architeuthis

Is it even reasonable to call this a rivaly anymore?

On D1CW in the scuffle preview, it says, "Caldwell comes into this match with a pin of Schlatter’s longtime rival Brent Metcalf of Iowa".

( I'm not dissing the quote, the writer, the website, or Caldwell for that matter so don't jump on me for that. I think the preview was good and I recommend it, read it here: http://www.d1collegewrestling.net/Special_Scuffle.html )

Seriously, they wrestled twice....almost three years ago. At the time they were the immovable object and the irresistable force and they split matches. Simple formula for a rivalry...three years ago.

Great match potential? Yes. Bitter rivals in the vein of Perry and Hendrix, or Letters and Lewis, or Gallick and Ware, or Kish and Varner? I say no.

headshuck

I think it may have been a rivalry that took a 3 year sabbatical.

Gripsnhips

It is one of the most highly anticipated matches in recent history.

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architeuthis

Yes, it is, but my contention is that at this point, after this many years, It is so watered down especially with the depth and competition at 149 this year.

Just because it is an anticipated matchup does not mean that is is a rivalry. Conrad Mocco was a rivalry. Those guys traind to beat one another. It almost bit Cole in the semis his junior year when he got taken to the limit by Velasquez.

I'm by no way shape or form an insider but I'd be hardpressed to believe that Schlatter or Metcalf go into the wrestling room day in and day out with nothing but eachother on their mind. (well that might be a bit much, but you know what Mean).

When one looks at rivalries, one sees that a team or an individual can win the entire thing or loose every game, but when it comes to one's rival, that game match means everything.

Ask any michigan fan....they can lose to App state 100 times in a season as long as they beat Ohio state. I just don't see that....YET

TLV

I agree...........the match has potential.....We'd all like to see what happens, but what happened in H.S. has nothing to do with what happens in college and it is not a rivalry (yet). Look at Kish and Herbert.....in H.S. Kish had the upper hand.

And it is not enuf that both are good......there has to be a legit question as to who is going to win. Pendleton was asked if he had a 'rivalry' with Baskren and he said "no"........because he won every match but one and it got to the point where if Baskren had won in in college it would be an upset.

The one 'rivalry' that I can remember that one guy won all three matches was Fehrs-Caruso simply because all three were close......they all were in the NCAA finals.......and it would not have been an upset if Fehrs had won.

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JensenS

I kind of agree, but kind of disagree too.

They're rivals to the point where they're in the same weight class, on two teams that are rivals, but they certainly aren't rivals (YET) in the mold the ones Mocco had with Konrad and Rowlands, or the one Gallick had with Ware, or any of the others.

As Grips noted though, when these two finally lock up, its going to be maybe the most anticipated match since the Askren/Herbert final, or Dustin v. Espo I from a couple years ago, and it certainly could spur the makings of a great collegiate individual rivalry.

RYou

A) Had Metcalf not lost, there would be greater anticipation for their first meeting.

B) The initial meeting could restore the hype for this rivalry IF, it is not a 3-2 snoozer and the action is nonstop start to finish.

architeuthis

I agree with this statment whole heartedly. An exciting match makes it an instant classic.

TLV

Oh, I kind of enjoyed watching Gallick and Ware go at it even though they tended to have lowscoring matches. Both were just so danged hard to score on and they had some nice scrambles. They were lowscoring matches but it wsa facinating to watch them each try to set up the other.

JMO

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goferphan

I think what can also make the rivalry are the situations of the dual meets or tournaments during the matches...Konrad/Mocco were all great matches because they were almost always determining the match or a championship.

Good stuff.

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