We Are the Champions

by Queen

I've paid my dues - time after time.

I've done my sentence - but committed no crime.

And bad mistakes - I've made a few.

Ive had my share of sand kicked in my face -

But Ive come through

We are the champions - my friends
And well keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions! We are the champions!
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

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In the early Winter of 1977, I was introduced to Roger Anderson and his Reynoldsburg Raider Wrestling program. I'd tag-a-long with my big brother, who is eight years older than me, and participate in some of the wrestling practice or sit next to the Mat Maids during the more intense parts of practice.

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This is where I was introduced to 'Classic Rock' and Q FM 96, long before most of my friends listened to, or even liked, harder rock. I was one of the kids at Herbert Mills Elementary School who had an older sibling that went to High School. Paul Unger, Maggie Gebbie, Sandy Back, and Sara Fluck were the others I remember.

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Sandy, Maggie and Paul's older brothers were wrestlers, too. Sometimes, I saw them at wrestling meets, but mostly I hung out with Danny Dobbs. I was the one who introduced Danny to wrestling in 5th grade when I invited him to Roger's Wrestling Camp. Once he was introduced to wrestling, he never looked back.

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Before I realized how much I was NOT a wrestler, I spent those years looking up to my brother, who qualified for the State Tournament during his Sophomore and Senior years. During that time, RHS won the Ohio Central Conference (OCC) in wrestling about 4 our of 7 years.

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My brother wrestled at 126 pounds. That was one of the lighter weights. The last to wrestle was the Heavyweights. Marc Unger (Paul's older brother) was next to last. Mike Moyer was last.

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Usually, Reynoldsburg posted team scores like 65-0 or 45-12. They really dominated every team they went to at the local level. After the home meets, Roger played "We are the Champions / We Will Rock You" at the end of the matches until the coach from Westland High made a complaint of 'unsportsmanlike conduct' and demanded the song be pulled.

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As far as I can remember, it continued playing for the next few years. The song encouraged Raider fans to stomp their feet on the heavy wooden bleachers that surrounded the gym floor. By the time the song reached a crescendo and transitioned into 'We Will Rock You", kids (including me) ran down to the center of the gymnasium and helped to roll up the wrestling mats.

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There is something fiercely primal about wrestling. It's probably one of the two ultimate sports (the other being boxing), that's out there. It's truly 'me vs. you' - a modern gladiator match between two teenage boys who focus only on one person, while cheered or booed by a crowd of one-thousand.

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The day I quit wrestling was the day I became Varsity. Although I love watching wrestling, I was just never a 'me vs. you' person. I always preferred me + you - like team sports or large multi-person events.

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I prefer to sink into the scenery and be one of the thousand, cheering, booing, and celebrating those who prefer to be gladiators.