THE LIST: Appreciating the ones who show up

I can overgeneralize with the best of them, and one thing I have noticed at the college and professional levels of sports is teams holding theme nights as a way to entice fans to buy tickets when the wins are not there.

I will confess that is not a fair assessment, and it certainly does not apply to the Nodaway Valley wrestling team, which held a fan appreciation night last Thursday during a dual meet with three other schools. If you have seen them wrestle, you know the Wolverines put on quite a show. They are 13-1 in duals this season and have several individuals with impressive win-loss records.

I have seen military appreciation nights, first responder appreciation nights, teacher appreciation nights and other themed events, but fan appreciation night stood out to me as a particularly good one.

I am not exactly sure why, but wrestling feels like a family in a way few other sports do. Take the Nodaway Valley Wrestling Hall of Fame event as an example. The event sold out. Those who attended said the room was bursting at the seams with members of the wrestling family who showed up to support it.

That sense of wrestling as a family is likely why I enjoyed fan appreciation night so much. Each wrestler chose one adult who supports them to be recognized. Shirts were made for those supporters, and they were introduced between duals in front of the crowd, drawing well-deserved applause.

Head wrestling coach Brad Honnold posted on social media that fan appreciation night was intended as “an effort to recognize some individuals that have had an impact on our kids but also to show appreciation to our amazing fans that show up.”

“Those that do come are loud and awesome,” he added about wrestling crowds. “Our kids, no matter what the activity, deserve the support and love from all those around and we appreciate the ones that show up.”

The group included teachers who have undoubtedly encouraged these wrestlers in the classroom. It included coaches who likely mentored them in middle school or youth wrestling. There were grandfathers recognized as well, the kind who are always a reassuring high-five away in the stands after a match, win or lose, time and time again.

The list could go on. Fan appreciation night felt like a meaningful way for the program to remind its wrestlers to always remember where they came from. That reminder certainly did not get lost on me.

I know there are many more hard-nosed, difficult topics to talk about these days, but there is also plenty of good to talk about. This is not to leave out any of our other activities, either; they are all making positive impacts through what they do. I just felt like this one was worth pointing out this week.