the Missouri State High School Activities Association state wrestling tournament, I think about what makes this sport such a unique, powerful competition.

I didn’t wrestle growing up (and I don’t count my few weeks on the mat when I was five years old). We didn’t have wrestling when I was in school. It was never an appealing sport to me because I didn’t grow up in that environment. Football, yes. Basketball, yes. Baseball, yes. Wrestling, no.

But I was missing out.

I still remember my first trip to state to cover wrestling in 2016. I had been told that wrestling coverage was a whole new animal — and it was. I remember walking through the tunnels of Mizzou Arena, and the first thing I saw was a wrestler running at me, yelling and expressing his “hatred” for the sport as he reacted to a loss.

I didn’t know what to think. My first reaction was, “What did I get myself into?”

I never completely felt comfortable that first year covering the sport. I knew to shoot the matches, get the podium shots, and interview the victors, but I didn’t truly understand it.

I’ve been to state wrestling many times over the last decade, and every year I gain more appreciation for the hard work these young men and women put into the sport. I remember the first year MSHSAA created girls wrestling as its own separate championship. I’ve seen the pure, raw emotion after a wrestler scores a championship-clinching pin. I’ve witnessed the heartbreak of high expectations ending in an early exit. Grapplers have made history individually and as teams, and I’ve seen just how much it means to them.

Wrestling is a brutal sport. It’s physically punishing, but it also takes an emotional and mental toll. Wrestlers have to make weight, whether that means slimming down or bulking up. One wrong move on the mat can change an entire season.

I may not understand every intricate detail of the sport, but I appreciate and love the passion behind it.

The state tournament is four days of controlled chaos inside Mizzou Arena. The championship bouts feature grand entrances and introductions, and the matches themselves are often the best of the entire tournament — as they should be — played out amid the yelling and cheering of a packed arena.

If you love wrestling, you get it. If you don’t, you’re missing out on something special.

Like I was — but not anymore.

Good luck to all wrestlers, teams, and coaches. This is a special week for all of you.