Let me start out by saying that I am an addicted results follower. I have found myself scratching my head as much as my backside this year. The rankings are great and I enjoy following them as well and appreciate the hard work and time it takes to compile them. This is what I have concluded:
1) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match was sick or injured and didn't.
2) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match had a bad day and didn't.
3) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match got dumped by his girlfriend the night before and didn't.
4) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match was possessed by a wrestler of lesser skills and didn't.
5) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match but ran into an opponent who had a different agenda that day and didn't.
6) You never know when a wrestler who was expected to win a match couldn't catch a break from the officials and didn't.
7) You just never know, although you think you do. That is where I find myself many times when I am following results.
This is a nice comment RedPloyd and I hear what you are saying. Yes, all the things you stated do indeed happen. Yes, there are Cinderella stories. Yes, the underdog does sometimes win. But what I have found in my experiences over the last 40 years as a wrestler and coach with over 20 years as a head high school coach and someone who wrestled in college is that in most cases, the guy that is supposed to win, the guy that is expected to win, the guy who is predicted to win, usually does. The really good kids deal with all the adversity you listed and just go take care of business and still win. That's one of the main reasons that they are really good. And the rankings aren't talking about your average wrestlers, they are talking about the really good ones.
XGHSWC,
I believe that you are correct in a lot of what you say. I look at high school wrestlers in this way: 1) There are the cream of the crop who would win almost any day of the week regardless of what was going on with them at that moment; 2) There are other wrestlers that have established themselves as a dangerous threat if the top dog is off their game for whatever reason; 3) There are some wrestlers who are just off the cusp of tier two who can win a match against the tier two wrestler who is off their game for whatever reason; 4) Then there are the rest. Back to what I think, the rankings are a lot of fun to follow and I appreciate the fact that someone would put the time and effort into predicting them. If I am a top dog or on tier two, I sure don't want to have an off day because there is someone waiting in the shadows to take advantage.
