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Alex/Eli Documentary

McScoreley

Well-Known Member
Feb 24, 2019
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I know this has been covered in the Wisconsin/Iowa dual thread and elsewhere but I just watched the "Alex and Eli" documentary. Wow - it was a tearjerker, I was not ready for that. I knew Alex and Eli were close obviously but I didn't know it was to that extent. They were home schooled together, to Alex, it was literally like losing his brother. I didn't know that the accident was connected to what should have been Alex's initial proposal and he put it off as a result. I couldn't imagine the feeling of what should have been the best day of your life at that point turning into a tragedy like that.

I also gained a ton of respect (not that I didn't have it before) for Tom Brands and how he was available to Mariah instantaneously, knowing she shouldn't be driving in that condition. I didn't put two and two together initially during the Big Ten finals that Bull hitting the mat twice at the end of his match vs Cenzo was to honor Eli (mimicking him touching the bELIeve on the mat against Wisconsin) I thought he was taunting Cenzo at the time (which felt out of character for him) I'm glad I know the backstory now and Bull's relentless drive that tournament makes all the more sense.

Finally, I just wanted to say my main takeaway from the documentary is that although this is an competitive sport that can get heated; the scores, accolades, trophies, whatever all feel meaningless in the grand scheme of things. We all have our biases about our teams but just about every wrestler is probably a great kid, hard worker and has their own story. Hearing story like Alex/Eli's, Willie Miklus losing his dad to ALS, Jim Vollrath passing away from cancer, it puts things in perspective. So we lose a dual meet, we've lost Big Tens/NCAAs and we're going to lose again in the future but life is too short and sweet to stay upset for too long about things like that.
 
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Agreed--it was a deeply humanizing story to watch. My heart aches for all involved. It's so easy to assign personality traits to wrestlers based on how they compete, and it's complete folly. Look at Zain, Bull is no different. Neither is nearly all people in the wrestling world.
 
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I thought it was very good as well. One criticism, it lead you to conclude that Eli was tired and that contributed to the cause of the crash. The real cause of the crash was Eli lost control of the truck while showing a picture on his phone to his girl friend.

https://madison.com/wsj/sports/coll...cle_0a8b3a45-44fa-5390-8be6-ad620e597a94.html

Who knows, if that fact is included, maybe it serves as a very poignant reminder about paying 100% attention when driving and saves a life.

Sad story.
 
I know this has been covered in the Wisconsin/Iowa dual thread and elsewhere but I just watched the "Alex and Eli" documentary. Wow - it was a tearjerker, I was not ready for that. I knew Alex and Eli were close obviously but I didn't know it was to that extent. They were home schooled together, to Alex, it was literally like losing his brother. I didn't know that the accident was connected to what should have been Alex's initial proposal and he put it off as a result. I couldn't imagine the feeling of what should have been the best day of your life at that point turning into a tragedy like that.

I also gained a ton of respect (not that I didn't have it before) for Tom Brands and how he was available to Mariah instantaneously, knowing she shouldn't be driving in that condition. I didn't put two and two together initially during the Big Ten finals that Bull hitting the mat twice at the end of his match vs Cenzo was to honor Eli (mimicking him touching the bELIeve on the mat against Wisconsin) I thought he was taunting Cenzo at the time (which felt out of character for him) I'm glad I know the backstory now and Bull's relentless drive that tournament makes all the more sense.

Finally, I just wanted to say my main takeaway from the documentary is that although this is an competitive sport that can get heated; the scores, accolades, trophies, whatever all feel meaningless in the grand scheme of things. We all have our biases about our teams but just about every wrestler is probably a great kid, hard worker and has their own story. Hearing story like Alex/Eli's, Willie Miklus losing his dad to ALS, Jim Vollrath passing away from cancer, it puts things in perspective. So we lose a dual meet, we've lost Big Tens/NCAAs and we're going to lose again in the future but life is too short and sweet to stay upset for too long about things like that.
Nice post McScorely truely a nice post and I thank you for it.
 
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I thought it was very good as well. One criticism, it lead you to conclude that Eli was tired and that contributed to the cause of the crash. The real cause of the crash was Eli lost control of the truck while showing a picture on his phone to his girl friend.

https://madison.com/wsj/sports/coll...cle_0a8b3a45-44fa-5390-8be6-ad620e597a94.html

Who knows, if that fact is included, maybe it serves as a very poignant reminder about paying 100% attention when driving and saves a life.

Sad story.

That I did know, I understand they didn't want that to be the focus of the documentary but yes it does serve as an important lesson, it can wait. I've very much been guilty of "distracted driving" before and need to stop.
 
Appreciate it, I think I'm just summarizing what everyone thought and already knew.
Yes Sir!
There are many stories that can and should be shared. I joke around a lot its FUN, but at the end of the day we are all in the wrestling family and I have said this before most of us have shared either a Mat or a section of bleachers together and will again.
 
Didn't realize that Stickley was related to the Jordan wrestling family (nephew of the current Congressman)

And would it be in poor taste to point out that the Bull's wife Moriah is gorgeous? :)
 
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