Well, the big football game is over and Iowa State again reigned supreme. But the true test comes in a couple of weeks when the winter teams play. Most of the focus will probably be on Saturday night when the men’s basketball team plays but most people forget about one of the most important events that weekend – the wrestling meet between Iowa and Iowa State.

Some people think wrestlers are just guys rolling around in tights, but those people do not truly understand wrestling. As a former high school wrestler and wannabe Cyclone wrestler I know these trials from experience. I know what it’s like to not eat for days to make weight. And this is especially hard during the holidays when everyone else gets to eat rich desserts and gravy and wrestlers only eat a small piece of turkey, a little potatoes and maybe some stuffing.

Then comes training for hours on end, drills where wrestlers repeat moves over and over to make them second nature and seem easy to perform on the mat. Do you think Cael Sanderson is just able to go out and ankle pick his opponents without spending endless hours training for perfection?

Wrestlers also train for endurance because when you are tired and behind by one point you need the extra strength to get a reversal and win the match. Wrestling matches last six minutes or longer, which may not seem as long as a basketball game, but it is six intense minutes. Wrestling is a high-speed chess match where strength, endurance and knowing moves are the keys to victory. If you lose you have no one to blame but yourself.

With all of the hard work the wrestlers put in you think they would get a lot of respect, but they don’t. Iowa State’s wrestling team is one of the best in the nation, yet they still don’t get the attention the basketball teams do. And this year Iowa State has a chance to beat Iowa for the first time since the 1986-87 season.

Last March, when the men’s basketball team lost in the first round, Cyclone fans were devastated, but overlooked the greatness that was happening in Iowa City. Cael Sanderson won his third consecutive title and the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Joe Heskett was another All-American for the team and after losing in last year’s title match is ready to go for the title. But I bet most didn’t know or even care about that.

No matter how the basketball teams do the crowds are still there. The wrestling team is amazing and the crowds do not come.

It’s hard to understand. Tickets only cost around $6 unless you buy an Olympic sports pass, which costs $10. Wrestling is exciting especially when you see a wrestler roll an opponent up in a cradle for a pin or a takedown at the last seconds of the period to get the win for the team. Basketball is fast but so is wrestling, especially when two opponents are in overtime and trying to get the points to win.

Sadly, most people would rather watch “rasslin” on television then go out and see a student-athlete reach perfection in his field. They will watch other teams they do not care about play a game that does not matter instead of watching hard working athletes be their best and bring recognition to their school and sport.

Do yourself and the wrestlers a favor and go to a meet. Instead of having crowds of a couple of thousand, let’s fill up Hilton Coliseum with cardinal and gold.

I would rather see cardinal and gold then gold and black in two weeks, which is what is usually the colors I see because people at Iowa State just don’t show respect or care for wrestling.

Wesley Griffin is a senior in agricultural education from Grand River.