The Midwood high school wrestling team, Dr. George Hero, and its alumni have been taking part in rigorous, backbreaking training for months now as they prepare for our school’s most promising and most entertaining fundraising event yet. On April 24 hundreds of people will have the opportunity to witness Coach Hero wrestle a genuinely aggressive grappler in MidwoodMania I.

"It wasn’t too long ago that I was out of shape, and far from the athlete I was in college," said Coach Hero. "Six months back I couldn’t ever imagine coming back to wrestle. However, with the inspiration of many close friends, and the physical help from Midwood alumni, here I am. I’ve lost 122 pounds and have to lose three more pounds as I am going into the 215 pund weight class. I’m ready. MidwoodMania will convert all of the nonbelievers into shocked believers when they see me on the mat on April 24. More importantly this fundraiser will get people more interested in real wrestling."

Mr. Hero knew that his being overweight has presented many unpleasant health risks, but the primary reason for his rapid weight loss was unrelated.

"I did it because I love wrestling and because there was nothing I wanted more than to jump out on the mat and have as much fun as I did in my childhood. Midwood Mania is the start of my second career," he said.

Mr. Hero started the Midwood wrestling club in 1985 and battled for ten years to make it a legitimate team. Today, our wrestling team is well respected and enjoys prestige.

Hundreds of students, friends, and flat out wrestling fans can not wait to see if Mr. Hero really stands a chance against the giant Yan Sagalov.

"My opponent Yan Sagalov is truly a mat monster. He stands at 6’5" and weighs 215 pounds. To make matters worse for me Yan is 21 years old and is in the best shape of his life. What makes matters worse for him is that none of this matters to me, as I intend to leave the mat with my arm raised," said Mr. Hero with a confident wink.

Mr. Hero acted with his most gentlemanly manners, and spoke about his opponent with more respect than most athletes give their enemies, but what he believes to be the outcome on April 24 was summarized by one simple statement.

"Boy, do I love being the underdog," said Mr. Hero with yet another confident smile.

Yan, however, claimed, "After our encounter Hero will be teaching history about himself."

Although this single match may be the sole reason for hundreds of attendees, MidwoodMania has much more to offer. There will be 12 other matches. Mr. Hero said, "I truly hope that my match will not overshadow the other two main events. Our event will include a rematch of former city champions Jakub Pawlowski (2008) and Alex Gizersky (2006). MidwoodMania will also have our two current captains face-off."

Captain Piotr Puchalski ’10 stated, "I can’t wait until MidwoodMania! Not only do I have a chance to wrestle against my fellow captain Jeffrey Platt ’10, but I have the opportunity to watch very prestigious college wrestlers go at it as well."

Unlike past exhibitions, MidwoodMania will have many different types of wrestling styles. This promising fundraiser will have Folkstyle, or scholastic wrestling, as well as international types of wrestling like Freestyle and Graeco-Roman.

Mr. Hero said, "You’ve seen WrestleMania; now its time for MidwoodMania. All of the people lucky enough to join us will be educated in wrestling beyond the high school level."

Back when MidwoodMania was just a mere idea, Mr. Hero learned the quality of the characters of all of the Midwood Alumni.

"It is remarkable that all of these alumni have offered to voluntarily get in shape for this exhibition," he said.

The popularity of MidwoodMania is going to exceed Midwood’s walls as it is going to be covered by MSG Varsity. Much of the excitement that is going to take place will be televised nationally.

Mr. Hero’s main goal is to keep Midwood’s history of creativity and innovation going.

When did a coach ever lose over a hundred pounds to entertain hundreds of people? When did a coach ever put his neck on the line to return to the sport he loves? What other event has had over 20 alumni voluntarily return to help their former team? How many in school events sell 300 tickets? My point is that MidwoodMania is truly a unique event. Mr. Hero stated, "One thing about our great school is that it is much imitated but never duplicated."