Beat The Streets 2014

Johnny Orr '85 putting the choke
hold on fellow Princeton All American
Dave Crisanti '86

The annual Beat The Streets (BTS) Gala is a very special event to wrestling, but it holds special personal significance to me as my journey to Princeton Wrestling began 8 years ago at the very first BTS event in NYC.  By my recollection, which is shaky at best, it was a small affair with about 50 people at a much smaller venue, with no wrestling-nothing like what transpired this past Wednesday at the 9th outing of the affair. I'm certainly glad it was a more intimate setting because that evening I met 2x Princeton NCAA finalist Johnny Orr and we spent a large portion of the evening talking about wrestling and Princeton.


Johnny's passion for Princeton was what really got me excited about the job and after that initial meeting he would introduce me to more alumni who are equally as passionate about the university and the program. Princeton is a unique place, and one of the most difficult things about my job as a recruiter is getting people to see what makes Princeton so special. What I have learned, mainly from the alumni like Johnny, is that choosing Princeton is not a 4-year decision, it is a lifetime decision, and those that attend are forever connected to the University. Eight years after I got my first taste of that "Princeton passion" from Johnny at that first BTS, I now have a better perspective of where this passion derives and am so appreciative to be a part of it.

I also met Mike Novogratz '87 at the first BTS event-don't think we could have called that one a gala- and it is amazing to see how far he has brought the event.  Although I don't remember exactly what he said, he gave a great speech that evening; a speech that oozed with a passion not just for Beat the Streets, but for wrestling in general.  Fast forward 8 years later and we see how his passion for wrestling and this organization has grown the gala to one of epic proportion, easily making it one of the top wrestling events in the World. I literally can't believe that I have now watched the best wrestlers in the world compete on an Air Craft carrier, in Times Square and in Grand Central Station. Truly unbelievable!

Thanks to Rich Tavoso '87 I was able to work
my way to the front row for the Burrough's match

While Mike has a great ability to motivate through his speeches it seems that to "one up" himself he now lets the best wrestlers in the World do the talking for him.  The wrestling this year was simply awesome with the US beating the World All-stars 8-3 (results here).  I was most impressed with Metcalf and Burrough's.  It seems the US team intended to defend the greatest city on earth and competed courageously that evening, putting large amounts of points on the scoreboard, and entertaining the large crowd in Times Square.

The only thing that wasn't impressive was the officiating, as the officials can't help but interject themselves into the action.  The constant slapping of the wrestlers tied finger locks, talking to the wrestlers while they are competing, and handing out arbitrary passivity calls is completely out of hand. For a second or two I was extremely excited when FILA revamped the rules to make the sport easier for everyone to understand, but now it seems we are back to the rules changing week to week, leaving fans and wrestlers confused on what is going on. It's really not the officials fault as this is probably just what they are told to do, but for god's sake LET THE WRESTLERS WRESTLE!

Sorry, for the side rant, but I couldn't resist...back to the positive stuff:

Of course the VIP Wristband is
Orange & Black!

While the wrestling is the highlight of the "show", the gala following the wrestling is equally amazing.  As the bouncers patted me down and checked my wristband prior to entering the Best Buy Theater I couldn't help but be nervous for them had some ruckus broke out. They wouldn't stand a chance! To have that many amazing wrestlers in one room is really something quite special. I joked with Coach Gray and Dubuque that when I enter a room of wrestlers I generally feel pretty good about having once been an All-American, but in the company of those in the Best Buy Theatre Wednesday night I felt like a "fish".

With so many World and Olympic champions in attendance, I think it would be hard to ever find so many world class wrestlers in one location. Fortunately, the records and championships really don't matter because what makes our sport great is that we are all in the "fraternity of wrestlers"; all that matters is that you are a wrestler or you are connected to wrestling in some way. In wrestling there is a respect between those in the "fraternity" that is not really seen in other sports and it was so wonderful to see elementary recreation coaches mingling with World and Olympic Champions.

The Princeton Coaches heading
up to NYC

Unfortunately the night moved too fast for me to connect with everyone who I wanted to connect with and it seems as if I blinked and the night was over.  I was happy to end up right where I started, with Johnny Orr and his wife, Wendy, talking about Princeton wrestling; except this time Johnny wasn't the one talking passionately about Princeton, it was me.  Surrounded by many other great Princeton wrestlers, many of which I probably met at the first Beat the Streets, we talked about this past season and got excited for the future of Princeton wrestling, and none of us wanted it to end.