A few years ago, I was surfing the web and came across a wrestling forum for all of the high schools in my home state of Texas, as well as wrestling at the collegiate level. As a former wrestler myself, I decided to join the forum, and I have happy that I did.
I cover wrestling for a few local newspapers, and the first thing I noticed was that the coverage this particular forum provided was comprehensive and very clearly written at the same time. Whenever I wanted to talk extensively about a particular wrestler that I was covering, I could go to the forum and find out information about the wrestler's opponents, record and future meets.
Another thing this wrestling forum allowed me to do was look at some of my favorite wrestlers and what their college plans were. I also got to see which tournaments they had participated in, and the wrestlers from other states they had faced in some of the larger competitions in the country.
A big thing for me with the wrestling forum was being able to discuss strategy with some other former wrestlers who had seen the same matches that I had and play a little Monday-morning quarterback. It may sound a little sad, but I am sure that older wrestlers did the same thing with me when I was wrestling, except that they did not have the advantage of an Internet wrestling forum to do so.
I have also really enjoyed getting to see regular rankings in the sport. Wrestling rankings are not always easy to find in newspapers, not nearly to the degree as such sports as football, basketball and baseball, but in this wrestling forum, there are regular, updated rankings. It really helps you get an idea of who to watch for once you reach the state tournament, which is another point.
I am only able to make it to one of the four regional wrestling meets, and typically only two of the district meets. With this wrestling forum, I am able to see the results of all of the district and regional meets in the state.
One of the best things about the wrestling forum is that I have made some very good friends by visiting the site. I have guys that I meet up with on a regular basis to watch wrestling matches, or just have a drink and visit. It has really been a lot of fun.
A wrestling forum is obviously not for everyone. For some people, it might seem kind of boring or really not make much sense. For those of us who know and love the sport, however, it is a great opportunity to talk about and follow the sport with like-minded people.
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