We have to face the facts. At times, it was very difficult playing a sport that is stereotyped more often than not. However, we forged past the critics and naysayers. We made it an honor to compete in the world's oldest sport. We all have had different experiences and ways that we grew to love the intensity, dedication, and strong-willed mindset that it takes to wrestle. No matter the case, most of us know these tell tale signs to be true.
1. When you first started wrestling, you were told that "wrestling is gay." Wrestling is a one-on-one, close-contact sport. To those who have never even seen a wrestling match or practice before, but just go by what they hear, they assume that rolling around a mat touching other people is somehow homoerotic. As a wrestler, you know that this is far from the case. It is a very physical sport, yes. It is also one where you have mad conditioning, wherewithal, and mad knowledge on how to wear someone down and out.
2. When people found out that you wrestle, they thought that "you get to knock people out." You just have to redirect people to MMA, boxing, or even the WWE every single time after hearing this one. Clearly, you're in it and know what the deal is. More than likely, you have also done your research and know the ways that you win a wrestling match. Wrestling is a street fight with rules, but with no fists, and only grappling.
3. You begin to mess around with all your friends by play wrestling in the hallways and such.
Wrestlers love physicality and roughhousing. So, don't feel like you're weird if that secret handshake turns into a mock arm drag or something similar. So ease the tension on those around you. Assure them that this is just what wrestlers do and that no fight is about to break out.
4. You know that having funky looking ears is a sign of pride.
Yes, cauliflower ear is a thing. Do you ever see people walking proudly with those hardened, misshapen ears that stick out? Most people think that it is gross, but the truth is that the repeated blows to the ear that cause cauliflower ear and the fact that you have to rough yourself up to rough your opponent up, is a badge of honor in this sport. Having "the ear" means that you are not afraid to go mono e mono.
5. People always assume that since you wrestle that, "you can't eat ever."
To those who assume this, yes, there are weight classes in wrestling. And yes, wrestlers have to put every ounce of sweat, strong will, and positive work ethic to get down to those weight classes. Sometimes that does mean cutting weight, or dropping say, over ten pounds in a week sometimes. But just because you, as a wrestler, have to watch what you eat to be at your class, it is exactly as it sounds. You know that you eat what you can, but do it sensibly.
6. You check your weight constantly (even in the offseason). We are all creatures of habit, and you wrestlers are no different. You all have that fear of getting "too fat" for the upcoming season. But you do know that once the season ends, you don't have to worry about what you weigh nearly as much. And yet, after years of conditioning and grinding hard for your weight class, it is nearly impossible to not want to keep track of your gains and losses.
7. You are used to counting by twos.
That's a take down for two. That's a reversal for two. Those are two back points. You get the picture.
8. Because of all the sweating and breakouts, you always feel like you're hitting puberty. Just when you thought you broke through the pimples and awkwardness stages and your face clears up in the summer, you feel like you're in a time machine once the season starts. You feel like you're 13 years old all over again with all of the sweating that happens in such warm environments and on the wrestling mat, then here come the embarrassing breakouts once more.
9. Your pain tolerance is at off the charts. 
To bystanders, even the most basic of take downs or mat returns seem like they are unbearably painful. And the truth is, yes, they can hurt, but not in the moment. Wrestlers are in the midst of using their entire body in their workout or match, so the slightest of normal bumps and landings are not going to phase them. Maybe an hour later, they will, but not in the moment.
10. You can wrestle through almost any injury.
Swollen knees, beaten and bruised faces, lacerated eyes, broken noses, and just straight up soreness. The list is almost endless, but as wrestlers, you have the innate ability to crave more. You are in the highest adrenaline-driven sport there is and no injury can stop you from your ultimate goal, a win on the mat.
11. Don't deny it, you are a nudist at heart. Between changing in the locker room, weigh ins, and showers after meets or practices, you get pretty used to walking around in your birthday suit in front of any and everybody. Thank God that the majority of us are in peak condition, or it could get ugly.
12. Any road trip feels like it takes several eternities.
"We're wrestling a half hour away? That's too far." Okay, on any normal day that is not much time at all. But don't feel like you're weak by thinking that it is long. Between the natural nerves you have about competing, possible excitement you have to compete, and possibly feeling sucked down from cutting weight, even the shortest of road trips do take forever.
13. You know every small town imaginable. Where in the world is Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin? Most would have a snowball's chance in Hell at guessing the right answer. As a wrestler, you know that sometimes, schools have to combine sports in order to field a team. Through trips, tournaments, and research, you start to become a human GPS. You will have at least heard of where these small towns are and even how good their teams are at wrestling. By the way, those towns are just southwest of Mankato, MN.
14. You have enough wrestling gear to start your own department store. You have pride in the sport of wrestling. From singlets to shoes, from headgear to knee pads, and from t-shirts to sweatshirts, you are the definition of team spirit. For some reason, you feel the need to keep all of it from every school or match you competed in.
15. Your teammates are by far your closest friends.
They are also those that relate to you the most without question. They are the ones who truly understand any peaks or valleys that you go through in this sport because they are going through them all too. They are always in the line of fire with you. They are also those you get close with by tangling up with them every day in practice. As the old saying goes, there is no one you can hit harder than your friends. Although, wrestling is not about hitting, there is a trust and respect that you have with wrestling teammates that just doesn't exist with other sports. With wrestlers, you will never forget your teammates names and you will likely be friends with them forever.
No matter how long you have been involved in the sport of wrestling, you know that it is a unique beast unlike any other. From the cultural un-norms to the grit displayed, you likely have at least some of, if not all of these tell tale signs of growing up as a wrestler.
