There’s few things that matter less to me than the Olympic Games, except for perhaps WRESTLING in the Olympic Games.  That predictable bit of editorial bigotry aside, today’s news that the International Olympic Committee plans to eliminate wrestling from the competition starting in 2020, has brought real, genuine tears to my eyes.

Though a couple of dudes in singlets rolling around on the ground is not my personal cup of tea, I do have some grudging respect for this particular art form.  For starters, were it not for Greco-Roman Wrestling, we’d not have experienced the advent of Apartment Wrestling. Almost as importantly, amateur wrestling, dull though it may be, has proven to be an excellent stepping stone for such pro wresting legends as Brock Lesner, Kurt Angle, Jack Brisco, Gorilla Monsoon, Sheik Adnan Al-Kaisey, and last but not least, perhaps the greatest living Nebraskan Who Pretended to Be German,  Baron Von Raschke.