As a friend of many in the sport and a former sports reporter who covered several matches, I would like to think I am a pretty neutral guy when it comes to wrestling. I am not against it by any means nor am I its avid proponent, but the fact still remains: Wrestling puzzles me to this day.
Do not get me wrong. I can see the draw to the sport. I cannot really think of many other ways boys and young men can release their pent up aggression and spirit of competition. Grappling, pinning and squeezing the hell out of each other. Honestly, it sounds like some fun. It is the same kind of fun pretend-fighting with your siblings or imaginary friends was back in the day. What I do not understand, however, is why many involved with the sport competitively think it to be the manliest sport one can undertake.
Disregarding the homoerotic connotations often associated with wrestling (and if you do not know what I am talking about, watch a match, just one), the activity is still a very watered down version of actual fighting. Mixed martial arts, Shotokan and boxing can all be more violent and physically demanding in certain ways, so why do I always see those in the wrestling community get all pumped up (players and coaches alike) more than those of any other sport?
If one were to venture down into the abysmal depths of theoretical psychology, it is like they are trying to avoid the stigma or stereotype of being in a gay-like sport. When I say this, I do not mean that all wrestlers and the people who watch are actually gay, but instead I am implying that the acts of rubbing, groping and rolling around on a mat with another guy in sweaty, furious bliss that they find enjoyable… I mean, come on now… are homoerotic acts.
Now of course, the social context totally contrasts the above paragraph, but all fields of our lives are interrelated. Whether it is subdued or unconscious on the minds of the players, coaches and audience, the notion of prevalent homoerotic tendencies is there in wrestling. There is no question. Now, does that really mean anything in the end? No, not really. Personal lives and the ones college students and younger boys alike put out there on the mats for the public can be completely different. All I am wondering is that maybe we can realize that wrestling is not the manliest thing since Spartacus. It is not necessarily conducive to gay behavior either; it just looks gay, and that is pretty much fact.
