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Iowa Documentary

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js8793

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Dec 4, 2018
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Since we are now embarking on the longest week and half of the year, I highly recommend the documentary the big ten network put out on Iowa's team last year. Some incredible behind the scenes footage on Spencer and Kem's injuries. But the most interesting was the look into Desanto's mental struggles. Somewhat shocked by how much was in there and it gave me new appreciation for the growth he showed and the work TNT put into him.

www.bigtenplus.com

Chasing Greatness: Wrestling Life

Behind the scenes with Iowa wrestling.
www.bigtenplus.com www.bigtenplus.com
 
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All for this kind of access, obviously expect some to be dramatized and pro Iowa but imagine last year was a very trying season for Iowa, coming in as overwhelming favorites and then losing Spencer immediately, which leveled the field, pulling Drake to get points back, Kemerer's shoulder is busted early, Drake gets hurt, Eierman blows his knee out.
 
Gone With The Wind I Dont Care GIF
 
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js8793 said:
Since we are now embarking on the longest week and half of the year, I highly recommend the documentary the big ten network put out on Iowa's team last year. Some incredible behind the scenes footage on Spencer and Kem's injuries. But the most interesting was the look into Desanto's mental struggles. Somewhat shocked by how much was in there and it gave me new appreciation for the growth he showed and the work TNT put into him.

www.bigtenplus.com

Chasing Greatness: Wrestling Life

Behind the scenes with Iowa wrestling.
www.bigtenplus.com www.bigtenplus.com
Click to expand...
I would like to watch it but have a PSU-only subscription right now. If you see it come on BTN again, please post about it. In the meantime, I’d love to read the cliff notes.
 
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I saw bits and pieces Saturday night. What I saw was pretty good. Lots of blood and sweat and almost was like btn was trying to show what a brutal practice room Tom likes to run. It didn't look f*n. Lol. Before you start on me Iowa fans, I just saw here and there so I know there was a story line between them showing the brutality of the practices.
 
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mcpat said:
I would like to watch it but have a PSU-only subscription right now. If you see it come on BTN again, please post about it. In the meantime, I’d love to read the cliff notes.
Click to expand...
I'll go through right now and see if I can find it through rest of week. Hold...
 
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js8793 said:
Since we are now embarking on the longest week and half of the year, I highly recommend the documentary the big ten network put out on Iowa's team last year. Some incredible behind the scenes footage on Spencer and Kem's injuries. But the most interesting was the look into Desanto's mental struggles. Somewhat shocked by how much was in there and it gave me new appreciation for the growth he showed and the work TNT put into him.

www.bigtenplus.com

Chasing Greatness: Wrestling Life

Behind the scenes with Iowa wrestling.
www.bigtenplus.com www.bigtenplus.com
Click to expand...
Since the title didn't indicate wrestling documentary, I figured this would be about watching corn grow. :p
 
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Some cliffnotes for those who can't/don't want to watch, but are interested:

1) Spencer: He talks about wanting to compete because he hates surgery and rehab so much. Says something along the lines of "why get surgery and be in pain for 6 months just to get hurt again when I've wrestled great with the one tear for 4 years anyways." You can really feel the frustration. They show behind the scenes at the collegiate duals when he realizes it's just not going to work and then gets surgery.

2) Kemerer: We see his shoulder come out wrestling PK in practice. Screams in pain on the ground while the trainer comes over to pop it back in. Gets up and walks away. Spoke about the difficulty of dealing with the fear of knowing your shoulder can come out at any time. Some good interviews from his teammates and coaches talking about how important he is, especially Murin. We see him very upset after his ncaa loss. There was a nice moment on senior night where he talks about how amazing his experience was and how much he loves his team.

3) Desanto: This was the best part. I don't think any of us realized the kind of demons that kid fought every day. There's an incredible scene early where he's sitting with Tom after practice. He's having a meltdown because he's doesn't think he's good enough, he's going to lose, somebody in his weight is working harder than him. Tom is sitting there calmly trying to reframe his perspective and tell him it's okay to relax, it's okay to train hard and get better today, find satisfaction in that, and be ready to go again tomorrow. His losses to RBY are tough to watch. He's beside himself after, weeping at the ncaa tournament. Very sad scene of Nate Burak walking away with his arm around him while he cries.
 
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I just watched it. It was well produced and it is awesome to get such a behind-the scenes experience. You can't walk away not impressed with the effort all the wrestlers put in and the sheer brutality of the sport at times. I respect the Iowa program and wrestlers, but I have mixed feelings about how Tom and Terry run the program. It may have just been how the final product was edited, but I can see where Tom and Terry's frenetic and emotion-laden approach to wrestling might eventually wear down some wrestlers, especially when a wrestler's goals aren't being achieved. I think in my college days I would have wilted psychologically in such an environment. That being said, the Iowa approach resonates with many wrestlers and Iowa is great for the sport. Even though I am primarily a Penn State fan, I have the utmost respect for all wrestlers who sacrifice so much for often very little reward, especially those "room" guys who never see the spotlight or receive the accolades. Wrestlers Are Warriors
 
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STAND with PRIDE said:
“Chasing Greatness”?

Fitting title

As far as watching? I’d rather see C-Stroke naked.

While drinking a White Claw

And watching paint dry.
Click to expand...
It’s a documentary about how the last season on top comes unraveled for the great Iowa team that was the defending champs, but only won once while having to watch PSU go 4-for-4 in the finals and had another chance at a title taken away by a f-ing virus. What could be better?
 
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I watched it last night. I agree about most of the sentiments posted earlier. The Desanto stuff was incredible. It really makes you want to pull for this kid's success in life. It also gives you a little insight into his meltdown over the knee injury and Tom's reaction to it. He knew there was nothing he could do about it at the time. Tremendous respect for the time and effort he put into helping Austin Desanto.
I'm sure there was a little editing work done to highlight the brutality of the workouts, especially in the opening 5 minutes. It has to be hard to watch for a non-wrestling fan. I'm sure all programs have those moments at practice, but they made it look like it was all day every day.
I know it started out as a documentary tracking a season leading up to a grand coronation, and it didn't end up that way. It is a story of expectations, hard work trying to achieve those expectations, non-stop adversity, and the unraveling of those expectations and the emotions that follow. It was insightful, gritty, raw, and enlightening.
It almost made me feel guilty watching it having been on the other side of that result...I said almost!
 
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Psalm 1 guy said:
I just watched it. It was well produced and it is awesome to get such a behind-the scenes experience. You can't walk away not impressed with the effort all the wrestlers put in and the sheer brutality of the sport at times. I respect the Iowa program and wrestlers, but I have mixed feelings about how Tom and Terry run the program. It may have just been how the final product was edited, but I can see where Tom and Terry's frenetic and emotion-laden approach to wrestling might eventually wear down some wrestlers, especially when a wrestler's goals aren't being achieved. I think in my college days I would have wilted psychologically in such an environment. That being said, the Iowa approach resonates with many wrestlers and Iowa is great for the sport. Even though I am primarily a Penn State fan, I have the utmost respect for all wrestlers who sacrifice so much for often very little reward, especially those "room" guys who never see the spotlight or receive the accolades. Wrestlers Are Warriors
Click to expand...
I only saw a small piece of it but it looked really well produced and will have to DVR the next time it comes on BTN. I used to hate TnT but then I saw the documentary on BTN about their lives and it definitely humanized them. They love wrestling and they are a great foil to Cael low-key disciplined approach to winning. They are alot more interesting than John Smith at OSU or Bromet at UM. They are actually very funny and candid in interviews when they are relaxed. I think they are good for wrestling and I think it was great that they were the force behind starting a women's team. I hope Cael makes the same push for PSU.

Cael threw a HUGE WRENCH into their professional careers and aspirations. They considered themselves the heir apparent to Dan Gable. They were part of the Gable system. They knew the Gable method for success. The Gable method dominated college wrestling for 20 years. All they had to do was maintain and maybe tweek the Gable method a little bit and they were golden for 20 maybe 30 years of domination. They would have gone down as the greatest coaches in College history with the amount of NCs they would have won.

You can see in their interviews when they talk candidly, that they are envious of what Penn State has achieved so quickly and the level of domination that they have maintained. You can see that they are frustrated that the Gable way has failed them and they don't have another approach to utilize to try and dethrone Cael. They are still trying to pound the square peg into a round hole but they consistently come up empty and are really struggling to find the path/method to success but Cael is constantly their blocking their goals. Cael is younger than them and they know that the dreams they had of being the next Gable are over and that has to be very humbling to them. I think they are now resigned to the fact that they will be able to mayb steal an NC one a decade if the star align right and we are decimated by injuries but otherwise they are never going to dominate anything until Cael hangs it up.

Thank you for telling us when this will run on BTN again. I am really looking forward to watching it. I wish Cael would do something like this but he would never allow this kind of access to the program.
 
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82bordeaux said:
I watched it last night. I agree about most of the sentiments posted earlier. The Desanto stuff was incredible. It really makes you want to pull for this kid's success in life. It also gives you a little insight into his meltdown over the knee injury and Tom's reaction to it. He knew there was nothing he could do about it at the time. Tremendous respect for the time and effort he put into helping Austin Desanto.
I'm sure there was a little editing work done to highlight the brutality of the workouts, especially in the opening 5 minutes. It has to be hard to watch for a non-wrestling fan. I'm sure all programs have those moments at practice, but they made it look like it was all day every day.
I know it started out as a documentary tracking a season leading up to a grand coronation, and it didn't end up that way. It is a story of expectations, hard work trying to achieve those expectations, non-stop adversity, and the unraveling of those expectations and the emotions that follow. It was insightful, gritty, raw, and enlightening.
It almost made me feel guilty watching it having been on the other side of that result...I said almost!
Click to expand...
Did they include Spencer telling the story about his promise to deliver 2 team titles or did they decide to cut that out during final edit?
 
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Say what you want about Brands, the guy is humble in defeat. Unlike most of their fans, he can admit his envy for what Cael has done.

I remember the Stalemates Interview (their stuff is always golden) and Zach opened by congratulating Tom on his 2021 national title and Tom just nodded slightly and asked how does it feel? He said "Good but we just lost by 55 in the next one"
 
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js8793 said:
Some cliffnotes for those who can't/don't want to watch, but are interested:
Click to expand...
Appreciate the Cliffs Notes. Was there anything on Eierman? Quite honestly, his story was one I was pretty curious about. He was a new guy but embraced Iowa quickly and his ascension (5, 4, 3, 2) seemed to work perfectly to go out on top. He looked "off" early in the season, few close calls against guys he normally dominates and he seemed to be rounding into shape then blows out his knee against Red and basically finishes unable to walk and in tears in consolation. Even as a PSU fan, it was hard to watch him go out like that. Candidly, I've never been a huge Eierman fan and I would have loved to see him go out early but only if he got outwrestled healthy (so not likely to be honest haha)

As for DeSanto, I remember when Cody Goodwin wrote an article post NCAAs last year about fit with programs and I remember he adamantly said (and Cody is as neutral as it gets) there isn't a coach that could have gotten the best out of ADS like Tom Brands. Your story would illustrate why.
 
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The Kid Twist said:
You can see in their interviews when they talk candidly, that they are envious of what Penn State has achieved so quickly and the level of domination that they have maintained. You can see that they are frustrated that the Gable way has failed them and they don't have another approach to utilize to try and dethrone Cael. They are still trying to pound the square peg into a round hole but they consistently come up empty and are really struggling to find the path/method to success but Cael is constantly their blocking their goals. Cael is younger than them and they know that the dreams they had of being the next Gable are over and that has to be very humbling to them. I think they are now resigned to the fact that they will be able to mayb steal an NC one a decade if the star align right and we are decimated by injuries but otherwise they are never going to dominate anything until Cael hangs it up.
Click to expand...
Ironically, they were the ones blocking Cael from his goals when Cael was young. The difference is Cael knew he had to adapt. For Cael, that involved making a tough decision to leave his alma mater to a place that had resources and support to contend that Iowa State didn't. Cael admitted he was hesitant at first since he never won a title at Iowa State and that almost made him stay but he knew the window for the PSU job probably wouldn't open again for a while if he didn't jump then.
 
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McScoreley said:
Appreciate the Cliffs Notes. Was there anything on Eierman? Quite honestly, his story was one I was pretty curious about. He was a new guy but embraced Iowa quickly and his ascension (5, 4, 3, 2) seemed to work perfectly to go out on top. He looked "off" early in the season, few close calls against guys he normally dominates and he seemed to be rounding into shape then blows out his knee against Red and basically finishes unable to walk and in tears in consolation. Even as a PSU fan, it was hard to watch him go out like that. Candidly, I've never been a huge Eierman fan and I would have loved to see him go out early but only if he got outwrestled healthy (so not likely to be honest haha)

As for DeSanto, I remember when Cody Goodwin wrote an article post NCAAs last year about fit with programs and I remember he adamantly said (and Cody is as neutral as it gets) there isn't a coach that could have gotten the best out of ADS like Tom Brands. Your story would illustrate why.
Click to expand...
There was very little footage of Eierman, which was surprising to me. Maybe he didn't want to participate? At one point he [Edit: I was mistaken. It was Desanto, who was with Eierman at the time, who said it] told the camera operator to stop filming him while he was working out.
 
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Psalm 1 guy said:
There was very little footage of Eierman, which was surprising to me. Maybe he didn't want to participate? At one point he told the camera operator to stop filming him while he was working out.
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I won't lie, Eierman strikes me as a guy who loves the camera so that is kind of shocking. Guess never judge a book by it's cover.
 
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johnstownsteel said:
I saw bits and pieces Saturday night. What I saw was pretty good. Lots of blood and sweat and almost was like btn was trying to show what a brutal practice room Tom likes to run. It didn't look f*n. Lol. Before you start on me Iowa fans, I just saw here and there so I know there was a story line between them showing the brutality of the practices.
Click to expand...
Interestingly though, I believe it was provided to BTN by a university of Iowa production team.
 
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McScoreley said:
I won't lie, Eierman strikes me as a guy who loves the camera so that is kind of shocking. Guess never judge a book by it's cover.
Click to expand...
My guess is that there wasn't enough room. They probably had 100+ hours of footage to cut down and it would have been tough to add another storyline and still get the depth. I would have loved to see more Eierman and Murin, but I was impressed with the depth they showed on Spencer, Kem, Desanto, and Marinelli.
 
js8793 said:
My guess is that there wasn't enough room. They probably had 100+ hours of footage to cut down and it would have been tough to add another storyline and still get the depth. I would have loved to see more Eierman and Murin, but I was impressed with the depth they showed on Spencer, Kem, Desanto, and Marinelli.
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Seriously not trying to rub it in but you have to feel they were trying to do a documentary that ends with Iowa winning right? Since you were overwhelming favorites going in. Instead they got some legitimately really good (but sad) storylines.
 
McScoreley said:
Seriously not trying to rub it in but you have to feel they were trying to do a documentary that ends with Iowa winning right? Since you were overwhelming favorites going in. Instead they got some legitimately really good (but sad) storylines.
Click to expand...
oh 100%. i think it made it a better doc. it’s a side of the sport that doesn’t get seen very often. “when everything goes wrong”
 
js8793 said:
oh 100%. i think it made it a better doc. it’s a side of the sport that doesn’t get seen very often. “when everything goes wrong”
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Also - not to add on but:
Drake had a really good story line. Super talented freshman who planned to be redshirted is basically summoned to wrestle to save the team race, almost like a backup QB. Was looking very good, tears his shoulder.

But honestly, Jacob Warner preserving the streak is another cool storyline in itself.
 
js8793 said:
My guess is that there wasn't enough room. They probably had 100+ hours of footage to cut down and it would have been tough to add another storyline and still get the depth. I would have loved to see more Eierman and Murin, but I was impressed with the depth they showed on Spencer, Kem, Desanto, and Marinelli.
Click to expand...
They were saving Murin, Warner, and Cass for the sequel:

2023...Still Chasing

giphy.gif
 
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