A few thoughts:
I know we had issues with the broadcast yesterday.
SDSU on Friday was about as good as it gets with a new arena with plenty of bandwidth and room on press row without fans being on top of you. I was by myself and don't think I've ever talked that much in my life. I wished that Nate would have been there because he's the best and we would have put on a great show that night with how that dual played out. Joe was taking a much-needed break, and if the 3 of us had been in Brookings, it would have been ridiculous when Herrera got that ride-out. I am so appreciative of Joe and Nate letting me be a 3rd wheel on these broadcasts. Andy Stubblefield was awesome stepping in and giving me a chance to breathe on Friday. Andy is the Oracle of ISU wrestling for a reason.
UNI was tough.
A record crowd, lots of media wanting to fight for their spot and fans literally 2' from us constantly screaming and causing problems with our equipment. Our engineers are in Joplin, Missouri and there's only so much they could do about the situation yesterday.
I know it wasn't a good broadcast, but it got to the point where Nate and I had to decide to either just log off, or keep talking and pray for a miracle from the technology gods.
As far as my broadcasting skills, you'll never confuse me for an ESPN announcer, but I'm "Clone to the Bone" when it comes to ISU wrestling and I'm going to be a homer on the call. I care too much about these kids to be objective. Coach Dresser has some really neat people stepping out on the mat. I just act like I'm sitting next to someone at their first wrestling meet and try talking to them about what is going on out there. But I'm not a professional and never claim to be.
Nate and I have a unique opportunity to be in the room for the referee's instructions to the team and Coach Dresser's pre-match talk to the team. It gives us some perspective on what to look for and things to talk about. It was very frustrating when the point of emphasis that was made in the locker room was control of the mat area with coaches running all over and that flew out the window right from the beginning.
On Friday, when Herrera stacks his guy for more than a 2-count and Titus is looking at who knows what, I'm going to call him out. Yesterday, when Schwab was allowed to do the complete opposite of what was just said to the team in the locker room, I'm going to call that referee out too.
To the people asking for a coaching change, c'mon get real. It was a perfect storm yesterday for UNI. Coach Dresser made the moves he had to make to give us a shot to steal one. It didn't happen, but I like our guys and I like our guys in Tulsa.
Brighter days are ahead, keep the faith.
Ryan