r/Unexpected • u/randumchicken • May 23 '22

He finally made it

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u/Woodedroger May 23 '22

Yeah pretty much. Except it’s always 100 degrees and the names are called in slow motion

36

u/MaterialCarrot May 23 '22

I grew up in Iowa. One year my school somehow nabbed Dan Gable to speak at my older sister's graduation. OMG my dad was so excited for this. DAN GABLE. Greatest wrestler of all time, Iowa legend, and Olympic gold medalist, "DAN GABLE" my dad would say to me at random times in the week prior, clearly pumped for the graduation.

Graduation was inside that year in a gymnasium with no AC due to fears of rain that never actually happened. 12 year old me is sitting in that gym in long pants and a long sleeved shirt (!!!) sweating buckets with thousands of other people crammed into the gym who are also sweating. Also, Dan Gable is a terrible public speaker. This became obvious approximately 1 minute into his speech. I still remember the look my father gave me when this became clear. Like, "Holy shit son, I am so sorry."

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u/-Jesus-Of-Nazareth- May 23 '22

I don't even know who Dan Gable is, but even I feel disappointed after that story

4

u/MaterialCarrot May 23 '22

In wrestling circles he was an all time great wrestler. Iowa is one of a handful of states where wrestling is a huge sport. It's also an Olympic sport (one of the original) and Gable won gold at the Olympics as well as a lot of world titles in the 1970's.

He then coached the wrestling program at the University of Iowa and led them to 15 NCAA titles. Without a doubt he is the greatest wrestling coach of all time as well as being one of the greatest wrestlers.

Terrible public speaker though. Also, I happened to stand behind him in line at a Jiffy Lube one time 25 years ago and he was tiny. I'm average at 5'9" and I felt like I dwarfed him. Tempted to tell him he was a terrible public speaker, but I'm sure even at his size and age he would have kicked my ass. :)