My son was eliminated from the Junior National Freestyle Tournament yesterday. He finished with a 1-2 record. However, we couldn’t take off for Kansas City until I kept an appointment that I set up two weeks ago.
He slept until 10. Coach Gable wasn’t due to to arrive until 1:00 P.M. so we took our time and walked through downtown Fargo. I went into the arena precisely at 1:00 to find a long line!
What was I thinking? Of course he is going to be a big draw!
I got in line and an hour later, it was our turn.
As I watched the people ahead of us, it struck me that Coach Gable was like an autograph mule. Very few people even spoke to him. They just showed him where to sign.
I made sure to shake his hand, introduce myself, remind him our our meeting in the parking lot and introduce him to my son. When I told him that my son won a match, he was surprised.
“You won one?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your first year. That’s pretty good. It usually takes a few years to win one here.”
I took a picture of the two of them and then hopped into the car to make the 9 hour drive to KC.
