Tom Brands "This is not just another match"

[NoVa Lion]

I have no issues with the Brands as I believe they are very good coaches. They know the rules, are sharp to catch officiating slips, and from what I've seen on video's have a good approach to teaching. I simply do not like their match antics from the corner.

That about sums it up for me too. The refs IMHO are starting to let things get away from them as I see more and more coaches who think they can basically get a timeout to get a call explained to them and the refs keep letting them get away with it.

 

[CowboyUp61]

Confession is good for the soul...

My first impression of Tom Brands, the coach, was frankly...that he was a nut case. An "out-of-control", animated, mess-of-a-coach, that somehow reached his "Peter Principle" position in life at a younger-than-normal age.

My impression now is totally different. He's passionate, committed, and wildly entertaining. Don't blame him for walking onto the mat when he shouldn't...blame the referee. And listen to him (don't tune him out, really listen), and you'll hear a coach that "gets it", far more than rabid fans from other schools give him credit. He's a great coach, at a great wrestling school, and his demeanor fits perfectly at the school he's at. And I'll even say, in a broader sense, he's great for college wrestling. My opinion...

I always thought he was feisty, but not out of control. He leaves that to brother! During the argument at the end of hwt Sunday, he very calmly walked over and told the scorer the correct score, and walked away. Competitive-you bet. But not any more so than most of the other top level coaches.

I really want to know if the cute blond in the background on the video above really understood what he was saying, or if she was just nodding her head to do something?

 

[Azchief32]

The female reporter is much-much better


This feeling seems to have a footing across the interwebs. My opinion is that this is more about the perceived tone of press conferences and the "older generations" projecting a displeasure of the Brands on the mat actions to mean that they are too tough or old school for our current generation of wrestlers.

My feeling and this isnt at you JW3, just my feelings. I see Iowa as a leader with Flo, I see iowa doing events with their kids like wiffleball, I see iowa getting top 10 P4P guys from out of state, I see iowa as a leader of out of the box ideas (grapple at the gridiron) and so on. I think the brands get it, I really do. Their public demeanor when compared to Cael is just genetics and spice of life in my opinion. Cael is as intense a competitor as the brands, but is low key in public. The Brands I feel are as fun as PSU, et al but they keep their down time for the most part to themselves.

I think that I would have no problem getting into a foxhole or a beach volley ball court with either. If there was a sofies choice, probably have to pick myself so as not to drag the others down.

Darth Ryan.....well not so much, but thats just me.

When I was in the room over the summer, there was a lot of laughing and clowning around going on which irritated the hell out of me. I was pissed and disappointed when I spoke to Matt McDonough. He seemed like a genuine human being instead of the robot I thought he was.

Iowa is in a lose, lose situation...Show some personality and have fun playing the villain, tell them what's really on your mind in interviews, Iowa guys are classless. Get hand raised and quickly run off the mat and do the standard wrestling cliched answers when interviewed (See below), than they are no fun having robots...and classless of course.

1. We have to wrestle them one match at a time
2.I'm just happy to be here, glad I could get on my offense and help the Hawks win.
3. I just want to give it my best shot, and Gable willing, things will work out

Credit goes to Crash Davis but these work for any sports.

 

[James P. Whitters III]

When I was in the room over the summer, there was a lot of laughing and clowning around going on which irritated the hell out of me. I was pissed and disappointed when I spoke to Matt McDonough. He seemed like a genuine human being instead of the robot I thought he was.

Iowa is in a lose, lose situation...Show some personality and have fun playing the villain, tell them what's really on your mind in interviews, Iowa guys are classless. Get hand raised and quickly run off the mat and do the standard wrestling cliched answers when interviewed (See below), than they are no fun having robots...and classless of course.

1. We have to wrestle them one match at a time
2.I'm just happy to be here, glad I could get on my offense and help the Hawks win.
3. I just want to give it my best shot, and Gable willing, things will work out

Credit goes to Crash Davis but these work for any sports.

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I know your just quoting the HR company line, and I do appreciate the effort. It is not a lose/lose situation imo. You never read nasty stuff about the behavior of Brandon Sorensen or Nathan Burak or a host of other hawkeyes. The bad rep has come from bad behavior. To be upset that these guys occasionally get held accountable is laughable at best. Billy George took his share and so did Kyle Dake. Zane Richards,Tyler Berger,Johnny Hendricks,etc. People will call out what they see when it comes to poor sportsmanship or foolish quotes. There have been many defenders of Thomas Gilman on this forum alone. There is only a double standard in the mind of a Hawkeye fan.

I keep hearing " we always get called out and nobody else does" False and False. You don't always get called out and plenty of others do too.

I would say in the state of Iowa there has always been somewhat of a free pass for the Hawkeyes, but the wrestling center of the universe is not in Iowa City,Iowa. People will always talk about things they think are questionable. How much time has been devoted to PD2 or PD3? They deserve it and no big deal. If they were hawkeyes it would be more unfair treatment. People call things how they see them.

Cael put up a curtain and is still mocked for it on HR....I know...I know...that is different because he isn't a hawk and therefore should not be immune to critical analysis. In short if you act like a duck and quack like a duck don't get all bent when someone mistakes you for a duck.

 

[El-Jefe]

Billy George got a bad rep as mong fans, but what did Koll do to punish him?

And what he did to Nate Brown wasn't "poor sportsmanship." It was assault.

 

[James P. Whitters III]

Billy George got a bad rep as mong fans, but what did Koll do to punish him?

And what he did to Nate Brown wasn't "poor sportsmanship." It was assault.

I agree 100%- that was cowardly.

 

[jrd23psu]

Yeah, well I know that you know that I know that is not just another match.