Sunday, March 20, 2011

Just got back from NCAA Wrestling Championships


I know that's something you're supposed to Tweet rather than devote a whole blog entry to, but I'm gonna go against the grain here and tell you why it was a big deal for me.

I wrestled at Iowa about 20 years ago, and even though I haven't been involved in the sport for a long time, wrestling was a big part of my life--physically, emotionally, symbolically. Lots of people are idealists when they're young, but as they grow older they get jaded and lose their sense of idealism--doing something because it's the right thing to do, not taking shortcuts, having a passion for whatever it is you decide to do with your short time on earth. Wrestling is just a sport, but it framed so much of how I've tried to live my life ever since, and how I hope Samuel and Ethan live their lives--with passion and intensity and purity of heart and a sense of idealism and a dose of humility.

Being up close to the action tonight, I couldn't help squirming in my seat like I was avoiding getting taken down, and I may have annoyed the people around me who really didn't want to know my opinion about whether the guy's legs were or were not in bounds.

It was a great blast from the past, and I feel like I could go right out there and wrestle again, at least for a good 15 or 20 seconds until my knees pop out of joint and I'm too winded to stand up.

Happy to be home with my family, and tonight I will dream that I am back at Iowa and wrestling again.

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