I'm not cocky, I'm confident ...

[Wrestling17601 0]

I've talked to a lot of people on the topic of cockyness/confidence among achieving greatness in our sport. Sadly, most people have reported to me that they believe for a wrestler to be the best, he must be cocky. I do not believe this to be true and think most have trouble separating cockyness and confidence in wrestling. I watched a the video of Kyle Dake's match against Columbia last night and am disgusted by his performance. Under the circumstances, his actions were very childish. His opponent was completely outmatched and obviously a little intimidated by Dake so he tried to stay away. Big deal. When you're one of the best ever, that's going to happen more often than not ...

 

As a leader in our sport and a man that may go down as one of the greatest, grow up Dake, stop complaining to ref's, stop taking cheap shots, and just WRESTLE.

 

http://www.pawrvideo.com/coverage/25042 ... h-Columbia

[LImartin 5]

LOL....The kid from Columbia should have stayed in the Library if, he wasnt gonna wrestle. Watch the video again and see if , you can find that loose quarter that was between the Columbia wrestler's body and the mat (????) ............. MORAL VICTORIEs are for children- not for men.

[NJWC 305]

I hate the BS that we see from time to time when kids get too cocky, but I didn't see anything egregious in that video.

[VakAttack 4,016]

What in the blue hell are you talking about? The only thing I can see that might tick off some of you weirdos is when he sits up while riding and shrugs his shoulders to the side, but Taylor did that exact thing against Nick Moore of Iowa and nobody really complained (nor should they).

[paver1surf1 1]

Don’t see anything that would be called show boating. In fact it looked like Dake held back.

[mvattivo 47]

What in the blue hell are you talking about? The only thing I can see that might tick off some of you weirdos is when he sits up while riding and shrugs his shoulders to the side, but Taylor did that exact thing against Nick Moore of Iowa and nobody really complained (nor should they).

 

Yep. I saw nothing out of line.

[Wrestling17601 0]

1:10 - 1:35 .. Dake punching the kid in the side of the face with his forearm. I'm all for physicality in our sport, but Dake showed no class. I remember wrestling a kid during my elementary years and being told by the opposing coach that it was his first year and he'd appreciate if I went easy. I took him down, rode him for a little, and pinned him in a half. No part of me wanted to hurt the kid. This is college wrestling and by no means am I saying that Dake should of took it easy on the kid, but show some class. Tech or pin him and get off the mat. No one will ever get the job done with class like Cael did ..

[Pinnum 840]

My observations:

 

-Dake looked like he was always trying to force the cradles. I wonder if he has been working on them, in particular, in an attempt to score more team points at the EIWA and NCAAs.

 

-Looked like there was a decent contingent of fans at Columbia. I wonder how many are Cornell fans, Columbia fans, or just fans in general that came out (probably to see Dake and Cornell).

 

-The mat does not look regulation... not enough mat outside the circle.

 

-I kind of like the Columbia singlets. They look like shorts and a tank top and remind me of the 80's where pastels and tanks were common.

 

-I didn't see anything notable in Dake's behavior. I actually thought the Columbia athlete did a fairly good job of engaging while being cautious.

[jstock 125]

I think Dake knows that Ruth has a bit of a lead as the most dominant wrestler so he wanted to try and get a cross face cradle pin to up his stats. Instead he just got a few good punches in.

[mvattivo 47]

I got ripped on the Penn State board for supposedly sticking up for Dake. Sorry, but, the fact is that I actually like and appreciate Kyle Dake. I've watched his interviews and watched him wrestle, and I don't see anything out of line. Of course, as a PSU fan, I hope that Taylor puts it to him in Des Moines, but, that doesn't change the fact that I have a lot of respect for Dake. I also have a ton of respect for the Iowa wrestling program and I like Brands. I don't understand why fans of a team have to find a way to dislike their closest rivals. Especially in a sport like this, where I personally have extreme admiration for every kid who puts in the time and dedication that wrestling requires.

[Wrestling17601 0]

I have a TON of respect for Dake and think he's the most confident wrestler in the nation, but I do have a problem when that confidence turns to cockyness. I find it hard to root for that guy in any sport.

[madcat11 436]

I don't see anything to get excited about. Taylor and Dake both whine about guys not wrestling them from time to time, but that wasn't it.

[Dragons_Coach 0]

I see nothing wrong -- Dake was wrestling tough, and it was a hard crossface, nothing more. That's pretty much typical college wrestling right there.

[rodneydeeeee 0]

I got ripped on the Penn State board for supposedly sticking up for Dake. Sorry, but, the fact is that I actually like and appreciate Kyle Dake. I've watched his interviews and watched him wrestle, and I don't see anything out of line. Of course, as a PSU fan, I hope that Taylor puts it to him in Des Moines, but, that doesn't change the fact that I have a lot of respect for Dake. I also have a ton of respect for the Iowa wrestling program and I like Brands. I don't understand why fans of a team have to find a way to dislike their closest rivals. Especially in a sport like this, where I personally have extreme admiration for every kid who puts in the time and dedication that wrestling requires.

 

 

I've stated this several times before. I respect Dake a ton although I hope Taylor beats him good. Brands is a coach that every wrestler could hope to wrestle for. All the interviews have actually drawn me to like Dake more. He is very confident and rightfully so. He tends to always keep things in line as well.

[TFBJR 464]

LOL....The kid from Columbia should have stayed in the Library if, he wasnt gonna wrestle. Watch the video again and see if , you can find that loose quarter that was between the Columbia wrestler's body and the mat (????) ............. MORAL VICTORIEs are for children- not for men.

 

This is what they teach you on the JV. Right before you quit.

[Wrestling17601 0]

I see nothing wrong -- Dake was wrestling tough, and it was a hard crossface, nothing more. That's pretty much typical college wrestling right there.

 

I agree, great crossface. I would have absolutely no problem with it if he was using it to score rather than an opportunity to take out his frustrations of wrestling a much less-skilled opponent. Some will say he was using it to set up his cradle, but it's pretty clear to me when he stops using it as a set up. I'm not trying to change everyone's opinion on Kyle Dake, but I'm not a fan of this type of wrestling.

[Dragons_Coach 0]

I see nothing wrong -- Dake was wrestling tough, and it was a hard crossface, nothing more. That's pretty much typical college wrestling right there.

 

I agree, great crossface. I would have absolutely no problem with it if he was using it to score rather than an opportunity to take out his frustrations of wrestling a much less-skilled opponent. Some will say he was using it to set up his cradle, but it's pretty clear to me when he stops using it as a set up. I'm not trying to change everyone's opinion on Kyle Dake, but I'm not a fan of this type of wrestling.

 

It's tough-nose wrestling. There is nothing dirty about it. If there was, it would be called. Most college wrestlers have a more aggressive approach in their matches, and this is a good example of it. Check out a lot of Iowa matches and you'll see much of the same.

[Coachp 50]

I saw nothing out of line.The talent level of the two wrestlers was so far apart,I thought the Columbia wrestler did a good job of trying to compete with a 3 timer,but most of the time he had to just not get put on his back for a fall.When Dake finally wore him down, it happened anyway.

[wrestlingnerd 3,003]

Absolutely nothing out of line. That front headlock fireman's carry was awesome, though. I've never seen anyone hit the move and step through like that in college.

[VakAttack 4,016]

So, just to recap, I've seen this particular poster in two threads off the top of my head. In one he talks about how BRands and Iowa can't coach technique, and in this one he has problems with hard crossfaces.

[AKHUNTER 316]

hard cross faces are part of the game...... ask Gambrall ........who should have bruses from Ruths hammer crossfaces for a week or 2. College wrestling is not middle school wrestling.

[WRfan1 152]

1:10 - 1:35 .. Dake punching the kid in the side of the face with his forearm. I'm all for physicality in our sport, but Dake showed no class. I remember wrestling a kid during my elementary years and being told by the opposing coach that it was his first year and he 'd appreciate if I went easy. I took him down, rode him for a little, and pinned him in a half. No part of me wanted to hurt the kid. This is college wrestling and by no means am I saying that Dake should of took iteasy on the kid, but show some class. Tech or pin him and get off the mat. No one will ever get the job done with class like Cael did ..

 

No, you're not all for physicality, because that's called a cross face, and if it was out of line ref can step in. Enough with the jealously, and nice elementary wrestling story - do we really have to go into the hundreds of ways DI wrestling is not your local U8 meet?

You must have hated the Schultz brothers, Askren, and anyone whose personality isn't as if he had a frontal lobotomy at 17 (yes, I'm talking about Cael - have you ever watched his interviews? They're doctor recommended cure for insomnia.)

[wreferee 8]

As a fan and Michigander (Josh majored in the finals at 145 for Holly HS in his senior year)and because I expected much more, I forced myself to witness this, his best imitation of an ironing board refusing to fold, 'til the bitter end. As a wrestling official, I would have DQ'd Houldsworth before the start of the third period. Refusing to give 100% is disrespectful to your opponent, your team mates, coaches and fans and denigrates the sport in the eyes of anyone watching regardless of a spectator's wrestling knowledge or expertise. Dake showed restraint appropriate to the circumstances and responded to his "opponent" appropriately, but he DID exhibit a modicum of disrespect for all in neglecting to follow proper end of match procedure/etiquette by not allowing the ref to raise his hand in the center of the mat. One hopes both of these otherwise exemplary student athletes learned from the experience.

[IronChef 1,099]

As a wrestling official, I would have DQ'd Houldsworth before the start of the third period.

 

For what?

[jinks 0]

I think Wrestling17601's point may have been missed, maybe because he linked to a specific match. In general, it's fair to say some of Dake's actions represent a cockiness that some don't like (me included). This doesn't mean he isn't an absolutely incredible wrestler (he is), but he brings an attitude with it that turns me off to him as a wrestling fan... in interviews he usually pats himself on the back and doesn't give credit to his opponent, coaches, etc., during matches he often makes comments to the refs or signals for stalling, and after matches against opponents that aren't even ranked he'll often keep his arms up, celebrate, and clap for a while on the mat - hell, I've even seen him clap during his match! I know what people are going to say... he's allowed to do that, he's just confident, he deserves it, yada yada... and yeah, he can do whatever he wants... but not everybody has to like that style, hence a thread on his cockiness. I'm an old-school wrestling fan... I like seeing guys who put their head down and fight hard for 7 minutes and get their hand raised and have some humility. Andrew Howe is one of a million examples of guys like this... he goes out, he wrestles hard, he gets his hand raised (or not), he complements his opponents when interviewed, and that's that. To me that's having humility and class and character for the sport. Who knows, maybe Dake is good for the sport like some say, but I'll still take the hard-working wrestler who's not an attention seeker any day.