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With the exception of a few schools like Lake Stevens, high school wrestling doesn’t get a ton of crowd support around here compared to sports like football and basketball.

Why is that?

One problem is that many potential fans just don’t understand the rules or the scoring system, said Mountlake Terrace High School grappler Nate Dabling, who is featured in today’s Timeout story. (Read it here.)

People who take a chance by attending a local wrestling meet will be highly entertained, Dabling said. It’s all about the thrilling atmosphere, he said.

“Every now and then you just get a really great match,” Dabling said, “and it’s just so amazing to watch … the intensity on their faces. In football, it’s really cool but it’s (way) down there on the field.”

“In wrestling you can really see their facial expressions,” he added, “and if there’s blood on the mat you watch them clean up the blood and clean their face up.”

“It’s so much more personal. I love it. It’s a fight. Who doesn’t like to see a good fight?”

Wrestling isn’t the only thing Dabling is passionate about. He also loves comic books, school (his favorite subjects are math and Spanish) and music. Dabling, who last month was injured after crowd-surfing at a concert in Seattle, said his favorite band is Metallica.

By the way, if you’d like to learn more about wrestling check out these links:

*The National Federation of State High School Associations: prep wrestling rules/general information

*Washington Wrestling Report: comprehensive individual and team rankings