The Struggle is Real: The No. 1 fan struggle

Man, the struggle is real…

Being a fan of wrestling is not easy.

If you spend much time around me you will quickly realize that my only brother Jarred is my favorite person on this earth, and my favorite thing to do is watch my brother compete in all of his various sports. Jarred is a senior in high school and participates in football, wrestling, trap shooting, and best of all, baseball.

This weekend, the high school wrestling season ended for most wrestlers at the state tournament in Omaha, and this topic is still relevant because the CSC Eagle wrestlers will compete at the NCAA Regional tournament Friday and Saturday to try to earn their way to the National Championships in March.

My brother started wrestling when he was in first grade and his best friend, who was also my best friend’s brother, was also a wrestler, who was six years older than my brother.

When Jarred first started wrestling, I hated it. I did not like watching my brother walk off the mat with scrapes and bruises, sad, and disappointed in himself after a loss.

I did not like watching someone else beat up my brother. I am his big sister and my job was and is to protect him and suddenly I couldn’t.

Wrestling is one of the worst sports I have ever watched, and it is worse when you are watching someone you love down there on that mat.

But, through the sport of wrestling, Jarred met some of the best people—shoutout especially to the Holt family.

Through the sport of wrestling, Jarred learned adversity. Through the sport of wrestling, Jarred grew from the cute, little boy to the tough, young man he is today. Through the sport of wrestling, Jarred learned disappointment and he learned how hard work pays off. Through the sport of wrestling, Jarred slowly became my biggest role model.

When Jarred was a high school freshman, he had an accident with a table saw and cut off his index finger on his dominant hand, and he had to take a summer off of baseball, and we did not know how much grip he would have back to be able to play any sports again. But he later started as quarterback of his football team, lettered all four-years in wrestling, and went back to pitching in baseball.

That same year, Jarred lost that best friend who taught him to love the sport of wrestling, and who taught him how to handle a loss without crying and how to win with dignity, and who taught Jarred to have passion in everything he does. Jarred still went back onto that mat despite his coach, friend, and role model not being there.

Jarred fought through everything life threw at him and he came out as a champion.

I think wrestling can be credited for his mental toughness to deal with all of that.

Wrestlers are a different breed of athletes and they all have my respect and admiration, especially when they can help their opponent up off the mat and walk away with their heads held high, despite a loss.

I could never put myself through what they do every time they walk out onto that mat. I, first of all, do not have the physical strength to actually fight someone in that manner, and second, I do not have the mental toughness it takes.

But, being a wrestling fan is not easy either, and I barely have the mental and emotional strength to just be a fan of the sport.

It is a struggle. The sport draws you in, especially when it’s a loved one like I mentioned before; it forces you to be involved mentally and emotionally.

This weekend my brother lost out in the heartbreak round Friday night, which meant he was one win away from earning a medal at the state tournament, and that hurt. It hurt Jarred that he was so close, yet not quite there, and it hurt my mom and my dad because they had invested so much emotionally into Jarred’s sport, and it hurt me to have to watch my brother be so close to his goal, yet not reach it.

But, only a few minutes after losing his final match of his wrestling career, Jarred was laughing and smiling with his teammates because Jarred is tough.

When my mom watches wrestling, she literally does not breathe, she gets vomit stuck in her throat, and her neck and face turn cherry red. During every meet my brother had in Omaha, I cried from nerves and excitement for him. Mom and I are not nearly as tough as Jarred, but I guarantee you we are both tougher than we were when my family started this journey through wrestling 11 years ago.

Friday night, when Jarred lost and his wrestling career ended (he had offers for collegiate wrestling, but decided against it), I was sad. I hated watching the sport for 11 years, but was sad when it was over.

I will miss the adrenaline rush, I will miss the thrill of a win, and I will miss the wonderful people who came into my life because of this sport. Because wrestling works its way into your heart and it sticks, and the team becomes family and the families become family. Even when you have never competed in the sport yourself, it becomes a part of you.

Baseball is still the best sport the world offers, but wrestling isn’t so bad either.

But still being a wrestling fan is a real struggle, but chocolate is also real, so life must still be sweet.