As the Penn State wrestling team romped to its fifth consecutive national championship and 13th during the Sanderson Era in record-setting fashion, ESPN had things covered from all the angles.
With cameras for every mat (if you had access to ESPN+) and with enough context and reverence for even the most die-hard, thin-skinned blue-and-white fan, ESPN’s coverage was strong. Sure, it sounded different than what fans might be used to from Big Ten Network’s on-air talent during the regular season, but the coverage was generally comprehensive and fair.
From the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships when analyst Rock Harrison said he appreciated Penn State’s excellence to the championship finals when play-by-play man Mike Couzens put Penn State’s success in context, ESPN did most everything well.
When Penn State wrapped up the team title early, the information was shared. When Penn State set a scoring record for the third year in a row, the information was shared — along with an on-screen graphic. When a Penn State wrestler was the subject of audible boos, the analysts (Harrison and Jordan Burroughs) said the reaction was unfair.
While some Penn State fans might want more, Penn State got what it earned. Plus, with 330 wrestlers in the tournament, 80 All-Americans and 10 champions, not every single second of the broadcast could be about the blue-and-white contingent.
There was a lot about them, though. Again, they deserved it with their dominance.
As always, mat side reporter Quint Kessenich elicited some interesting stuff from the silliness as he elbowed his way into celebrations and asked questions of just-crowned individual champs. There was faith from Josh Barr, some deep-minded perspective (and faith) from Mitchell Messenbrink, even as Kessenich tried to get an opinion about the Hodge Trophy from its likely winner.
There were a few rare, raw emotions from other winners — just enough good TV for directors and producers to keep on insisting on such interviews, even when most of the results are a bit flatter and often forced.
Still, even Kessenich praised the Nittany Lions by offering the obvious that “Penn State’s all-in on wrestling” while crediting athletic director Pat Kraft for having the program “rolling.”
A bit of broadcast bias was ESPN’s only problem.
As the analysts discussed a potentially exciting undercurrent storyline, the prospect, maybe, someday, of a Penn State-Oklahoma State dual meet, Couzens and Co. discussed the “festival-like atmosphere” in Stillwater and urged Penn State to get there for a big match.
What?
Clearly, Penn State as the champ, the yearly champ at this point, should be the host for any such meeting, if it happens. You want to be the man, beat the man — at his place.
The challenger always comes to the champ. Or should.
Now, it’s kind of a missed opportunity on Penn State’s part, because it does not need that match, or even the National Duals, to reach its goal of being the best in the sport. And some in the wrestling community take exception to Penn State’s regular season approach.
Penn State’s efforts to make the sport better have mostly been about Cael Sanderson taking his dominant team to places that do not usually get attention to prop up the sport in those locales with big crowds because the champ is making a visit. Of course, the results have been lopsided for those visits but there’s at least a little merit to the logic.
Still, there’s no doubt Penn State-Oklahoma State would be an attention-getter for college wrestling — and as season ticket holder it would be much more compelling than another shutout. Dominance is great, but some darn-close competition would be good, too.
Such a meet would be good for the sport, and ESPN’s bias is that it would hold the rights for a match in Oklahoma. In Happy Valley, it’s probably a Big Ten Network event. So, that’s the reason for ESPN urging Stillwater as the location for such a matchup.
That’s just a bit of bias, though, and it’s hard to blame ESPN’s wrestling folks for being excited about the potential of the matchup and, bigger picture, a full-fledged rivalry. Many would be similarly excited about the potential of that for a variety of reasons.
From the Penn State transfers to Oklahoma State to Sanderson’s post-nationals news conference when he did not name names but hinted that Penn State goes about its business differently than other programs, all the ingredients are there. So, if a match could happen, that would be great.
However, If the match does happen, or if it happens as part of an eventual home and home, it should happen in central Pennsylvania because the champ is here.
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