Ahhhh, the Kohl Center - 1999-2003

My journey to the Kohl Center was an easy trip from 1999-2003. I went to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, so I was a short moped ride from the epicenter of wrestling. I found my way to most of the action, but it wasn't as special for me because I wasn't emotionally attached to anyone, except in 1999.

In 1999, my brother wrestled at 112 pounds and won his second state title. I watched from 304. It was somewhat difficult watching him from so far away. I commend the fans who spend day after day in those sections because I found it hard to feel the energy that I remembered so well while I was on the floor. Since 1999, I've found ways to get on the floor because I love that energy.

Tony had a very interesting season and it was full of adversity. He was the lone competitor in the finals from our area that season, which was fitting for how his season went. He seemed to go at it all alone. His training partners had graduated, his closest friends had graduated and those that shared the leadership responsibilities with him graduated. Not only were the dynamics in the wrestling room different, it seemed as though the coaches from our area were out to get him. I still don't understand why. In the end, the 17 year old senior acted far more like an adult then the coaches that tried to back him into a corner.

When Tony graduated and joined me in Madison, we followed the tournament together and my family came to visit us that weekend. We were focused on preparing for the Big Ten Championships and went to class and practice during the daytime sessions. One year, we wrestled Northwestern during the break before the semi-finals. I wrestled Tommy Vargas and gave him one of the biggest "beatdowns" ever. It's funny, a wrestling fan mentioned that match to me this weekend. It was a butt kicking, but he left me with a left ring finger that is still pretty messed up.

There were a lot of great individuals that came through the Kohl Center during my college years, but I didn't take the time to follow them much because I was focused on my responsibilities as a student-athlete. My fondest memories of the Kohl Center during this time come from our infamous Kohl Center runs.

We would congregate at 6:00am in the wrestling room and take University vans to the Kohl Center for sprints in the hallway. They were epic workouts. I remember the gut wrenching feeling that I'd get everytime I pushed myself beyond exhaustion. That's what hard work was about. I never lost a "race" in the Kohl Center in the years our team worked out in the hallways. Now, everytime I step foot inside the building, that's the first thing I think about, not my acheivements. I remember Barry's brainchild, the "Big Mamma" and the most difficult "Super Big Mamma" - run the stairs, sprint a lap to the next set of stairs, run those and sprint a final lap...repeat. Lovely. Oh man, the burn in the legs and in the lungs...I loved it.

Whenever I go up the stairs in the Kohl Center now, I do it swiftly. It's still conditioned in my mind to spring up them as quickly as I can. And who can forget about Tom Petty, AC/DC, Tim McGraw, Monday Night Raw, etc.?

Ahhhh, the Kohl Center...