Last night I was driving to Fort Mill High School for the fourth or fifth time for the day. Sometimes it’s easy to lose count between multiple children whom are all involved in various sports and activities. This time I was going to play the part of "spectator wrestling mom" for the night’s match against the Bearcats. This was a pretty important match for both teams, being that one of the teams would be advancing into the state playoffs after tonight’s match. Once I arrived I quickly spotted and joined some friends I saw who were already focused on the floor. Wow, there were a LOT of people at tonight’s match, I was immediately glad that I had made the decision to come, this was already fun! The gymnasium was packed with excitement, fans…..even the UDP was in the house. (The UDP – Under Dog Pound is a group of high spirited students who often wear body paint and keep the crowd involved, so much fun!) The night’s matches were intense and the competitive spirit was all too contagious! Throughout the night the total point variance between the two teams was minimal which made the crowd even more involved. If you have not yet attended a high school wrestling match during the playoff season then you may not realize that adrenaline doesn’t come in any purer form!
The adrenaline and energy from each match would have been enough cause for someone’s emotions to rise quickly but when an unforeseen surprise occurs on top of that energy???? I was shocked! Completely overwhelmed! That’s not fair and there was nothing that I could do about it!
It was the final match of the evening and as stated earlier the score was tight but Fort Mill was clearly monopolizing this match and the points were showing it on the brightly lit board. The crowd was chanting in unison and those that weren’t on the edge of their seat were on their feet ready to end the night with total celebration. Many hard hours of training had led up to this much deserved win over our neighboring rival. We had the opponent “pinned” but it was not being called. Seconds that seemed like minutes passed and the opponent was obviously reluctant to get up, the coach was hovering over actually insisting that he not get up. Minutes then seemed to turn into hours and it became apparent that the match would have to be forfeited because he was no longer able to wrestle. The Fort Mill fans were anxious, looking at the score board wanting to be excited about the 7-4 lead but not certain as to what was taking so long for them to call the match. FINALLY the referees enter into the center of the large mat with each wrestler at either side and took each of them by the hand. ( I just love this tradition of uplifting the winner’s arm, what a victorious moment. ) That is when it happened. The referee uplifted the wrong hand? The injured Bearcat won with 4 points, not 7 won the match….how can that be? The opposing coach was insisting that there had been an illegal move that had caused the injury so the match was then awarded to them. What? Really?!? No way, if an illegal move was utilized there were not one but TWO referees within inches of both wrestlers. They would have called it! This could not be happening, how totally unfair!
The crowd went crazy, what was happening and what could be done about this? Nothing
How many times have we felt so disappointed or cheated because something or someone was not fair? Unfairness is a part of life just like springtime and ground worms. Unfairness, the unwelcome surprise, comes barreling in without your consent, which is why I think it is so difficult to deal with emotionally. No one really appreciates unfairness, that’s something we can all agree about. Unfairness begins with the emotional jolt called “SHOCK” that slams into you. Then, anger joins in only to be followed by frustration and sadness all tied up with one common bow. Ouch! Of course, I will remain an avid supporter of all activities and sports that my children chose to participate. I will challenge myself to re-focus and think about the vast advantages over the occasional disappointments in the world of extra-curricular activities but this one may take awhile to get over. I’m pretty sure I am still harvesting some adrenaline in fact, should be good for a workout, so I better get to it.
