Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue vs Oklahoma Joe's

Oklahoma Joe's - I like their smokeyjoe sandwich and it is closer to my house. But, the sales tax collection from Fiorella's Jack Stack is more beneficial to me because that eating establishment is within the city I live in. I like Fiorella's ribs better than OK Joe's - but OK Joe's fries are plentiful and tastey.

I like them both and they both serve a purpose. I have never tried to go to both OK Joe's and Fiorella's on the same day.

Brute (Kansas City area) VS USA Kids Nationals (Iowa)

I like them both they both serve a purpose.

From an economic perspective the wrestling dollar from Brute stays in the Missouri and Kansas economy longer than a dollar spent in Cedar Falls. Both tournaments offer kids some competition and one has bigger/tougher brackets in some cases.
I think a few kids that wrestled in KC could have done well in Cedar Falls. What are the chances of getting USA Kids nationals back in Kansas or Missouri? Wisconsin did not send many of their High School Kids to Virginia because Cedar Falls was closer. So having 3 or 4 of these events on different weekends should benefit both tournaments - ASSUMING families can afford to go to ALL of the events. Does USA Wrestling give back to a needy college program or is Cedar Falls, State of Iowa and UNI the main beneficiary? I see it as 2 main companies battling for the wrestling entertainment dollar - Asics vs Brute. Both tournaments could not do these events without the volunteers - they would not happen.

Westchester State Womens Wrestling???? Needy???? Use the money to create a new D1 opportunity or to save a D1 school!!! Without USA wrestling there would be NO college wrestling! USA offers bigger and tougher brackets in all cases across the board. It is just common sense, you combine two years into an age group it will be tougher than just one.

Ideas to help Brute.

1. NEVER have it the same weekend as USA Nationals.

2. Get rid of the ALL AMERICAN theme until you reach 16 in every bracket. Are you really an ALL AMERICAN if you won one match or zero matches?

2. Keep the entry fee at $45 all the way up until midnight the night before. Charge $75 for walk ups and weight changes.

3. Give a free pass for every five wrestlers you enter under a team. Charge $50 for extra passes and $25 more for every coach who WANTS a jacket.

4. Give a bracket to the Champion. Kids LOVE brackets.

5. Finish the Kids on Saturday and have only a parade for kids. HS Wrestlers do NOT want a parade.

6. Contract for some wrestling only parking.

7. Partner up with some hotels for free rooms for organizers and volunteers. Block the rooms for wrestlers at give them a three night rate.

8. Partner up with Southwest Airlines to get more out of staters flying in.

9. Have they explored all of the options to gain funding from the tourism groups?

10. More mats! They could have put down two or three more.

11. Tell the floor security to give it a rest! Coaches want to watch matches and they are not going to keep going up and down the ramp they have. Coaches paid $60 to $90 for a pass and do NOT want to hear "Move to the edge!" all day long. It is annoying. This was the BEST crowd situation I have EVER seen at a "National" tournament. Quit harassing the coaches! They are volunteers who PAID!

Send suggestions to this guy.

jpbowyer@hensco.com

Jeffrey M. Bowyer
Brute adidas Nationals Director
R.E.A.C.H.E.S. - Executive Director

Done

Good!

I keep wondering why all the hoopla about USA and Brute on the same weekend. I took a rough estimate of Cedar Falls tourney and counted less than approx. 60-80 kids from Kansas. Correct me if I am wrong but what would that have helped with Brute? Each weekend you usually have a choice of 2 and sometimes 3 tournaments per weekend throughout the season. So what is the difference? What's the matter with a choice. It was a decent ran tournament-not 100% but it was better than some I have seen. It was pricey but you knew that before you went. Give Brute a break and let the kids have their wins without all the criticism. I looked up the term All American- no good results for a clear definition. So who determines what it is? There were state champions that are now national champions and so whats the matter with terminology. Parking! The problem is we are not used to that kind of parking or having to pay for it-so yea it sucked and was expensive. Brackets are nice but so was the singlet, the jacket and the watches that were given. Entry fees need a deadline to plan for the event. Come late or change and pay more. Coaches are very much needed. Without coaches we cannot have tournaments, practice or good programs. I do think at least the head coach should be free or one per team. If your kids aren't wrestling though it is nice when large crowds of coaches move to the side for viewing purposes. I know that you paid good money for your coaches band but I paid almost as much to be in the stands and to be able to view the mat. Continually throughout the year it has been discussed about moms/dads/spectators on the mat and to many coaches are just as bad when you would like to view the action. Don't say move up-when it's time for coaches to move over. Get a row of seats or something for coaches to wait on would be a nice solution. It would be nice to partner with hotels and airlines, but I got a deal for 3 nights stay and mentioning the wrestling tournament. I did not use the hotel from Brute. So, just do a little shopping around. If we all would have stayed at the close motels we wouldn't have to pay for parking. My boys thought it was great, they had good competition and they don't care about All American cause they just think it's a term. The medals were great. I would like to see change from year to year and at least the place on them and maybe the year. I seen alot of smiling, happy boys. Not alot of crying or temper tantrums like you see so many times. So...it's must have been good for most all the boys and isn't that what counts! Let em wrestle....