RULON - A-
This was a well put together documentary that looked at the life of Rulon Gardner from all aspects of who he is. There was no primary focus on one part of his life. The documentary looked at Rulon the wrestler, Rulon the celebrity, and Rulon the person.
What I appreciated most about the documentary was its brutal honesty from start to finish. The humanization of Rulon Gardner and displaying his lows as much as his highs.
I think sometimes as normal, regular folk who haven't achieved such heights as winning an Olympic Gold medal, we sometimes think that these individuals have the fortune of having attributes that we lack or that they lack some of the disadvantages that hinder us. It was inspiring to hear him talk about his struggle with his weight, how he was horrible with women and how he was often teased for his weight.
As a wrestling guy I think there was a missed opportunity from a wrestling standpoint to talk about dropped wrestling programs and the effect that has had on the sport. Few are aware of this, but Rulon originally competed for Ricks College, an NJCAA program that has since dropped its wrestling program. Here he is in the minds of many, the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler the United States has ever produced, and he wrestled for a college that doesn't even have a program any longer. I think a minute or two could have been spent on at least acknowledging that fact to the audience. Simply another struggle that our sport faces. Instead it wasn't even mentioned that Rulon spent two years at Ricks College and the documentary made it seem as if he went straight from high school to the University of Nebraska.
Wrestling is a sport that prides itself on mental toughness and grit and I appreciated how the documentary was honest about Matt Ghaffari breaking his leg and of Rulon getting a staff infection to intensify the battle of the wills it truly was when the two met in the Olympic trial finals for a spot on the 2000 team. I've always held a soft spot in my heart for Ghaffari as he was such a great wrestler who represented our country with such class within all of his accomplishments, yet he'll go on forgotten and overlooked within the shadow of Rulon.
It's depressing as it is revealing that within all of the attention and glory that Rulon received in defeating Aleksandr Karelin, that it proves how little attention the sport gets. Even within the wrestling community itself, the most unrewarding area to be a part of is Greco-Roman. Go to any wrestling message board or facebook group. From THE WRESTLING INSIDER to WRESTLERS ONLY, no one gives a hoot about Greco-Roman wrestling. We'll talk about the freestyle trials and the freestyle wrestling till we're blue in the face. Hell, we even speak more of the women than we do of the Greco-Roman wrestling. We as the wrestling community don't pay any attention to it. The rest of the world certainly isn't going to either.
It required beating the absolute best wrestler in the world for the media to even acknowledge the sports existence. Anything less than the greatest of all time being knocked out of his position wouldn't qualify. While we watch gymnast after gymnast, who get immediately eliminated from Olympic competition on NBC and ABC sports, the only time we ever see Greco-Roman wrestling coverage is if David defeats Goliath.
It was interesting to see how the glory and the fame changed Rulon's life but not his demeanor. Yes, he was suddenly able to have all the things in life that he had never had before, but that didn't change who he was as a person. I think that's why so many to this day are so fascinated by him. Why so many still look up to him and admire him. The boy from Afton, Wyoming, the nice kid who always showed tremendous sportsmanship in all his matches, win or lose was still the boy from Afton, Wyoming within all of the interviews, commercials, special guest appearances and other walks of fame.
What I found really interesting is the way in which Rulon admitted that he felt bad for Karelin in a way. That he feels that it isn't fair that his loss to him tarnishes his legacy the way that it does. Yet that is the unfairness of the sport of wrestling. No other sport demands perfection and absolute impeccability the way that our sport does. Karelin had nearly 900 wins, but it is the 2 losses that will forever be the height of his discussion. Why wrestling choses to be this insanely difficult on itself is something I will never understand or accept.
I think some might find it shocking that Rulon gave up nearly $1,000,000 by saying no to an MMA fight. It honestly doesn't surprise me at all and I'm happy the documentary took the time to focus on this. Not all wrestlers have this mentality of wanting to go out and hurt and injure their opponents. I think we've allowed those that want to and those that enjoy that type of approach to give us the false impression that that's who we are and what we're about. No, it's not. At least not all of us. Some of us look at wrestling as an art. A sport to where we want to go out and dominate through our skill, strength and technique. To use our abilities to outsmart, out condition and out maneuver. Rulon saying he had no desire to go out and hurt someone was a refreshing moment to me.
All of the struggles that Rulon went through and how he's been able to bounce back from all of them is a testimony to the intestinal fortitude of the man. He's currently struggling with his weight but within his own mind and those who still care a tremendous deal about him, I have no doubt that this is yet another demon that he will soon enough conquer.
I don't even know the guy. I never met him, yet I can tell just by listening to him and listening to those that know him, he's the type that I'd like to know.
I found myself sending him an email after I got done watching the documentary. I suggested him to reach out to Diamond Dallas Page. I think DDP would be interested in helping him. I think it might even lead to another documentary or at least some television press. DDP Yoga I think would help Rulon a tremendous deal. Help him shed the pounds and get himself back to a healthy state.
