Originally published at: https://pistolsfiringblog.com/frustrated-oklahoma-state-fans-should-embrace-wrestling/
Football frustrations could be eased by truly buying into what is going on with Oklahoma State wrestling
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I don’t mean this as the start of yet another discussion of what Gundy is doing wrong in football recruiting, but what changes did John Smith make to his recruiting strategy to start landing the No. 1 classes? I do understand it’s different since we are a wrestling “blueblood”, but I’m thinking it’s been a while since we’ve consistently had No. 1 classes.
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Seth’s articles mention Tyler Caldwell a lot for the boost in recruiting. Also the departure of Eric Guerrero seems to have made an impact. I’m not an authority by any means. I think OSU’s alumnus’ recent success at the international freestyle level (Dieringer), in MMA (Cormier, King Mo), and in collegiate coaching (Pat Popolizio, Chris Pendleton, Mark Branch) probably helps the visibility of the program too.
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Well, I started writing here about 3 years ago and that seemed to coincide with the change(I’m joking of course)
Hiring Tyler Caldwell as recruiting coordinator was huge. He’s really made a clear impact. Also just the general restaffing with Eric Guerrero moving on and Perry and Caldwell being thrown into recruiting.Those two are much younger, so just naturally connect with recruits a lot better and really just have personalities that are better built for recruiting.
Also talent in the area has improved dramatically. OSU had 3 nationally ranked Oklahoman’s in this class and the #1 overall recruit is from Dallas. It’s a lot more manageable to recruit nearby kids, even though they’ve picked up some pretty elite recruits from out of state as well.
And yes, this is the best recruiting has been at OSU in a very long time.
Wrestling duals are better than the other sports for a number of reasons. Indoors, affordable, high quality product, entertaining. I’ve only been a season ticket holder for 2 years now, so I’m in the new group of supporters. But I think attendance could go up even more in the next few seasons. Good article, Seth.
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Totally agree, oSu fans should embrace and tout all of our sports, and not just worry about the few that ou is good at. I lived in Kansas for a while and it always baffled me that Kansas State fans were more worried about basketball than football. I wonder if as Cowboy fans, we are in that similar situation where we put too much stock in having to beat our rival at the sport their good at.
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Been an OAMC/OSU fan as long as I can possibly remember. My loyalties have always been 1. Wrestling, 2. Football/Basketball/Football 3. Basketball/Football. I have never been bored with our Wrestling teams. I keep praying for the days of the packed houses days of the old gym. I know if the people would come out and watch and ask questions about whats going on they will fall totally in love with Coach Smiths wrestling squads just like the old timers did MANY years ago. Now, for me, you can’t beat Oklahoma State Cowboy Baseball/OAMC AGGIE BASEBALL. I knew Baseball before any of the other. Grew up on a one lane dirt Perkins Road & Virginia St. so we could only listen to St. Louis Cardinal baseball on the radio before their was tv.
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Wrestling fans tend to be pretty loyal too, and also tend to appreciate the sport as a whole. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the sheer athleticism and dedication that it takes to be a wrestler is so mind-blowing that you can’t help but admire the athletes even when they lose. Not once in my 20-ish years of following wrestling have I heard a coach (OSUs or others) get trashed by a fan after a loss. I’m sure it happens, but it’s much less common than in other major sports where teams commonly fire head coaches after winning seasons. That’s pretty refreshing.
It’s a cool club to be a part of.