The Hog Whisperers

The Putnam County Fair finished its festivities with a bang on Saturday night. Hundreds came out to watch a primal contest, man v. beast aka HOG WRASLIN!!! 53 teams entered this competition, making it one of the biggest hog wrestling competitions in the nation, if not THE biggest. One of those teams just happened to be DePauw Cross Country, represented by Eric, Jay, Taylor and myself (surbubanites ready for action...we all have so much experience in this field). After waiting for what seemed an eternity the pigs finally arrived at the pit, which was 10-20 feet wide, 3 feet deep with about 2 feet of water. There was some big 'ol pigs in that bunch and they sure did smell. Intimidation began to set in. We were the scrawniest team in the top age group and we are all city boys. Nonetheless, the competition began with the youngsters going first. The name of the game is to capture your hog, pick it up and place it on a tire that's set up on a barrel, roughly 3-4 feet high in under 1 minute. It may not seem hard, but these pigs don't want to be caught, and they're slippery. We watched some younger teams dominate, one going as fast as 5 seconds (they had to be on roids). We waited and waited, and watched and watched as some teams defeated their heavyset enemy. One woman was so anxious to get after her pig she face planted after the first step of entering the pen. We watched the smaller pigs get picked and new our chances were good to git a big one. Finally, our names were called. Our heart rates jumped up, was this really going to happen? Yes, it was. We lined up behind the gate, Jay leading the charge, and finally got to see our nemesis. He had to have been one of the top 5 biggest pigs of the bunch. However, our determination would not let us fail. The gate opened and we charged in, missing our initial attack. The hog scurried around the edge and we attempted to get a hold on him. I managed to get it pinned to the wall and wrapped around his mid section. Eric got a solid headlock placed, Jay got the dirty end holding up the rear end and Taylor made sure his legs would do no kicking. Then, in perfect unity we hoisted our pig up and placed him on the tire...VICTORY!!! 18 seconds. A very solid showing easily beating bigger, stronger teams. The fans cheered and Jay and I chest bumped in ecstasy. We left the ring with a sense of accomplishment never before experienced. We then jogged over (we had to show off our running skills) to get washed off by the fire truck. It truly was an experience that I will cherish forever and I think I found my future career. I know Jay's, Eric's, Taylor's and my training is for the better after this event.

DPU CC 1, Hog 0