I recently ordered a crash pad from www.floorandmatstore.com it just arrived today and I am so excited to get my guys throwing on it! It is a 4' x 4" x 6' crash pad and feels really good. My little kddos and I tried it out at home and I'm excited to get my big boys working some throws on it. Ever since I started wrestling over 20 years ago throwing people has always brought me a lot of enjoyment. I will keep you posted with updates on the proceedings at our workouts.

Why The IOC Should Be The Real Concern

With all the recent hubbub about wrestling being taken out of the Olympics I can’t help but wonder why the IOC itself isn’t the one being under more intense scrutiny and investigation.

I seem to recall several scandalous reports about the 2002 winter Olympics and all of the reported bribing and back scratching that was a requirement to get the Olympics here to Salt Lake City, Utah. I can only imagine what must take place for the summer Olympics.

To say that the Olympics is a dirty biz would be like calling the sky blue.

Yet when it’s all said and done those of us who have (or have had) Olympic aspirations still clamor about the injustice of our sport being booted (or not included).

When you boil it all down the Olympics has become the epitomy of corporate greed, deception and exploitation. Greed because; why in the hell do the IOC, McDonalds, Powerade, Coca-Cola, Home Depot etc. etc. etc. make millions if not billions in profits during the Olympics but athletes are considered ‘amateur’ status (unless of course they are actually PRO’s competing in high profile/high dollar sports).

Why do the athletes have to sacrifice their lives, future employment, family, and other relationships all for the sake of participating and a chance at a medal without direct monetary compensation?

Would Micky-D’s and the usual suspects pony up the advertising dough if they weren’t making serious cha-ching from it? Me thinks not.

Yet we are all suckers for the “We’re supporting our Olympic athletes” line that’s thrown at us every four years. We go for it hook line and sinker all the while athletes are scraping by and the parents of those  that actually make it to the games put their house up for a second or third mortgage so they can have a chance to watch their kid compete.

Sounds like the IOC has a really sweet deal going on here, reminds me a lot of sweat shops that pay next to nothing and suck the life blood out of their workers.

At what point are we going to see through the absolute b.s. that is the IOC? With so much deception why do we still even care about the Olympics at all?

Because the corporate powers that be are damn good marketers and there is no escaping them. Its why despite emphysema, diabetes and heart attacks people still smoke cigarettes and eat hamburgers.

We’ve become duped into the buy/sell pattern that the IOC and the corporate powers of the world want us in. We’ve bought into the “Olympic Dream” that in reality isn’t so dreamy.

As a wrestler I love the Olympics for countless reasons, not the least of which is the power that it has to bring nations together in peace to participate in their chosen sports. I have the utmost respect for the sacrifice and dedication that it takes to work towards a dream as lofty as being an Olympian or Olympic Champion. But I cannot sit idly by and not at least voice my concern over a corrupt organization that so blatantly exploits their main asset; the athletes, regardless of which sport they belong to.

If it were up to me we would let every damn sport under the sun on God’s green earth participate and they would all get compensated. There would be no more of this under-the-table dealing or profiteering that is the current state of affairs because of the IOC.

In essence the Olympics would go back to the way they were meant to be; athletes competing to be the best, people pushing the level of their ability in its purest form.

Share the hell out of this if you agree!