Basketball and football games are only the events I can remember walking into where our gym/field’s air was electric, where the cheers and rumble gives you chills because of how good the game is going. You can hear the cheers throughout the building’s walls as a sea of our school students/fans filled the stands. Although, the crowds a wrestling meet gets couldn’t compare to the crowds that show up to support our teams in the more “popular” sports. It’s like moths to a flame for the popular sports whereas wrestling it’s like moths to lavender.
The thought and ponders of this made me wonder: why does wrestling often fly under the radar, even when Hawks Wrestling is outperforming the others? Just last season alone, our wrestlers lost only two meets and took home a well-earned second place in the conference. Aren’t those the statistics of a sport that would pack the stands? Where’s the love for our grapplers?
As a Hillcrest Wrestler myself, I can personally vouch that wrestling isn’t just physically demanding (although it certainly is that). It’s a mental and emotional WAR that forces our wrestlers to their limits every time they step onto the mat. In wrestling there is only you, your opponent, and the will to win! There is no team to rely on, the wrestler gets the spotlight, it’s a one man show. You don’t have to worry about passing the ball, you don’t have to worry about messing anything up for the team, nothing. That takes a different kind of guts and grit that deserves more recognition.
Let’s be real, folks. Who doesn’t want to see someone get slammed? We post for football and basketball. We cheer loud and proud when our football team scores a touchdown, even if it’s not their best game. Students pack the main gym for our basketball team, win or lose. But wrestling, despite us consistently bringing home wins, or even defending the Hawk’s nest, we still seem to get the short end of the stick. And I firmly believe it’s time we change that.
I’m not asking for much. Show up to a meet – preferably a home meet, they start right after school around 4:30. I’ve seen plenty of kids stay after school all the way until 6:30 for the football games, why not do the same for wrestlers and it’s much more convenient to catch. Cheer on our wrestlers with the same enthusiasm you would for any other sport. Trust me, we’ll not only hear you, but we’ll also feel it. It makes a difference and gives us a different kind of drive knowing we have people rooting for us and solely us. The beauty of wrestling is its raw, unfiltered intensity. There’s no crowd noise to drown out, when the support is there, the wrestlers feel it, and it’ll push us even more.
Let’s celebrate their victories with the same acknowledgement we would for a football game or football playoffs, social media, the school announcement, and the school TV’s. Hawks wrestling’s second-place finish isn’t just a small feat, but it’s a feat that showcases the hard work and dedication that we as athletes put in on the mat, and off the mat because, like I said, it’s also a mental battle. It deserves more than a word of mouth, or an overlooked mention in the school announcements which didn’t even get announced.
The point is, support shouldn’t be conditional on what sport a team plays. If they’re putting in the work, representing our school with pride, and bringing home wins, they deserve our energy, our cheers, and our respect.
So, next time you see a wrestling meet on the school schedule, consider the wrestlers on the mat as athletes who are pushing themselves to the limit, win or lose. We are doing it for the love of the sport, for the thrill of competition, and to make our school proud. The least we can do is show them that Hawk pride goes both ways. When the season starts, pack the stands, make some noise, and give our wrestlers the recognition they’ve earned. Because when it comes down to it, we aren’t only wrestling for ourselves. We are wrestling for Hillcrest High School, and every bit of support is a reminder that you care about us, every step of the way.
Hillcrest’s first Wrestling home meet is Thursday, December 12, 2024.