The Truth

This is Pat Miller from the Barrington wrestling team. Now there are a lot of rumors swirling around about why our team took fifth at the MSL conference tournament. There are many reasons to this, and I will attempt to explain.

As most of you know, we had to forfeit both the 119 pound and 215 pound weight class. Both of these fine young men, Pokey and Jeff Sayre have reasonable excuses as to why they missed such a prestigious tournament. Some people have been saying that Pokey quit the team for good, others that he lost his mind. Others have even gone as far as to say that he moved to Newcastle, England to pursue a soccer career. While part of this last statement is true, it is not entirely true. But to truly explain this complex situation we must travel back in time to the very first time our team met the young man that came to be known as Pokey.
When Pokey walked into our wrestling room in the 7th grade, nobody knew who he was. He was the new kid at school. We were quickly informed about this young man's amazing journey. Pokey was born and raised in the Alaska wilderness by native eskimos. He was a nomadic boy, traveling from place to place, wherever the animals took him. He had a loving family who took every measure to keep him warm and safe. One day, 8 year old Pokey was left alone in the family's igloo while his parents and brother went to search for fish for the night's meal. Pokey was keeping to himself, drawing pictures in the snow, when he heard a horriffic roar outside the igloo. Brave, young Pokey darted outside to investigate. What he saw would strike fear directly into the soul of any of us, especially any 8 year old boy. Right there, before his eyes, was a large polar bear cub on it's hind legs growling, ready to pounce at any time. Pokey quickly ran inside his igloo and grabbed his best hunting spear, Ol' Faithful. As he returned to this polar bear, he threw it with all the strength his 8 year old arm could muster. Unfortunately, the spear fell innocently to the ground. The polar bear seemed to have won this battle, and the life of a young boy. At this point, Pokey's entire family watched with terror in their eyes as their son was about to have a date with the grim reaper. It was at that moment when Pokey arm dragged the polar bear, hit a go behind, and ripped it's head clean off with his bear hands. This young 8 year old boy, with no previous knowledge of wrestling had decapitated a baby polar bear with his bare hands. As his family watched in awe, they knew that the utter grace they had just witnessed was not to go to waste. The good Lord had given their son a gift, everybody who saw that polar bear knew it. They traveled to the nearest town and found an airport. Before they knew it, they're baby son was on his way to the great land of America, where hope and prosperity thrive. Not only do these things thrive, but the sport of wrestling does as well.
So as this young man walked into our gym, speaking only a few words of English, he began to grow. Not only did he grow as a wrestler, but as a human being, as an AMERICAN. He had a knack for the sport and his natural strength and ability took him near the top. I once saw him spear a fish from 40 feet away using only a pen, a rubber band, and a pop tart! I believe he never truly peaked as a wrestler, but he was very good. And for a young boy, never experiencing much of anything in the real world, to assimilate the way he did is truly amazing, and should be an inspiration to us all. He is as tough as they come, I saw Bobby Madding dislocate his elbow and he never cried.
Pokey's year was on the uprise, winning many of his recent matches. He was wrestling up a weight class and winning. Even the matches he lost were very close and respectable. He was very excited for the climax of our season, his senior season, his last hoorah. That's when we all got the news.
His family up in Alaska had written us from a town near Anchorage. His brother, who is only known as Baktu, has been growing ill. The only way to save him would be to retrieve a herb found only in Alaska. This herb is a delicacy for all species of bear, and any excursion to obtain one would be to risk one's life. But Pokey has killed bear before, and if need be, will kill bear again. He left for Alaska last Thursday, to retrieve the herb and save the life of his young brother.
So i guess you can criticize this young man for letting his team down. I guess you can place some of the blame on him. Put if you have a heart, a soul of any kind, then you will realize that the things this kid has overcome and the things he is still to overcome are amazing, and realize that he is doing what needs to be done. He is a great kid and should be an inspiration to us all. No matter what happens to him up there, or whether or not we ever hear from him again, he will always be remembered by our team, our school, and most importantly, our friends as Pokey:The Grappling Eskimo.