Penn State dual preview

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
I'm pedantic, so apologies up front, but no :) (and will be my last on the matter)
Wrestling is one of the simplest sports imaginable. There are only ~5 variables based on two principles: hips and back.

Riding time
Escape
Takedown
Reversal
Near fall/Pin

Then team/dual scoring isn't far off from volleyball or tennis. Where there's match, but then "set" etc.

Maybe you're saying, football is simply "get the ball past that line", but I don't think that takes into account Offense/Defense/Punting/Field goals/Extra points/Downs/Turnovers/Significantly more penalties and rule complexity.
Wrestling has so much subjectivity that it makes it confusing much more than football. Football, you get past the goal line and it’s a touchdown. Kick it between the uprights without a TD and it’s 3. Basic stuff

Now with a takedown, other guy has to behind the hips and the other has to have three points down. But then why is that a takedown when they are behind the shoulders and lace a leg through is a quick question. Then you get asked why knees can be supporting, hands, elbows, when does the head count and so on. There are no, he has to be on all four and the other guy has to be behind him touching to be a takedown. Much tougher to understand the scoring than football.

Most average fans for any sport only pay attention to scoring and if there is not a cut/dried way to score they get confused.
 
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crablegs

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Wrestling has so much subjectivity that it makes it confusing much more than football. Football, you get past the goal line and it’s a touchdown. Kick it between the uprights without a TD and it’s 3. Basic stuff

Now with a takedown, other guy has to behind the hips and the other has to have three points down. But then why is that a takedown when they are behind the shoulders and lace a leg through is a quick question. Then you get asked why knees can be supporting, hands, elbows, when does the head count and so on. There are no, he has to be on all four and the other guy has to be behind him touching to be a takedown. Much tougher to understand the scoring than football.

Most average fans for any sport only pay attention to scoring and if there is not a cut/dried way to score they get confused.
I’ve never met a person that only knows scoring and nothing else, but I guess it’s possible they exist.

Football is every bit as nuanced as wresting.
 

HGoat1

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Wrestling has so much subjectivity that it makes it confusing much more than football. Football, you get past the goal line and it’s a touchdown. Kick it between the uprights without a TD and it’s 3. Basic stuff

Now with a takedown, other guy has to behind the hips and the other has to have three points down. But then why is that a takedown when they are behind the shoulders and lace a leg through is a quick question. Then you get asked why knees can be supporting, hands, elbows, when does the head count and so on. There are no, he has to be on all four and the other guy has to be behind him touching to be a takedown. Much tougher to understand the scoring than football.

Most average fans for any sport only pay attention to scoring and if there is not a cut/dried way to score they get confused.
Yeah, this was kindof what I was referencing in my earlier post . I watched the NCAA finals last year with some non-wrestling people, and I felt like a crazy person having to explain why it wasn't a takedown or was a takedown, there is a lot of nuances and to an outsider I can totally see why it is confusing. I think the increase in scramble positions the past 10-20 years has made things a lot more nuanced and confusing for someone that isn't watching wrestling often.
 
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SolarGarlic

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It's like Hawkize on Twitter gatekeeping being a fan of wrestling. If you want the sport to grow and succeed, being a **** to new/newer fans isn't the way to do it.
He's never struck me as a big wrestling fan. Either way, he's a gigantic tool that needs help. I don't know how people function in life when they devote hours every day to being a troll.
 
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SolarGarlic

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IMO it's not more than any other sport. Think of all the little things with football to someone who doesn't know the game at all.
There are some highly technical situations that could be confusing. Mostly, what is and isn't a takedown. Most newcomers will assume a mat return is worth points, especially when even educated crowds have some of the bigger cheers in those situations.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
I’ve never met a person that only knows scoring and nothing else, but I guess it’s possible they exist.

Football is every bit as nuanced as wresting.
You haven’t ever sat in the stands at a HS game huh? Usually people would ask me what was going on because they knew I would explain things and be polite about it. Many times I Had to explain the after points and why they weren’t worth 3. Coached my son in youth football and the other teams head coach didn’t even know the basic rules of coin tosses and asked why they didn’t get the ball again in the second half.

There are a lot of people who don’t understand much past the scoring.
 

MnBrPg

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The hardest part for new fans (in my experience) is the base level. At base level football really is "get past this line". Which could mean the goal line, the super-imposed first down line, or whatever. Progress is linear. In wrestling there is so much we see even in tie up, wrist control, shot set ups... all of which a new fan doesn't really comprehend. That's why it's so hard to just turn it on and watch, imo, compared to football.
 

SolarGarlic

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What about what is and what isn't stalling?
I feel like new fans have a better sense of what stalling is, even if it's called inconsistently. But with scrambling and the amazing defense that a lot of wrestler have these days, takedowns are more confusing in my opinion.
 

crablegs

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The hardest part for new fans (in my experience) is the base level. At base level football really is "get past this line". Which could mean the goal line, the super-imposed first down line, or whatever. Progress is linear. In wrestling there is so much we see even in tie up, wrist control, shot set ups... all of which a new fan doesn't really comprehend. That's why it's so hard to just turn it on and watch, imo, compared to football.
New fans should start with freestyle, it really is simpler.
 

SolarGarlic

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I love ISU wrestling, and I'm excited for tonight's meet, but I'm not "pay $25 for a nonconference/non prestigious tournament" excited. I hope the Swiderski and Schuyler injuries are minor. Biceps aren't the easiest things to come back from.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
New fans should start with freestyle, it really is simpler.
Most new fans will watch it because of a team situation. Their HS or college team is what will pull them in. Freestyle isn’t that common to find browsing TV and other areas. So folkstyle is the most common for new fans to land on. It’s like saying arena ball may be easier to understand but you won’t find it as easily.
 

JM4CY

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New fans should start with freestyle, it really is simpler.
But if they have a moderate level of exposure to random HS wrestling and just basic general understanding, trying to get into freestyle will confuse the hell out of them.
 

GMackey32

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He's never struck me as a big wrestling fan. Either way, he's a gigantic tool that needs help. I don't know how people function in life when they devote hours every day to being a troll.
There's a reason why his wife divorced him. It's because he was spending more time trying to "own Cyclones fans" online than spending time with his wife and kids.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
But if they have a moderate level of exposure to random HS wrestling and just basic general understanding, trying to get into freestyle will confuse the hell out of them.
Unless the scoring has changed in the last few years, I just remember a basic takedown is 2, if their feet fly over their head and looks big then it’s 4, have seen a three once and didnt know why it was 3.
 

SolarGarlic

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There's a reason why his wife divorced him. It's because he was spending more time trying to "own Cyclones fans" online than spending time with his wife and kids.
didn't realize that, but not surprised. When you consider he spends at least a couple hours fighting with Iowa State fans, another couple fighting with conservatives, and then is on Hawkeye Lounge for another couple hours rehashing the same topics, there can't be a whole lot left for anyone else. Online arguments are toxic when you treat them as seriously as he does, and it's all so mean spirited.
 

GoldCy

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Don't make fun of new fans and expect them to become old/supporting fans. It would be helpful to post rules and explanation, even videos, to help understand the ever evolving rules which might explain what happened.
 

GMackey32

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didn't realize that, but not surprised. When you consider he spends at least a couple hours fighting with Iowa State fans, another couple fighting with conservatives, and then is on Hawkeye Lounge for another couple hours rehashing the same topics, there can't be a whole lot left for anyone else. Online arguments are toxic when you treat them as seriously as he does, and it's all so mean spirited.
He also has a pretty high profile job with a large credit union here in Iowa. I can't imagine they like paying him to troll people all day online.