A New Beginning to an Old Rivalry

It?s a battle that will last for the next 20 years. It begins Sunday December 3rd 2006 in Carver Hawkeye Arena. Cael Sanderson and Tom Brands go at it, not on the mat of course, but directing their teams. You see, they no longer do the hand to hand combat; instead it?s a battle of two generals with vastly different styles and personalities.

An Unspoken Tension

Cael Sanderson never was the intense ?in your face? type guy ? at least not off the mat. He was a guy who loved wrestling and went out and competed. He was very much soft spoken and calm. He became the spotlight of the wrestling world with his amazing feat of going undefeated (159 ? 0) with Four national championships. A feat never realized in college wrestling.

Tom along with his twin brother Terry Brands could not be more different than Cael. They were intense as can be. Getting into fights in practice and in competition was a regular. They were in your face and, well??..intense. You can?t really describe it in too many other words.

Tom and Terry Brands were the epitome of the Gable style of wrestling: an aggressive, never back down, style that dominated the wrestling world like a beautiful black invasion (if you?re a Hawkeye fan). Dan Gable was the master. As a wrestler he was the legend in the wrestling world. At least until Cael came around.

A High Price on Cael?s Head

After a legendary career in which Cael broke all of Dan Gable?s records, there was a high price on his head in freestyle for anyone that could dethrone him. And much of his threat was within the USA, from Tom Brands and Lee Fullhart. Lee Fullhart was trained by Iowa and the Brands to beat Cael and go to the Olympics, they were, for all practical purposes the same goal.

America?s best shot at a gold medal was being threatened from within its own borders. The threat was the machine that Tom Brands was training: Lee Fullhart. Lee Fullhart defeated Cael at the 2004 US open in Vegas to assure him a spot in the championship at the Olympic Trials in Indy several months later. In Indy Cael met Fullhart again, but this time beat him by the skin of his teeth. And the rest is history. Cael went on in heroic fashion to win the gold medal in Athens and ultimately the head coaching position at Iowa State.

The One Sided Rivalry

With a master like Gable training the Iowa team it became well versed in not just winning but dominating. At one point it won 9 straight national championships. It always managed to defeat the Iowa State team in their rivalry and even if the Cyclones got the better of them in the regular season then Iowa would get the better of them at the national tournament. And you know what they say about those that laugh last. For some 20 odd years this was the story. Repeated over and over like a bad reoccurring nightmare in Ames Iowa.

As Cael began to emerge as a wrestler at Iowa State he began to give the Cyclone fans hope. He was the savior and even though the Iowa State teams he competed on never beat Iowa he was the beacon of hope in a sea of despair.

Tom Brands to the Rescue

The tables have turned at Iowa since the dominating years of Gable. After Gable?s retirement Iowa went on to win three titles, but as he slowly stepped back from the program he built it began to slowly unravel. The fact is that Iowa?s program is no longer feared like it once was.

Tom Brands has come to the rescue. Trying to save what once was at Iowa, to save the program that once was a feared dynasty. He brought on his staff the guy who made it all happen: Gable. The master now was the assistant to the protégé? Names and titles don?t matter at this point: The only thing that matters is the only thing that ever mattered at Iowa and that?s winning. If Gable can help, then Tom Brands won?t let job titles, or pride stand in his way, it?s a team effort.

Sunday?s Battle

Tom Brands and Cael Sanderson have battled in the Physical realm and both are Olympic Gold Medalists. They were warriors who reached the ultimate goals?..as individuals. Now comes the next stage of their lives. On Sunday they compete against each other on a higher plane, as leaders of individuals. A battle not fought in the physical realm but on the complex coaching realm.

The rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State is renewed with new vigor and new meaning. Iowa State doesn?t have a hint of the inferiority it once had. Tom Brands and Cael Sanderson are two different types of champions, but champions none the less. Both teams are on their toes and ready to get the edge in a rivalry we will be talking about 20 years from now.