The Legacy of Spencer Lee

[GogglesPaizano]

Truth be told let's forget about Spencer.

When it comes to my homer view of Cael, Cody, Casey & Kennedy I unequivocally believe their model, in combination with what the NLWC brings to the table is superior to all alternatives.

No Cael is not only a savant in identifying talent and recruiting prowess, but his end to end philosophy and training methods focused on lifestyle, faith, diet, sleep, fun, play wrestling, wrestling through uncomfortable situations, games, responsible cutting, peaking for nationals, focusing on consistent incremental growth over wins, and so on ...

In this context I feel confident in saying even someone like Yanni would have done better at PSU than Cornell. Rediculous? I say not! Maybe only 1 loss or undefeated dare I say, maybe a higher bonus rate, it's hard to quantify, but I still think there is a delta there despite Cornell's demonstrated excellence. Snyder and Dake at the NLWC is not a coincidence.

 

[mcpat]

The point of all this isn’t to detract from Spencer, who is among the top 20 (I listed 18 above) greats of the past decade.

Instead, it’s to refute the Iowa fans that apparently don’t watch any wrestling outside of Spencer Lee in the 125 lb weight class.

Gosh, even if Spencer had won his 4th this year (going 100-5 in the process), would that have made him clearly superior to four-timers Yianni (115-2) and Steiber (119-3)? Or would they have all been peers?

Someone posted on GIA that they know what they saw. I can’t help but think that person doesn’t watch much wrestling that doesn’t involve an Iowa wrestler.

 

[PSUer1989]

Truth be told let's forget about Spencer.

When it comes to my homer view of Cael, Cody, Casey & Kennedy I unequivocally believe their model, in combination with what the NLWC brings to the table is superior to all alternatives.

No Cael is not only a savant in identifying talent and recruiting prowess, but his end to end philosophy and training methods focused on lifestyle, faith, diet, sleep, fun, play wrestling, wrestling through uncomfortable situations, games, responsible cutting, peaking for nationals, focusing on consistent incremental growth over wins, and so on ...

In this context I feel confident in saying even someone like Yanni would have done better at PSU than Cornell. Rediculous? I say not! Maybe only 1 loss or undefeated dare I say, maybe a higher bonus rate, it's hard to quantify, but I still think there is a delta there despite Cornell's demonstrated excellence. Snyder and Dake at the NLWC is not a coincidence.

As great as Cael & Co. are, they are not the right fit for every wrestler. There are different ways to motivate different people, and some may respond better to a more intense in your face style. I think PSU fans should just be grateful they are PSU coaches and accept that there will be high profile, highly skilled high school kids who are looking for something different than PSU

 

[HawkFan1986]

The level of ego involved vis-à-vis the treatment of Lord Spencer was really off the charts. Like he’s just so far above the earthly plane - way more than other amazing athletes that have competed in State College over the years - that no dissension (in the form of booing, etc) should be tolerated. I mean, get over it

I don’t think the treatment of Spencer was that hard to understand. Penn st and Iowa are the two most popular wrestling programs, and I don’t think it’s all that close.

That said, the media would point to PSU’s run of titles because it was impressive and the lowest hanging fruit. Aside from two out of Spencer’s 6 years, Spencer was the biggest hanging fruit at Iowa. The media would point to how quickly he’d put up points and his level of dominance.

I don’t think the way Spencer was talked about was a negative slight to the great psu wrestlers, I just believe it was the easiest thing you could say while broadcasting an Iowa meet. So yeah, he got talked up, and for the most part lived up to it.

You gotta remember wrestling is very much still a fringe sport. Btn has to be doing their broadcasting with new fans or casuals in mind. They want people to watch. If you confuse people it will lead to casuals saying no I’d rather not watch. But if you pump up Spencer, and he comes through, maybe those casuals say I wanna see him do it again and again. My two cents.

 

[McScoreley]

I don’t think the treatment of Spencer was that hard to understand. Penn st and Iowa are the two most popular wrestling programs, and I don’t think it’s all that close.

That said, the media would point to PSU’s run of titles because it was impressive and the lowest hanging fruit. Aside from two out of Spencer’s 6 years, Spencer was the biggest hanging fruit at Iowa. The media would point to how quickly he’d put up points and his level of dominance.

I don’t think the way Spencer was talked about was a negative slight to the great psu wrestlers, I just believe it was the easiest thing you could say while broadcasting an Iowa meet. So yeah, he got talked up, and for the most part lived up to it.

You gotta remember wrestling is very much still a fringe sport. Btn has to be doing their broadcasting with new fans or casuals in mind. They want people to watch. If you confuse people it will lead to casuals saying no I’d rather not watch. But if you pump up Spencer, and he comes through, maybe those casuals say I wanna see him do it again and again. My two cents.

This is 100% true. It is an individual sport end of the day. Spencer saying he has no ACLs and his now infamous speech on ESPN is probably one of the few times nonwrestling fans gave wrestling a second thought. We have a passionate group but end of the day, it's a very fringe sport indeed.

 

[AgSurfer]

This is 100% true. It is an individual sport end of the day. Spencer saying he has no ACLs and his now infamous speech on ESPN is probably one of the few times nonwrestling fans gave wrestling a second thought. We have a passionate group but end of the day, it's a very fringe sport indeed.

Real men and women play fringe sports. Boys and girls play basketball. 😁

 

[Psalm 1 guy]

Great photo. Anyone else notice Zeke Jones in the background taking a photo?

The Daily Iowan



https://www.google.com/#

 

[tullfan68]

The point of all this isn’t to detract from Spencer, who is among the top 20 (I listed 18 above) greats of the past decade.

Instead, it’s to refute the Iowa fans that apparently don’t watch any wrestling outside of Spencer Lee in the 125 lb weight class.

Gosh, even if Spencer had won his 4th this year (going 100-5 in the process), would that have made him clearly superior to four-timers Yianni (115-2) and Steiber (119-3)? Or would they have all been peers?

Someone posted on GIA that they know what they saw. I can’t help but think that person doesn’t watch much wrestling that doesn’t involve an Iowa wrestler.

those guys from initiate contact must be hiding under a rock not one word since nationals anyone who heard their preview of the tourney they didn't know any wrestlers except iowa guys they said Alirez must have been wrestling high school guys because they never heard of him and they can't pronounce anyone's name correctly!TOTAL JOKE

 

[nerfstate]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

 

[bourbon n blues]

The point of all this isn’t to detract from Spencer, who is among the top 20 (I listed 18 above) greats of the past decade.

Instead, it’s to refute the Iowa fans that apparently don’t watch any wrestling outside of Spencer Lee in the 125 lb weight class.

Gosh, even if Spencer had won his 4th this year (going 100-5 in the process), would that have made him clearly superior to four-timers Yianni (115-2) and Steiber (119-3)? Or would they have all been peers?

Someone posted on GIA that they know what they saw. I can’t help but think that person doesn’t watch much wrestling that doesn’t involve an Iowa wrestler.

He'd be in the 4x club and up the list but I think we can argue there were 4 PSU wrestlers with better overall careers in that time frame.

And iowa fans would have a point about Lee. But as of now with him losing in the semis he's dropped down the list , imo.

 

[bourbon n blues]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

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Decent list

 

[El-Jefe]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

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How did it miss Downey?

 

[tullfan68]

sorry folks but you just can't compare spencer to anyone that has less losses than him eat it iowa!!

 

[tullfan68]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

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take Ben out!

 

[Reslo]

take Ben out!

Askren was fantastic and so fun to watch. A 153-8 lifetime record is hard to ignore. I don't know that he'd make my top 10 in the last 50 years, but I'm not an AI chatbot.

Or am I?

 

[baccafarmer]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

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AI Bots do not often reveal criteria and key attributes of their iterative deep learning algorithms …. so MAYBE this is a good list. Twist the algorithm a little more and another top 10 List pops out! It’s really just like asking humans to produce a top 10 list. Everybody has their own key attributes …. and so do BOTS.

 

[Conewago]

OpenAI hates tough wrestling.

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Not a horrible list. I guess they don't count Yojiro because he was Japanese. Or maybe just no one talks about him? But he was darned sure better than some of these guys.

 

[98lberEating2Lunches]

Not a horrible list. I guess they don't count Yojiro because he was Japanese. Or maybe just no one talks about him? But he was darned sure better than some of these guys.

ChatGPT answered the question as asked, so he couldn't be included because he hasn't wrestled in the last 50 years.

 

[nitlion6]

Any top 10 list from last 50 years that does not include Lee Kemp or Wade Schalles lacks a bit in the credibility department.

 

[Lattner]

Esther Lin photo

 

[Conewago]

ChatGPT answered the question as asked, so he couldn't be included because he hasn't wrestled in the last 50 years.

I'm dyslexic again. lol

 

[Conewago]

Any top 10 list from last 50 years that does not include Lee Kemp or Wade Schalles lacks a bit in the credibility department.

relevant

 

[GogglesPaizano]

That settles it. Next year ChatGPT will make all of my KYPSW picks. I am basking in the glory already.

 

[CholleyVandine]

ChatGPT answered the question as asked, so he couldn't be included because he hasn't wrestled in the last 50 years.

Which raises a question about how Gable was included. His college career ended 53 years ago.

 

[El-Jefe]

I wonder how many of them other than Cael went undefeated in their last 3 years.

 

[Lattner]

AP News



https://www.google.com/#
3,000 × 2,000

Penn St favored to regain title in NCAA wrestling tournament | AP News​

 

[Cali_Nittany]

I wonder how many of them other than Cael went undefeated in their last 3 years.

Zain getting no love from the bots.

 

[98lberEating2Lunches]

I'm dyslexic again. lol

But it did include Gable who wasn't a collegiate wrestler in the last 50, so...

 

[tullfan68]

AP News



https://www.google.com/#
3,000 × 2,000

Penn St favored to regain title in NCAA wrestling tournament | AP News​

 

[tullfan68]

man thats old news!!

 

[El-Jefe]

Zain getting no love from the bots.

The bot is a Juggalo.

 

[Lattner]

Community Newspaper Group



https://www.google.com/#
1,200 × 800

Penn State's Retherford pins Sorensen in semifinal | Waverly Newspapers | communitynewspapergroup.com​

 

[Gray52]

Of the 50 wrestlers that are 3x national champions, only 1 didn’t win it as a senior. I mean, there could be an argument that Spencer is 50th all-time.

 

[Flying_Tiger]

take Ben out!

Ben and DT had very similar college careers, both in accomplishments and dominance.

I think a valid argument can be made that they are the best two timers since Dan Gable.

 

[Cali_Nittany]

Ben and DT had very similar college careers, both in accomplishments and dominance.

I think a valid argument can be made that they are the best two timers since Dan Gable.

Don't forget about IMar who has winning records against the only 2 wrestlers that have beaten him.

 

[STAND with PRIDE]

Don't forget about IMar who has winning records against the only 2 wrestlers that have beaten him.

Imar beat Cenzo 3 or more times?

I honestly didnt realize they wrestled that many times.

 

[mcpat]

Imar beat Cenzo 3 or more times?

I honestly didnt realize they wrestled that many times.

Lost 5-2 in the dual and 8-5 at B10s as a RFR and 4-1 as a RSO at B10s.

 

[Psalm 1 guy]

relevant

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Thanks for posting this. That was a great interview! I loved what Kemp had to say regarding focus, being in the moment and the mental side of wrestling. I see so many parallels to how Cael, Casey and Cody coach. They focus so much on the mental side of wrestling. You see the dividends when Penn State wrestlers consistently wrestle their best when the stakes are highest.

 

[pawrestlersintn]

That settles it. Next year ChatGPT will make all of my KYPSW picks. I am basking in the glory already.

I'd love to see it.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

Lost 5-2 in the dual and 8-5 at B10s as a RFR and 4-1 as a RSO at B10s.

Peaking is only a frame of mind.