Finally, a Penn State wrestling match worth watching.
It’s No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 2 Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday night, and it should be competitive. Finally.
Both teams enter the match 9-0. Both teams most recently lost a dual meet to the other — even if “most recently” stretches over several seasons for Penn State, which has a 65-match winning streak.
This season, Penn State has won its nine matches by a combined 389-19. Nothing about any of those dual meets — home, away or neutral site — has been competitive.
The consistent excellence of Penn State’s program should be celebrated. It’s impressive, something that has reshaped college wrestling — maybe not to the enjoyment of other programs across the country because Penn State has clearly become the New York Yankees of the sport. Or the New England Patriots. Or the L.A. Lakers.
Pick your dynasty of choice and then double its success, and then you might be close to what Penn State wrestling has accomplished the past decade or so. All-Americans. National championships. Record-setting attendance, home and on the road. It’s all part of an impressive story.
Still, the dominance can be ho-hum at times. Everybody knows what to expect, and it happens. No doubt. No drama. Rinse and repeat.
Finally, this Friday there at least might be a little doubt.
Even if Penn State has every first-place vote in the national poll and even if it sits comfortably at No. 1, it is Iowa after all. The night should include five top-five individual matchups and some 15,000-plus partisan and vocal fans inside the BJC with another maybe 400,000 watching on TV.
Every competition needs a good guy and bad guy, someone to wear black. In this case, and especially so in the eyes of Penn State fans, Iowa comes ready made for that role. Its wrestlers always wear black. Plus, the Hawkeyes seemingly embrace the opportunity.
They’ll battle and bristle, challenge and complain from start to finish.
Things have significantly switched in the series, though. Penn State has won seven of the past 10 meetings — one more victory than the six the Nittany Lions recorded in the teams’ first 33 meetings since they started wrestling in 1982. Think about that. It’s been a dominance flip-flop.
In fairness, Penn State probably wears the sport’s black hat for every other wrestling fan base in the country. The program’s sustained dominance and success probably chafes at some. OK, many.
Dynasties like the Kansas City Chiefs, Yankees, Patriots and Lakers eventually wear out their welcome. It’s different at first, and fun. That’s the “Isn’t that great for them?” phase. We’re well past that with Penn State wrestling.
On one hand, that’s a shame. The consistency and excellence get overlooked or underappreciated. On the other hand, that’s just the nature of sports fans. Too much of a good thing simply becomes too much.
Finally, this dual meet offers some doubt, provides a meaningful challenge for Penn State and, probably, will add another W to the Nittany Lions’ streak.
It was worth the wait.
Finally.
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