Penn State - Hofstra dual thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Ironhead interview with Mesenbrink
Talk about the Rec Hall experienc
- last Sunday, I could hear my heart pounding. Before the dual, Bernie and I were talking about being less impressed and more involved. My generation grew up watching this, the Mecca, Rec Hall, so it's hard not to be impressed.
Talk about coming here from Cal Baptist. Is it what you envisioned
- Everything. Coming in, I had a grasp of how good the people were. But being here, it's 100 times more than what you thought it was. Now I feel I'm a Nittany Lion. It's so surreal, and any word I use doesn't give credit to how awesome it is. The men and women in the room, the donors, it's so amazing to be here. I'm beyond grateful to be here
You've had success at every level. What are the things you're working on
- it's important to not have to lose to get better. After every match, you analyze what to do better, and you go in the room and work on it. And there are so many people in the room to work with to get better
Talk about the room
- it's awesome. I have the 2nd best guy in the world at my weight, Kyle Dake. When you walk in the room, the ego is gone, and to be the best is to keep picking people's brains and to train
Going into finals, talk about the coming weeks for you
- I do school like I wrestle, relentlessly. I haven't had a break in a long time, as I did summer school. I'll take some time off, see the family, and then I'll be in the room longer. I love home and my family; haven't been there since August. But nothing really beats Happy Valley. As much time as I can, I want to be here. I'll get a little time to be in Wisconsin, but I want to be here a lot. Last year at this time, I just wanted to be home. It's so different. It's really great.
How big of a deal are you in your home town?
- Yeah, I don't view it that way. If people say congrats, that's nice, but it can be slippery. I don't view it as me being a big deal. I appreciate everybody back home, and I'm happy to see them. I'm grateful for them, but one of the worst things someone can tell you is you're good at wrestling, as you might pull your foot off the gas pedal.
Talk about the Rec Hall experienc
- last Sunday, I could hear my heart pounding. Before the dual, Bernie and I were talking about being less impressed and more involved. My generation grew up watching this, the Mecca, Rec Hall, so it's hard not to be impressed.
Talk about coming here from Cal Baptist. Is it what you envisioned
- Everything. Coming in, I had a grasp of how good the people were. But being here, it's 100 times more than what you thought it was. Now I feel I'm a Nittany Lion. It's so surreal, and any word I use doesn't give credit to how awesome it is. The men and women in the room, the donors, it's so amazing to be here. I'm beyond grateful to be here
You've had success at every level. What are the things you're working on
- it's important to not have to lose to get better. After every match, you analyze what to do better, and you go in the room and work on it. And there are so many people in the room to work with to get better
Talk about the room
- it's awesome. I have the 2nd best guy in the world at my weight, Kyle Dake. When you walk in the room, the ego is gone, and to be the best is to keep picking people's brains and to train
Going into finals, talk about the coming weeks for you
- I do school like I wrestle, relentlessly. I haven't had a break in a long time, as I did summer school. I'll take some time off, see the family, and then I'll be in the room longer. I love home and my family; haven't been there since August. But nothing really beats Happy Valley. As much time as I can, I want to be here. I'll get a little time to be in Wisconsin, but I want to be here a lot. Last year at this time, I just wanted to be home. It's so different. It's really great.
How big of a deal are you in your home town?
- Yeah, I don't view it that way. If people say congrats, that's nice, but it can be slippery. I don't view it as me being a big deal. I appreciate everybody back home, and I'm happy to see them. I'm grateful for them, but one of the worst things someone can tell you is you're good at wrestling, as you might pull your foot off the gas pedal.
PSU is not competing again until the Jan. 5 dual at Oregon State.
Pitt just beat tO$U, with Matthews beating Mendez.
Not one match decided by decision. How often does that happen?
PSA - if you are considering paying for BigTenPlus - video production is generally good. The announcers range from knowledgeable/decent to absurdly comical to annoyingly detrimental.
A few weeks ago, the crew for the Pitt/Maryland match were bad. I don't think it is acceptable, but perhaps understood that you might have your D-crew doing broadcast for Maryland wrestling. Today's crew, I think, was the worst I have ever heard. They were simply awful! I don't know what grading rubric they use, but it should score out to an F.
The play by play dude clearly didn't know a damn thing about wrestling. Other than knowing that Takedown, Escape, and Pinfall are words in the english language used in the context of a conversation about a wrestling event, he was clueless.
According to BigTenPlus - this is what you get:
B1G+ subscriptions give you access to live streaming of over 1,700 non-televised games and events produced by Big Ten Network StudentU.
The StudentU program provides instruction and hands-on experience to students at the 14 Big Ten Conference member institutions. An on-campus experience that is unique to the Big Ten, StudentU is part of the conference’s educational mission as we work to identify and teach the next generation of sports production professional.
Hint Hint BTN+ advisory staff - you should do an assessment prior to selecting your crews validating that they have a working knowledge of the sport before putting them in front of a broadcast audience. For the utmost clarity - this is not a condemnation of the EFFORT of the crew assigned today. They tried to bring enthusiasm and passion to the broadcast. This commentary IS about the incompetence of whoever is running the BTN+ **** show. They set those two announcers up for a complete fail! They were woefully unprepared to be announcing. Shame on you!
I had the stream on for Rutgers briefly. Sounded as if they had non-students with wrestling experience. To avoid the pain in the future - video on, Audio MUTE!
Mic Drop!
Funny you should say that. While watching, I literally was thinking - he reminds me of Jimmy Martin!
Comparably BAD. Video production was better today for sure. Commentary, I'll call it a toss up.
the next event is Senior Nationals, which takes place on 12/15-12/17, in Fort Worth, TX. The top 5 finishers at each weight class qualify for the 2024 Olympic Team Trials.
Wrestlers really don't come to psu because of NIL money. They come because of the atmosphere. Same holds true with the NLWC, it isn't about the money.
I think at big institutions, you should be able to find an AV or communications major that has some knowledge about wrestling.
Okay, he's grateful, but apparently he isn't having fun.
That interview is terrible. You can't hear a single question and since this is typical it appears they don't care. That's a shame.
If you didn't watch the match, you would never have thought that Carter was merciful with this kid. Essentially, Carter was playing with his food.
Thanks Tom for all your work in this thread!
