It's always a bit startling -- but good -- for this long-time wrestling fan to see "big-time" non-wrestling media cover wrestling. As it apparently is for the writer of a series of wrestling novels, who recently told me in an interview, “For as large a sport as wrestling is in terms of numbers of participants, wrestling doesn’t get its due. It’s treated more like badminton.”
So, when a publication as big as the New York Times writes a profile on someone in college wrestling, that's huge.
The subject of the Times profile? None other than Cael Sanderson. Yep, Mister 159-0 at Iowa State, only the second wrestler to win four NCAA Division I individual titles, then a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, then three years as head coach at his alma mater... only to take the same position at Penn State in April.
Here's how Joe Drape of the Times put Sanderson's move from the Cyclones to the Nittany Lions:
His departure shocked the wrestling world because at first glance it looked like the equivalent of Sanderson leaving Broadway for regional theater. Sure, the Nittany Lions had captured a national title — but that was in 1953, and Penn State is still the only school east of the Mississippi to have won one.
(Just to clarify: Two other schools truly east of the Mississippi River have won NCAA team titles: Indiana University in 1932, and Michigan State in 1967. Some would add the University of Minnesota, team titlewinners in 2001, 2002, and 2007; Minnesota's campus spans the mighty Mississippi.)
Despite that error, the article is definitely worth reading, in that it provides an explanation why Cael Sanderson made the jump to Penn State, and what he hopes to do there. And, by reading the article, you let the New York Times know that wrestling isn't badminton... and deserves more coverage from the mainstream media.
Resources
New York Times: A Wrestling Great Calculates His Next Big Move: Dynasty
College Wrestling Examiner: Links to Cael Sanderson articles
Cael Sanderson's official website and unofficial Yahoo fan group
TheMat.com's college wrestling scores for the week of November 23-29
Follow College Wrestling Examiner Mark Palmer on Twitter
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