It's always fun to get personal details about the athletes and coaches that we follow. Stuff like finding out that Kirk Ferentz took his future wife to "The Mack" on one of their first dates. Or that Rob Bruggeman has a Beanie Babies collection. Or that Ricky Stanzi has a Twilight collection and is patriotic as all get out. We imagine connections with coaches and athletes, presume an understanding of them... even though for the most part our only window into their lives is the few minutes (or hours) a week when we see them compete in their chosen sport. Basketball, football, and wrestling don't define these people, any more than our own jobs define who we are.
That's why I think it can be really enjoyable to get a glimpse of what coaches and athletes are like away from the mat or field or court, what they're interested in when they're not shooting jumpers, finishing takedowns, or yelling at referees. So, naturally, I loved this brief interview with Tom Brands and Brent Metcalf from flowrestling:
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In which we learn among other things):
- about Tom Brands' taste in music (when he drops the Lady Gaga bombshell noted in the title of this post)
- that Brent Metcalf used to be a skater
- who Brent Metcalf's favorite NASCAR driver is
- and what Brent Metcalf did for his bachelor party (feathers and stripping may have been involved, but probably not how you'd expect).
So, yeah, Tom Brands like Lady Gaga and LMFAO. Grant Gambrall used "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as his walk-out music. Wrestlers are odd ducks. That's just part of what makes them so awesome. (I just wish we'd known about Tom Brands' appreciation for "Gangnam Style" before its usefulness as a pop culture meme expired; oh, the fun we could have had...)
BONUS!
H/T to Tony for his help with the 'shops in this post.