Men Wrestle...

When I was a young wrestler, a popular t-shirt within the wrestling community stated, "boys play basketball, men wrestle." Not only is this statement disingenuous, it's the mentality that hurts our sport most. The statement is the epitome of taking the fun out of wrestling.

First of all, wrestling doesn't merely make an individual a man. Manhood is not defined by your activities or status. Manhood is defined by roles and responsibilities; who he is and what he does in obedience to God. This statement suggests that wrestling turns a boy into a man simply by participating. Clearly, this is not true.

The second part of the statement that hurts our sport is that is assumes the reputable sport must omit the word "play." As a child, I often heard wrestling parents explain to others that individuals "play" basketball, "play" baseball, "play" football, "play" soccer, but no one will "play" wrestling. If this is our sales pitch, the sport will die quickly. We need to put the play back into wrestling.

At its core, wrestling is playful. As an infant, one of the first activities I participated in was wrestling with my father. It was innocent and joyful. It was also extremely playful.

Wrestling is play.