10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 14, 2005 FAMILY TIES FOR CHURELLA FAMILY, WRESTLING RUNS IN THE BLOOD By Mark Giannotto 9 Daily Sports Writer Even I found a way to love sports I Mark Churella Sr. was a hard man to get an interview with. He was never sitting in the same seat throughout the entire NCAA Wrestling Championships. Every time he came into view, he was sitting in a different team's section. But it was not because he's a social guy, talking to fellow wrestling fans. He was actually following the movements of his two sons, junior Ryan and freshman Josh. Watching him during his sons' matches is entertainment in itself. It is always the same thing. Before the match begins, he offers a word of advice from the stands to each of his sons, almost like a second coach. His suggestion is met with a look of recog- nition from either Ryan or Josh. As the match begins, the casual fan notices that Mark appears to be unaware of anyone around him. He is screaming at the top of his lungs, pro- viding various words of encouragement or disapproval. He has entered another world that completely revolves around the wrestling match. All the while, the people seated around him are look- ing at each other, asking, "Is this guy insane?" Every time one of his son's gets into a precarious position, Mark's face con- torts almost as if he is enduring the same pain. Each time his son gives up points to the opponent, an onlooker is certain to hear some groan of disap- proval from Mark. As the match goes on, that same onlooker will begin to realize that Mark is not some ordinary crazed fan. He is a father. But they don't realize is that he isn't an ordinary father figure. Mark Churel- la is arguably the greatest wrestler to ever don the Maize and Blue. The Churella brothers did not get involved with wrestling in typical fash- ion. Their father did not allow them to grapple until seventh grade. Instead, they dabbled in many sports such as basketball and baseball. "My dad didn't want us to start out too young because a lot of (wrestlers) get burnt out after awhile," Josh said. "I guess he thought seventh grade was the right time for us to start competi- tive wrestling." Even with the late start, Ryan and Josh proved to be quick learners. Josh won three high school wrestling championships in the state of Michi- gan, and Ryan won two. Throughout these younger years, Mark Sr. was a giuding influence in their wrestling development. "In middle school, I had great sup- #portof the coaches, and they basically *allowed me to do whatever I wanted with the boys," Mark said. "In high school, I was actually part of the coach- ing staff as an assistant coach, so I was part of the program." - Even during Ryan and Josh's years at Michigan, Mark has managed to stay involved in the development of his sons' wrestling skills. During the season he tries to come to at least one practice a week in order to help his sons out. One would think that this would lead to problems with the Michigan coaching staff, but that is far from true. "What you have to realize is that (Mark) has been their coach since -they were born," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "Great athletes are ELLEN MCGARRITY One Shining Moment shouldn't even be writing this column. The odds of my having any connection to the sports world today have been against me since the second grade when I was the only little girl on my softball team never to get a hit the entire season. In fact, for much of my life, I've actively separated myself from athletics. I didn't grow up hating sports, but they just weren't part of my life. No one in my family was athletic. My dad wasn't obsessed with a professional or college team. My mom is a bookworm; my broth- er is a computer genius. The role I filled was the girl who loved dresses and had sleepovers and who could recite verbatim every line of the movie "Clueless." Then high school came and the place to be on Friday nights was at the football games. My freshman year, I refused to go. What a waste of a Friday night, I thought, watching those senior and junior guys with their inflated egos and inflated mus- cles running around some muddy field throwing a stupid ball back and forth. But by sophomore year, I desperately wanted to fit in. So before each game, I carefully applied blue and gold face paint to my cheeks - an "E" on each one that stood for "East" (as in East Grand Rap- ids). I learned the cheers and, to all those watching, probably appeared to be the typical sports fan. Except I was miserable. I had no idea what was going on in the game. I was tired of making a point of saying "hello" to every popular girl and boy in my class at halftime. It all seemed so pointless. Then I had an epiphany: I would become a cheerleader. Wait, you ask, wasn't that counterproductive if the goal was to dis- tance myself from the sport? Well, not exactly. As a cheerleader, I still was seen as supporting the team because of course I had to be at every game. The cool thing - and the reason I did it - was that I didn't have to actually watch the game. All I had to do was face the crowd, smile real big, and wave my pompoms. My squad members used to whisper in my ear which cheer went with each play because I still had no clue how the game worked. But it beat being in the stands. Despite Michigan's athletic reputation, I left sports alone when I got to Ann Arbor. Living in Martha Cook my first year wasn't exactly a sports-encouraging atmosphere (Isn't that the place where they do tea? ... yeah, that's the one). It actually wasn't until sophomore year that I stumbled upon the Daily sports sec- tion. Michigan had just killed Michigan State, 49-3, in football, and a bunch of kids from my high school were hanging out in my living room. Former sports editor Chris Burke (the one who's had a column for like 10 years now) was there and suggested I try the Daily. You've seen the guy's headshot - he's pretty cute, right? Wouldn't you say yes too? (Ok, maybe not ... I should prob- ably take this moment to remind myself that the majority of my audience is male). Anyway, I didn't expect anything to come out of it. I would write a few articles and that would be it. But of course that wasn't it. Otherwise you wouldn't be read- ing this column right now. I went on to cover several teams, serve as night editor and even spend a summer interning for ESPN The Magazine. Not that I didn't have my share of frus- trations. Like my junior year when I covered the women's basketball team, yet knew noth- ing about the rules of the game. To prepare myself for the season, I bought "Bas- ketball for Dummies" at the bookstore. I think I got only as far as chapter three, which meant I had learned three things: (1) Digger Phelps, the book's author, used to coach at Notre Dame; (2) a three-pointer is a shot made from beyond that semi-circle painted on the court and; (3) that there are five players in the game at any one time: two forwards, two guards and one center. Wow, I was ready. I'd sit in press row furiously writing down as much as I could observe about the game. But my notes would read some- thing like, "Tabitha Pool catches ball and scores some points" or "Niki Reams had really good play in second half' - not exactly the deep analysis of a person who's supposedly an expert on the team and the game of basketball. Or when on my first day as an intern at ESPN, senior writer Jeff Bradley, after hearing that I went to Michigan, asked me "What do you think of Tom Amaker?" After a five-second pause, I replied "Actually, I'm not sure who that is." Jeff, of course, gave me a horrified look and walked away. Only five minutes later did I realize that he was talking about Tommy Amaker, the Michigan basketball coach, who I'd actually interviewed earlier that year. I'd just been so nervous that my brain must have backfired at that moment. So how in the world did a girl like me succeed in sports journalism and even come to (gasp!) love sports? The thing I learned - and the point of this column - is that almost anyone can find something inspirational about sports teams. For me (and many other journal- ists), it was discovering the stories behind the athletes and their fans. It was only after I let go of the notion that a journalist must write exactly what happened in the game and only what hap- pened in the game that I started to enjoy myself. I began to ask the players more personal questions - about who they looked up to, what their family was like, where they got those shoes, etc. I still have what I like to call "Sports ADD" when I attend athletic events. I find myself distracted by the color of the teams' uniforms or wondering what the guys in the dugout are talking about or how many years the drunk guys beside me have been rooting for this team. And all too often I'm turned the opposite direction when a goal is scored or a home run is completed. I doubt I will continue on in sports jour- nalism, but I will continue to appreciate sports in my own way. And maybe it's not an accident that I'm here writing this sports column after all - maybe it just took me falling backwards into the game to realize my love for it. With this first and final column, Ellen wraps up three great years in the Daily sports section. She invites all those who are equally clueless but also hope- lessly addicted to sports to write her at emcgarri@umich.edu. TONY DING/Daily Michigan sophomore Josh Churella finished eighth in the 141-pound weight class at the 2005 NCAA Wrestling Championships. always looking to get better, and there are a lot of people who are going to influence them in their development. Great athletes always try to learn from as many people as they can. (Mark) is just another person in (Ryan and Josh's) lives that they learn from." Mark was a part of the Michigan wrestling coaching staff during McFar- land's years as a Wolverine wrestler, and the two men have similar coaching styles. Mark's three national titles and 22 wins at the NCAA Championships are the most ever won by a Michigan wres- tler. His wrestling style emphasized aggression from all positions. Ryan and Josh have inherited their father's wrestling traits. "Everything we do is based off his style of wrestling," Ryan said. "He's the one who taught us from the start, so it's hard to get away from. Plus, it works." Despite the positives that come from having a Michigan wrestling legend as their father, there are also negatives. Coming into Michigan as the sons of the only three-time NCAA champion, the school's history put some added pressure on Ryan and Josh. But, instead of turning the pressure into a burden, they have used it to their advantage. "(The pressure) has given me moti- vation," Ryan said. "All the tools he's given us have already been proven to be successful at this level. We just stick to what we know and what we do best." Due to the presence of a former NCAA champion in their lives, Ryan and Josh have a sense of what it takes to achieve the ultimate goal for a col- legiate wrestler. But the duo finished the 2005 NCAA Wrestling Champion- ships in disappointing fashion. Ryan was fourth in the 165-pound weight class, while Josh finished eighth in the 141-pound weight class. Despite this, their hard work and dedication to the sport has not gone unnoticed. "(Ryan and Josh) are very driven to be the best that they can be," McFar- land said. "They work well together and are always thinking about becom- ing better. They want to be national champs, and they want to have the same experience their dad did when he was standing on top of the podium." Mark Sr. is not obsessed with his sons' winning, but rather with their happiness. He knows his sons want to become NCAA champions, so he does whatever he can to make that happen. Because he cannot actually go out on the mat and wrestle for them, he choos- es the next best alternative: anxiety. "When I wrestled, I had control because I was the one doing it," Mark said. "I really don't have any input now, and I can only watch. When I wrestled, I got anxious, but going out on the mat was like a release of that anxiety. Watching (Ryan and Josh), I don't have that release." Any misconception of the Churella family goes out the door if you observe them after a loss. When one of his sons loses a match, Mark is the first to con- sole him. The man who was yelling and screaming during the match dis- appears. Instead, he becomes a father who genuinely cares about the well- being of his sons. This dedication to his sons was most evident at the NCAA Championships. For some matches, Mark wore a fake coaching credential in order to get to the floor level of the Savvis Center in St. Louis. He risked getting thrown out of the arena in order to be the first one to greet his sons after a match. Watching Mark console his sons, it becomes clear that the tight-knit bond between father and sons will extend far beyond the wrestling mat. These three will forever be close no matter where life takes them. WE'VE RUN ENOUGH GRAY BOXES THAT YOU SHOULD GET THE POINT. MITCH ALBOM'S A JERK.. DAILY SPORTS. THE BEST IN JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY FOR 114 YEARS. I Want a free drink to cool down during the 1 0 0 MIDNIGHT MOVIES @ THE STATE \ I hot Ann Arbor summer? "HoSe THE Announcing the mpa n iiIiLY :.:.. '6YlctC I ., . ..: .::+.4 r..;M1 .:::.:: :.. ... I