I guess the natural human mentality is to hate/dislike people with great success .. Even when they did it with all the chips stacked against them.

Cokeley your post is ridiculous .. I could get into a couple different scenarios on why your coming off very dumb on this but I'll just leave it at that

I second that Chase. This young man was born this way. He has taken a raw deal at birth and made the most of it. There are alot of people that where given two legs at birth and did not get anywhere near what this wrestler has accomplished at ASU with just one leg. He did not recieve his scholarship till he won the AZ state title as a senior. Give the guy a break!!


Jamie Davis
Andover, Kansas


It is not how you start but how you finish that is important!

I never thought I'd say this, but I completely agree with Cokeley. Every time Robles steps on the mat, he wrestles somebody with two legs. It is more of a disadvantage for anyone going against him as they have to adjust their style so much. I'm just grateful that they didn't give into the pity party and award him the Hodge.

Chase, rotflmao!

So, who did win the Hodge this year? Burroughs I assume?

Okay, here it is! I agree that Robles has tremendous disadvantages in his life that he has overcome like a champion ... and no one is taking anything away from him!!

But clearly, his opponents are at a disadvantage when wrestling Robles! (such as they were when wrestling Earl Jones) Admitedly, wrestlers are often at a disadvantage going into matches with Robles but when wrestling Robles that disadvantage becomes huge. Not only does an opponent have to wrestle a superior athlete with a ton of quickness and technical skill but when game planning ... so much of your offense is taken away!

How does an opponent go from being a National champ one year ... to looking absolutely average the next? My take ... he had a different opponent ... what made Robles different was his disadvatage and his advantage!!

jmo

How does an opponent go from being a National champ one year ... to looking absolutely average the next?
jmo [/quote]

Hard, hard work.

Like somebody else on here said, if it is such a HUGH advantage why don't we have an endless line of wrestlers both young and old waiting in line to get one of their legs amputated so they to can 'easily' became a national champ?

The young man worked real, real hard. I commend him for that.

Now, go get some Gold at the Olympics and shut Cokeley up! Turn Cokeley into a Robles fan! lol.

then explain why robles wasn't undefeated and 4x champ. he wasn't 4x high school state champ. he has never had the leg, how did anyone EVER beat him!

He learned how to counter the head pinch, underhook and shuck.


He wrestles 50 matches a year Anthony's way while everyone else gets to wrestle just one. Watching his matches is like watching paint dry. More than half of the most common wrestling moves are eliminated by his disability. I applaud him for overcoming but ultimately the disablity became his greatest ally. I knew when I posted it would be controversial. I have never had a problem speaking my mind and I always think through what I am saying before I post so I can stand behind my position. I would rather watch McDonough and Precin wrestle 20 times than watch Robles wrestle once. His arms are stronger and longer than all of the 125's. His hands are bigger and stronger. Move him up just one wait class and it would be much more even. His championship will set him up for life. If he never screws up he will never have to get a job the rest of his life. I think that is great. I am just ready for the sport to return to normalcy.

Hard, hard work.

Like somebody else on here said, if it is such a HUGH advantage why don't we have an endless line of wrestlers both young and old waiting in line to get one of their legs amputated so they to can 'easily' became a national champ?

The young man worked real, real hard. I commend him for that.

Now, go get some Gold at the Olympics and shut Cokeley up! Turn Cokeley into a Robles fan! lol. [/quote]

I have never seen him wrestle GR or FS. I don't think FILA officials will cut him any slack.

Perhaps I should have followed my personal rules and not involve myself in no-win topics but since I did, I will continue!

Robles IS an accomplished wrestler who deserves a TON of credit for overcoming the obstacles in front of him! He was worked very very hard at developing his style!

However, saying his hard work is what won him a D1 title, in my opinion, is minimizing all the work of his opponents!

Often times I hear coaches say, "you've got to work harder to win" or "you have to want it more!" I'm not sure at the upper levels, work and desire are a huge factor!

Now, before you jump on my back for that comment, admitedly one must be an extremely hard worker and have a huge amount of desire but I feel those traits exist in most upper level wrestlers!

... more later!

... I'm back!

What I am saying is imo Robles's hard work was not the determining factor in his win. Sometimes individuals styles and differences ARE!

One can scout Robles but what can you do to physically prepare if Robles is your matchup. Robles has a style that is unique and hard to game plan against. I venture to say many of his opponents are ill-prepared to wrestle him!

... more later!!

Randy cued me on to this. Very interesting discussion. Out of one side of our mouths, we sing the praises of wrestling as a sport that anyone of any size or body type can participate in...while out of the other side some are glad we don't have to see Robles, one of the most successful wrestlers ever with a disability, wrestle again. Just can't make up our minds, can we?

When you squeeze the sand bag, it takes different shapes, but the weight of the bag stays the same. It's no different with body types. Of course Robles wouldn't have the upper body mass he would with two legs...one's legs are about 40 per cent of their body weight.

To those who think Robles has an unfair advantage...well, if you want to live his life, keep talking. I sure wouldn't. If you'd also prefer not to, then be a little more respectful of what he's overcome to get where he is.

It's not an unfair advantage in life. It's an advantage in wrestling.

Yea Robles won cause he has an unfair advantage, he doesnt have any skill at all! I mean he only wrestling division I wrestlers, everyone knows they all suck

Totally respect Anthony and what he has done with what he has. I have NOTHING personally against him. I am happy for him. I would have him over for dinner, hire him to speak to my company, hug him, high five him, etc. He has done NOTHING wrong. He is a CLASS act. In life he has won by perservering and in wrestling he adapted and did the same.

I am merely pointing out the facts. I don't enjoy watching the type of wrestling that occurs when he is on the mat. Just a personal preference stated with some obvious facts.

Totally respect Anthony and what he has done with what he has. I have NOTHING personally against him. I am happy for him. I would have him over for dinner, hire him to speak to my company, hug him, high five him, etc. He has done NOTHING wrong. He is a CLASS act. In life he has won by perservering and in wrestling he adapted and did the same.

**But would you invite him to 'The Barn' and have Ryne wrestle him?! ;-)

Who knows . . . Ryne might have a one legger in the NCAA's someday. Better be prepared he might get a beat-down like that poor Iowa kid did.

Even if they did move him up one weight class then the other wrestleres would still have to adapt (JUST LIKE HE DID)just for that one match AND even if they did move him up you would still be complaining. HE HAS ONE LEG!!!!!

The one leg advantage. . .

BS.

Just maybe Robles turned it into an advantage (the only way to find that out would be to do a double blind study with a placebo group - impossible), via hard work, determination, etc. . .

No one can prove or disprove that having one leg is an advantage when it comes to wrestling. If it were such a big advantage, why do we not see more one legged champions on all levels - from kids to D-1?

I was not a very good wrestler. I would have been even WORSE with just one leg. Do any of you studly wrestlers (you know, State champs, state runner-ups) do YOU think you would have been better with if you would have had one leg?

What about Zach Roberson? Would he have had such a successful career? What about Shawn Bunch? Again, impossible to tell. They could have made adaptions . . . Who knows...

Chase, I enjoy your insights and your sense of humor.

Finally Cokeley, are ya gonna invite Robles to your barn or not?! ;-)

GO ROBLES! You da man! The most inspirational story of the century and told with grace, humility and dignity!

Dean Welsh

I like to have a little fun on here from time to time! ha