Talking Sports: Time for gladiators to take mat

It’s Wednesday night in Omaha. There are less than 24 hours left before all of the 896 qualifiers for 2015 NSAA Wrestling Championships will have already had their first bout.

With the temperatures about 35 degrees colder here than in Sidney, the heat is on full blast. It’s freezing cold with temps somewhere in the teens. The high Thursday was predicted for 23 degrees with single digits in the morning. In Sidney, the mercury is expected to rise to 58. It snowed some last year. I hope it doesn’t snow this year.

On the tube, AMC is running “Gladiator” with Russell Crowe. Somehow that seems appropriate on the eve of the state wrestling championships.

“Maximus, Maximus, Maximus...!”

Maybe the CenturyLink Center isn’t the Roman Colosseum and they don’t wrestle to the death here. But it’s a pretty impressive sight nonetheless. The Thursday rounds take place on 10 mats with unceasing action. Each mat has its own vocal constituency, so there are constant roars from every direction.

Four Sidney Red Raiders will strap on their armor and be ready for battle. Senior Michael Muggli is here with freshmen Colton Peckham, Derek Robb and Kaden Vowers. Good luck to the Sidney four.

“We hope they’re all wrestling on Saturday,” said Raiders head coach John Ganser this week.

If they’re wrestling on Saturday, that means they’re guaranteed a medal. But it’s a tough road. By definition, all must have worked very hard to reach this place. There are 895 other wrestlers who want it just as badly as the next guy.

“Maximus! Maximus the Merciful!”

Not likely to hear much about mercy here. They’ll wrestle til there’s a winner. Even if it takes all day.

“No, much sooner than that. It’s been arranged.”

I’ve been to at least a half dozen state tournaments since I arrived in Sidney. Nothing beats state track for my favorite place to bring a camera. Golf and track are the best places to get a workout.

The home of the Huskers hoopsters – the Pinnacle Bank Arena – is the cleanest, shiniest, brightest, most modern indoor arena I’ve ever been in. The basketball playoffs are held at Pinnacle Bank. Could be that Sidney hoop fans will get two trips there this year. We’ll see.

The Century Link Center, while not quite as shiny or new as Pinnacle, is a major league facility nonetheless. It’s a place likely to cause the drop of a few freshmen jaw bones. A few senior ones too. But never mind that. State wrestling isn’t defined by the building that hosts it. It’s defined by emotion. There’s a deep well of emotion here unlike any other place I’ve ever seen.

“Oh, I have wept.”

But it’s not just the sounds of frustration that rule the day. There’s hugging and laughing and excitement all around. Look in any direction and before long you’ll see somebody jump for joy. Literally jump for joy. But for everyone the Emperor gives a thumbs up to, there is a corresponding thumbs down.

“Live, Live, Live, Live ...!”

There will be some after a defeat that slam the mat with a fist. Others will weep and still others will stare off in no particular direction. There was one young man in 2014 who sat with his head in his hands outside a side door to the CenturyLink Center. He wasn’t wearing a coat. He sat there for hours, apparently pondering what might have been, as the falling snow accumulated around him.

“Please brother, what troubles you?”

But for all the emotional highs and lows you see at state wrestling, could you blame any one of them? Wrestling is an all out, give everything you have kind of sport. There can be no let up. Not even for an instant. Without exception, these 896 have given all they have all year and will leave nothing on the mat over the next three days. But only 56 will be called state champions across the four classes. Who knows. Maybe one or more of them will come from Sidney.

“Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?”