I know there is some talk about wrestling on another thread, but this one is more about the event (and other tangents).
I've never been to one of these before. Always wanted to see what it looked like, so the wife and were free and decided to go. And we are glad we went, a fun time.
The thing took about 2 hours or a little less. Wrestling got done about 5 minutes before gymnastics, so the timing was really close. It would be a great thing to bring kids. There is always something going on, and always something to look at..
I thought there might be a bigger crowd. No one in the upper level, and the lower about 2/3 to 3/4 full. All of it was general admission, except I think some seats were reserved for wrestling season ticket holders.
Here is one tangent. Think of Arizona State's colors. Do you think ISU has the same colors? Probably not. But our red can be maroonish. Our gymnasts and theirs looked almost exactly the same for their uniform (or whatever it is called) It was confusing at first, because I really couldn't tell who was who. Finally figured out that ISU had a black strap at the shoulder, that was the only difference. So this post can also be a uniform design post!
First gymnastics. I have never been to a gymnastics meet ever. The girls are really talented. My only experience with this is watching Olympics. Neither team had anything to that level of course. But still some good displays of strength, balance and jumping.
There are 4 events. Vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. They do 2 at a time. For example ISU started at vault, while ASU did uneven bars. Then they just alternated girls. I think there was 6 competitors, and then they take the score of the top 5. Add 'em up, and you have a winner.
ISU won the meet. Also had one girl, and she was from Des Moines, was the individual winner of 3 of the 4 individual events. Even to the untrained eye, she was clearly the best gymnast out there, so ISU does have a "stud" at gymnastics.
My big takeaway. Even though it is a competition, I believe it to be bad form to cheer the misfortunes of the competition at Hilton. An ASU girl goofed up a dismount on the uneven bars, and I kinda started hooting and making remarks, and I got the stink eye from some people. Hey, I wanted the Cyclones to win, and that was good for the Clones. But I guess it is cheer for your team, and shutup otherwise when it comes to gymnastics.
As for wrestling, I am a minor wrestling fan. I've gone to a few meets at Hilton, maybe not for 5 years tho. We occasionally talk about it here, but wow. What a fall ISU has taken. There was the gymnastics thing going on too, and can't even fill the lower bowl. And those that were there for wrestling were not loud at all. What a dead crowd. I realize it wasn't a conference team, but ASU is a good program, and there was nothing there for fan support.
But I'm not busting the chops of the ISU fanbase. What is there to get excited about? Glad I was there early, because I got to see ISU's only pin, at the first weight.
And again, I am a minor wrestling fan. My high school didn't have it, so I never wrestled, or could regularly watch it. But I like it well enough when given the opportunity. I was shocked at the bad wrestling, from my perspective. I saw an ISU guy try to shoot his opponent, missed, plopped down on all 4, and didn't quickly get up, and just kinda sat there like a dog for a sec, and was so slow, the ASU guy got on him, and got a takedown. It looked like a dopey move some 7th grader might make.
I saw ISU guys, with a 1 point deficit stop wrestling like a second or two before the horn. I realize i is unlikely they would get him. But in football, down by 1 with 80 yards to go, you still snap the ball, and see if some goofy play will work.
Again, untrained eye, but as a whole, I was unimpressed with our wrestling team. I know the whole "Cael ruined us" thing. But that was more than 4 years ago. It clearly is coaching and/or recruiting. But would you rather Jaime spend $200,000 to fix wrestling. or use that to spend on better football coaches/facilities? I think it is obvious what Jamie has chosen.
So ended up a long post, but in any case, I recommend taking in this event if you get the chance. There is another one later in January.
I've never been to one of these before. Always wanted to see what it looked like, so the wife and were free and decided to go. And we are glad we went, a fun time.
The thing took about 2 hours or a little less. Wrestling got done about 5 minutes before gymnastics, so the timing was really close. It would be a great thing to bring kids. There is always something going on, and always something to look at..
I thought there might be a bigger crowd. No one in the upper level, and the lower about 2/3 to 3/4 full. All of it was general admission, except I think some seats were reserved for wrestling season ticket holders.
Here is one tangent. Think of Arizona State's colors. Do you think ISU has the same colors? Probably not. But our red can be maroonish. Our gymnasts and theirs looked almost exactly the same for their uniform (or whatever it is called) It was confusing at first, because I really couldn't tell who was who. Finally figured out that ISU had a black strap at the shoulder, that was the only difference. So this post can also be a uniform design post!
First gymnastics. I have never been to a gymnastics meet ever. The girls are really talented. My only experience with this is watching Olympics. Neither team had anything to that level of course. But still some good displays of strength, balance and jumping.
There are 4 events. Vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. They do 2 at a time. For example ISU started at vault, while ASU did uneven bars. Then they just alternated girls. I think there was 6 competitors, and then they take the score of the top 5. Add 'em up, and you have a winner.
ISU won the meet. Also had one girl, and she was from Des Moines, was the individual winner of 3 of the 4 individual events. Even to the untrained eye, she was clearly the best gymnast out there, so ISU does have a "stud" at gymnastics.
My big takeaway. Even though it is a competition, I believe it to be bad form to cheer the misfortunes of the competition at Hilton. An ASU girl goofed up a dismount on the uneven bars, and I kinda started hooting and making remarks, and I got the stink eye from some people. Hey, I wanted the Cyclones to win, and that was good for the Clones. But I guess it is cheer for your team, and shutup otherwise when it comes to gymnastics.
As for wrestling, I am a minor wrestling fan. I've gone to a few meets at Hilton, maybe not for 5 years tho. We occasionally talk about it here, but wow. What a fall ISU has taken. There was the gymnastics thing going on too, and can't even fill the lower bowl. And those that were there for wrestling were not loud at all. What a dead crowd. I realize it wasn't a conference team, but ASU is a good program, and there was nothing there for fan support.
But I'm not busting the chops of the ISU fanbase. What is there to get excited about? Glad I was there early, because I got to see ISU's only pin, at the first weight.
And again, I am a minor wrestling fan. My high school didn't have it, so I never wrestled, or could regularly watch it. But I like it well enough when given the opportunity. I was shocked at the bad wrestling, from my perspective. I saw an ISU guy try to shoot his opponent, missed, plopped down on all 4, and didn't quickly get up, and just kinda sat there like a dog for a sec, and was so slow, the ASU guy got on him, and got a takedown. It looked like a dopey move some 7th grader might make.
I saw ISU guys, with a 1 point deficit stop wrestling like a second or two before the horn. I realize i is unlikely they would get him. But in football, down by 1 with 80 yards to go, you still snap the ball, and see if some goofy play will work.
Again, untrained eye, but as a whole, I was unimpressed with our wrestling team. I know the whole "Cael ruined us" thing. But that was more than 4 years ago. It clearly is coaching and/or recruiting. But would you rather Jaime spend $200,000 to fix wrestling. or use that to spend on better football coaches/facilities? I think it is obvious what Jamie has chosen.
So ended up a long post, but in any case, I recommend taking in this event if you get the chance. There is another one later in January.
