Fan Favorite Award 2010

Who is your Outstanding Wrestler of the year? Cast your vote now for this year's Fan Favorite IU Wrestler of the Year! Email imwiththeteam@gmail.com with Fan Fav in the subject line, the name of your favorite 09-10 IU starter and if you would like, a brief statement why you chose this young man.

A few things to think about:
1- It doesn't have to be "the best wrestler" on the team. Quite frankly I don't care if you respect his technique or just think a singlet is the perfect cut to show off all those chiseled muscles. This award is going to the Favorite Wrestler ergo, the guy with the most votes- for whatever reason!

2- It has to be a 2009-2010 starter.

3- Only 1 vote per email address. If you want to take the time to create a million different email addresses, More Power to You!! You must really love Your Outstanding Wrestler!

4- What is the best thing about the Internet?? COMMUNICATION! PASS IT ON!!! Send this link to anyone you want and Campaign for Your Outstanding Wrestler! Bribery is just a creative way to compromise ;)

5- (Wrestlers, you can vote too ;) and it would be silly if you all just voted for each other, it would just cancel out your votes. Don't worry, I won't tell ;))

6- Whether you followed by never missing a dual/tourney, read up on the Internet or newspaper (ha!), followed me on Twitter ;) @imwiththeteam (cheap plug), Or waited for those Smoke Signals-- Vote!!! If there was one guy who you just could not wait to hear how he did- Vote for Him!

7- Voting ends Sunday, March 28th at 8:59pm Eastern Time (I have a tot to put to bed). And the Fan Favorite Wrestler will be honored at the team banquet. (Hopefully I will have some great reasons why you chose who you chose). After the banquet I will post the winner on this blog site.

So remember, 1 vote per email by Sunday, March 28th at 8:59pm EST to imwiththeteam@gmail.com

Any questions, comment this blog or email me at imwiththeteam@gmail.com

This is Wrestling. And yes, that is blood.

I take you, Wrestling, to be my Life...

A typical conversation with someone who inquiries about what my husband does goes like this about 98% of the time:

"What does your husband do?"

"He is a wrestling coach for IU."

"(insert your favorite positive comfirmation here). So when is wrestling season?"

Me chuckling at the inside joke in my head. "Well opens, invitationals and dual tournaments begin in October. Then Big Ten's really get underway about January and competition-season closes with the NCAA tournament in mid-March."

"Sounds like a great work schedule-"

"-Then there is recruiting, that really doesn't 'stop' throughout the year, but it is the main priority April through September."

"I see, so no off-"

"-No, no off-season."

Am I bitter about this? I would be the perfect Stepford-Wife if I said "No, I support my husband 100% in whatever he wishes to do." (Cheesy smile and twinkle in my eye) But let's be honest, I am not a Stepford-Wife in any form of the stereotype. Yes I do support my husband 100%, but I have had my moments of 'Do you really have to leave again??' However, wrestling really has become my life as well. Strategically planning my PTO days around tournament time is something I have gotten pretty darn good at in the last 5 years! But I do have an underlying desire to go to Chicago one year for a St. Patrick's Day vacation... Guess that will have to wait until Northwestern hosts the Nationals...

The role of Wrestling Wife really is a "Love it" or "Hate it" deal. My first encounter with the sport was about 8 years ago at a home IU dual meet when I saw my very-recent-boyfriend throw his opponent at 197lbs... impressed to say the least, however, I was completely clueless to what exactly was going on. In a short period of time I learned a lot and was able to quickly say, "Wrestling is my favorite sport".

I was a very emotional fan watching Pat wrestling for 3 years at IU. And although the heart pounding and muscle tensing has let up, I still get that Hunting-Lioness instinct watching our guys wrestle. I am never one to sit completely still, stay completely quite, or for that matter stay completely classy. I can imagine I embarrass Pat at least a handful of times with every passing season, But I couldn't be happier or more honored to be part of such a close-knit, cut-throat athletic Family.

So wrestling,
To have and to hold (but of course no locking of hands),
For richer or poorer (let's loosen up on the poor k?)
In Sickness and in Health (so glad we got through weight-cuts!)
To love and to cherish (it isn't your fault the ref made a bad call)
From this day forward, until total knee and hip replacements do us part...