What are your opinions on wrestling and basketball....what do you think of basketball?

OOOOHHHHHWWWWEEEE - this oughta be good!

Basketball sucks. There's no tackling, no chances of drawing blood, the other four members on the court can mess it up for you, I don't see that many muscular basketball players, the only real skill you need is to be tall, and on top of all that, do you really want to be called a ball-er?

I like basketball. I don't get why most wrestlers hate it just because it's more popular.

I mean really, who cares?

There sport is overrated. A wrestler has to work ten times harder than any basketball player.

Basketball is fun to watch. It is fun to play with some of your friends just to goof off. Despite what some wrestlers believe, it does require skill. I really suck at basketball. The practices aren't 1/7 as hard as wrestling practices. Wrestling requires much more endurance. Basketball is like jogging (slowly) for 1 hour (with breaks and timeouts) whereas wrestling is like sprinting for 6 minutes while doing every lift in weightlifting with very little on the line of breaks.

I also think that wrestlers SHOULD support their basketball team like the basketball team SHOULD support the wrestling team.

I know that our wrestlers do attend almost all of the basketball games, yet getting the same support is almost impossible. I think the reason so many wrestlers dog basketball is because basketball is the "glory sport", and often, in many schools, wrestling is almost ignored.

Being on the outside of these sports (as a mom and observer) one of the most impressive differences between the sports that I have seen, above and beyond the conditioning, is the excuses. I can sit in the bleachers at a game and hear all about the coaching errors in not playing so-and-so, the lousy refs, etc etc. Yet at a wrestling meet the young men accept responsibility for their loss. Yes, I have seen lousy calls, but the sportsmanship on and off the mat is a reason for pride (with the exception of a couple of teams I have seen).

ding ding ding..... That was a great post and I agree 100%.

see I think the reason why people don't like wrestling is because they don't understand it...I bet most of the people on this forum have grown up with wrestling so its really the only thing they know...what really makes me mad though is that basketball players make fun of wrestlers because "its two guys rolling around in tight outfits" and they don't know the extent of it...it takes 10 times more effort to wrestle than to dribble the ball. They don't realize how tough wrestling is. People don't realize how hard it is.If wrestling was easy everyone would do it. My friend says that he likes wrestling alot better than basketball and would do it if he was good enough.

My son came home today from working out with the high school today and said the basketball players were giving them crap during conditioning. He said he would like to see those basketball players go through one week of wrestling conditioning or live practice. The physical side of it alone would make them quit.

And that is pretty bad when my son who is only 12 already sees that wrestlers have to work twice as hard and get no respect.

I agree wrestling145. I've grown up with wrestling in my family. I'm a cheerleader for wrestling, this will be my 4th year in high school and i absolutely love it! people have asked me before why i don't cheer for basketball cuz it's more interesting, and i look at them and tell them they must not know my family because my family has been in wrestling forever it seems, and i just don't understand basketball. the same goes for those who play and cheer for basketball, they don't go out for wrestling or cheer for wrestling because they don't understand it, and they don't want to. which is fine with me. they can keep their little balls and dribble them all the want but they will never know how much of a rush you get at a state wrestling tournament!

I still see no reason to hate basketball, it's a cool and fun sport. And to tell you the truth, I never wrestled for the adulation of my peers, rather I just enjoyed it.

The fact that they really make fun of wrestlers seems to be pretty stupid too. Sure, I had a lot of friends on the basketball team who'd make fun of the spandex and such, but they still respected the sport. In fact after some of our practices they'd come in and roll around with me.

And another reason they get more "glory" or fanfare is because it's a much easier sport to watch and get into. I remember wrestling in a tournament last year where I was on the mat for a total of four minutes and thirty seconds during the entire day. My parents however sat around for twelve hours to see that, and my friends sat around for four just to see me win in the finals and while I'm sure my parents enjoyed watching everyone else wrestle, my friends only came to see me, so of course they were incredibly bored. Conversly in basketball you get to watch your team play for two hours straight, which is nice from a fan's point of view.

In short, suck it up and quit whining about basketball. Wrestle for yourself, not for all the people you want to look good in front of, and most of all, have a sense of humor. The premise of wrestling is easy to make fun of. Deal with it. In the end most kids really do have respect for wrestlers and I personally have respect for basketball players. I've seen them throwing up enough to know that they work hard too.

I agree there's really no reason to hate basketball. But there is also no reason to hate wrestling. Both sports are fun to watch whether you understand them or not. I had a friend my freshmen year who had never seen a wrestling match before in her life. She went to the first tournament of the season with us and has been hooked on wrestling for the last 4 years! I think that must say something for the sport.
Yes wrestling tournaments are long and sometimes boring, but if you have a true love for the sport it's all worth it at the state tournament!

Unusual situation in Chapman - a basketball town. Two of the best athletes in the sophomore class are both very good basketball players but choose to wrestle. It is easier to be a fan of basketball and the crowds are always larger at their venues, however, once you've tasted success at wrestling nothing else quite compares.

There are many people who are excellent basketball players but choose to wrestle. Or the other way around, good wrestler but choose to play basketball. Some people are just good athletes all the way around, which is great, but I would almost hate to be those people sometimes and have to choose between two sports. Specially two that I enjoy playing or participating in.

I agree mostly with what you said in this post. However, my junior year at Caney, we got a new basketball coach (and he still is the basketball coach). We have a 2-day tournament at Caney and he encouraged his basketball players to attend. He attended himself on Friday (for only so long, they had a game that night) and Saturday. He respects wrestling and doesn't let his players dog on wrestling. That speaks volumes of his character. I realize that he is probably the exception and not the rule, but the wrestlers love him for the support he gives.

That's for sure on everything you mentioned. Chapman is wierd in the fact our basketball team can lose every game and have near sell outs, while our wrestling team can be winning tournament titles and come out with winning records every year and get little respect. I loved coming back to Chapman and writing for the newspaper for sports. I never covered Basketball. BTW the 2 sophomores you mention...total stab in the dark but are you talking about Irvine and Arveson?

To love wrestling you more than likely have to grow up with it...same with basketball..just think in a basketball game the score could be 22-50 with like 1 minuite or so left in the game and no one would want to watch it because you know who is going to win. In wrestling the score could be 15-0 with 20 seconds left in the match and the other guy could come out on top. Wrestling is a very unpredictable sport.I don't know much about basketball but to me it just seems that if your tall your good.

That's not true, if the score became 15-0, the match would be over!

Come on wrestling145, you don't have to grow up with basketball to like it. It's obviously a more popular sport, and not everyone that likes it "grew up" with it. It's just fun to watch and play casually. Now, I like wrestling more, but give basketball some credit. Don't just hate it because it's more popular than wrestling.