A Dream Come True

Wrestling. I have a hard time with this sport. I don't think I'll ever be a fan for many of the same reasons that probably the vast majority of you who are reading this are not. I need not address these reasons. We all know them, I'm pretty sure.

However, wrestling at our house is a pretty big deal. I must admit that while I'm not a fan, I do like the lessons it is teaching my boys. It's a crazy sport. To have a shot, you have to be not only in great physical shape, but also mentally tough and confident. When you go out to wrestle, you're giving it your all, every ounce of energy, using every muscle, thinking fast, reacting quickly, and fighting to the end. In the end, if you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself. I have once heard it said that when you lose a wrestling match it's as if you lost a part of your manhood. I laughed when I heard this, but how true it is! I have watched my boys bleed, get choked, twisted into painful positions, fly through the air, and have tears of frustration in their eyes. And all for what, I ask myself? For the sport of wrestling. I just don't understand it. However, I have heard on a number of times statements like, "well if I can wrestle, then I can do this." It does give them confidence, and I do appreciate that.

The other funny thing about wrestling is if one fellow wrestler meets another, they are instant best friends. Plain and simple. There is such a camaraderie that comes with this sport. Maybe it's because only another wrestler can really understand what it means to be a wrestler, what all it takes. Also, let's face it folks, it's not the most popular sport (at least in my experience), and I wonder if there's a feeling of we've-got-to-stick-togetherness.

This brings me to our Spring Break. The first morning we went down to the hotel lobby area to grab some breakfast. Abram noticed a man watching some wrestling on his laptop and pointed it out to Sam. Ahh, a fellow fan of wrestling. Sam struck up a conversation with this gentleman only to find out that he is the trainer for Dremiel Byers. Now I know that this name means nothing to most of you, but in our house the athletic heroes are wrestles. It always cracks me up to hear the boys chatter on about men like Cael Sanderson, Mark Schultz, David Taylor, and Aleksandr Karelin. Boy do they get excited in talking about their wrestling careers. What happened to following baseball or basketball players? So different. Anyhow, apparently Dremiel Byers ties with one other for the most World medals in U.S. Greco-Roman history.

Needless to say, the boys were thrilled to meet not only the trainer, but Dremiel Byers himself. The trainer, upon learning what fans the boys are to wrestling, left and grabbed Dremiel to introduce to the boys. Not only that but he rounded up some posters and had them signed and ready for them the next morning. The boys were beside themselves. I mean really, what are the odds?

That day we also toured the Olympic Training Center. We saw very few athletes and were told that most of them were out competing to qualify for the Olympics. However, when we walked into the wrestling complex we were much surprised to see a roomful of wrestlers hard at work. The boys could have watched them all day. Imagine our surprise when we saw none other than heavyweight, gold medalist Rulon Gardner in the thick of things. Rulon Gardner is a BIG deal in our house. We even have a signed book of his that most of them have read. In fact, he and Dremiel Byers will compete next weekend to see who goes to the Olympics. Crazy.

Of course, the tour moved on, much to our disappointment. When the tour ended Abram asked our guide if we could go back to watch the wrestlers for a bit. He was gracious enough to take us back. So we hung out for a while as the practice wrapped up.

And then for the best moment of all. Rulon Gardner had finished up practice and was walking our way. Our guide shouted out to him that he had some fans here. Then, THE Rulon Gardner came over and chatted with us for probably 20 minutes or so. He showed some moves on the boys, gave advice, and he and Sam talked shop. He even sweat on Abram and Seth, and I have been instructed never to wash Seth's jacket again. Gross. My shyer Seth even offered up the fact that he had read Rulon's book and told him his favorite part was when "he beat the Russian." I was

amazed. Rulon Gardner was so kind to spend that time with us. He really made a dream of my boys' come true!

I just can't describe how giddy my boys were. I mean, look at these faces:

I should have kept track of how many times Seth said in the next 24 hours, "I can't BELIEVE I wrestled Rulon Gardner." To the rest of us, maybe this was like meeting their Michael Jordan equivalent. It was so funny, and I was so happy for them.