Wrestling Blogs - Rick Addante

As a wrestler, it severely pains me to see ANY program get cut, especially in todays times of massive program cuts and the dangers that our sport faces nationally. Eastern Illinois University's decision to cut wrestling hit particularly close for me, since my younger brother just graduated there for undergrad and an MBA, and my younger sister is still attending there now. I would love to tell her to transfer, and make a principled stand not to support a college that doesnt support wrestling, and tell my bro not to donate as an Alumni.

But I Cant.

Good Riddance, unfortunately, is what I say to Eastern's wrestling program. It truly pains me to say it, because I never thought I would say it about any wrestling program getting cut But you know what, they were bringing all of? us down, giving all of us wrestlers and wrestling programs a bad name. Your getting PAID to Get a FREE EDUCATION, and you cant even make the MINIMUM standards for performance in the classroom?? Please. Good riddance.

We are in a major naitonal fight to keep our sport alive in the NCAA, and programs like ASU and Oregon are cut for b.s. reasons. I'm happy to fight tooth and nail for legitimate causes, but while doing so, to have a disgrace like EIU's academic performance take the wind out of our fighting sails, and sink us like an anchor while still trying to tread water? Thank you, but I can do without.

We need to show people how wrestling breeds character, integrity, and disciplined lifestyles of excellence, and therefore, why it is important to continue to fund during budgetary crises. If you cant get with this simple program, then you should be cut, because you are taking away from our national message and making us all look either like hypocrites, or simply bad.

I agree with Flo that in many ways, we should not support private endowments for Oregon and ASU to continue to operate, and instead re-focus that same money on establishing new programs at a place that, Hey- might actually WANT us, such as perhaps Texas. But I will support ASU and OU still, because of the corrupt ways that their AD's went about pursuing their private agendas. We need wrestling and tis values alive. In college, my best friends were my team mates who transferred after Seton Hall and Binghampton cut their programs on them with no notice. I fight together with efforts to Save Montclair, Oregon, and Arizona wrestling. I have worked in support or reinstating Georgia wrestling, and personally established and founded a brand new high school varsity program in New Jersey, as well as establish a new collegiate program at Florida Atlantic University, fighting against the tide of the SEC to exclude wrestling in the South. I did , and will keep doing Happilly. But support EIU in this one, that a horse of a different color...

EIU is a disgrace though. How can they expect us to rally behind them. They did it to themselves, and now complain about it.? To me, its like slacking off all match, getting your ass handed to you, spending a full period fighting on your back, and then, when the ref finally calls you pinned (even if maybe your shoulders werent TOTALLY down on the mat...) complaining that you got screwed, you got robbed, and that the ref sucked and had it out for you. What the hell did you go to your back for in the first place? Why did you let the other guy get a 10 point lead on you in the first two periods? Why the hell didn't you fight off your back the full two minutes? You couldn't do ANYTHING to get out of a half nelson in a full two minutes? Come on.? And then your going to cry, complain, and moan about losing afterwards, and blame it on the ref?

That is not wrestling, and that is not how we are trained to conduct ourselves. We, as wrestlers, should embody the complete opposite of this. We are taught to do so on the mat; at least you should be if your coach was worth his salt. The Fundamental Key of wrestling is that we can take its lessons learned through the crucible and furnace or training and competition into the arena of Life, and APPLY them. That is why the sport is not about being an All American, or National Champion. That is why the sport can be more meaningful to the JV or average varsity guy who gets more out of it journey and lessons than the Olympic Champ may. That is why it is the sport for EVERYONE, which doesnt discriminate, is the most fair, objective, and equal- because of the conduct it teaches us to live our lives with through the values we learn through our unique wrestling experience. Applied to Life, no one should beat a wrestler armed with these skill sets.

Eastern fumbled the ball big time, and let us all down, by dropping these skill sets applied to life, by dropping their own personal standards of excellence, committment, discipline, and integrity, and by dropping the values that we all are supposed to espouse and reflect in how each of us lives our lives, conducts our business, work our professions, and reflect of our wrestling pedigrees. They dropped the ball, and now they got dropped.? And you know what, I dont even feel bad for them.

Go To Class. Make the BASIC Minimum grades, at the very least.? Have some personal pride and dignity in yoru academic work. Most people on Flo are college wrestling graduates, we all did the gig, we know ti can be tough, but know it can be done. You should be EXCELLING in class, but for pete's sake, make the minimum grades that almost no one else has a problem making.? And definitely dont come crying to us if you dont.

I would hope your coach wouldn't blow sunshine up your arse if you performed that poorly in a match that you slacked in training, slacked in the first two periods, spent the third on your back, then got hosed with a questionable pin. If we as a sport of wrestling - nationwide- expect to continue to stay alive, we must act voraciously to prevent this from ever happening again, and certainly not condone this behavior, or it will suck us down like quicksand.

It pains me to say it, but Good Riddance. We have a steep enough hill to climb, we dont need EIU baggage to carry while we are trying our hardest to climb it.

(btw- pic is from celebrating some GREAT times at EIU when my little brother graduated. He loved it there, but making grades there is simply not asking too much of a wrestler to do- we all did it while competing, my brother and sister all manage quite well with deans list there. Wrestlers should never be satified with making the minimum, but they couldnt even do that at EIU, unfortunately).

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