"Let's Grip It and Rip It" - CAWL To Arms Sounds in NJ and on ESPN as Collegiate Arm Wrestling Reaches a New Level

WATCH IT ON ESPN 2 July 5th, 1-2pm

"Let's Grip It and Rip It"

If  you've never been to a professional arm wrestling match, then you probably have never heard this phrase before.

But indeed, these are the words used to begin each exciting match at the College Arm Wrestling League, a far cry from the bar room matches in back rooms at local watering holes.

CAWL to Arms will air on ESPN beginning May 13, 2014. According to the website, it's a "unique, action packed, adrenaline-inducing co-ed sport in which teams of students from around the country face one another in exciting and grueling matches to find the most powerful". The winning team gets not just the glory of a winning title but also $10,000 in cash.

I had the pleasure of attending the first taping of CAWL to Arms for ESPN in the fall of 2013 at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park NJ. It was a hot, foggy night but inside the message was clear: this is the ground floor of a sport ready to sweep the nation.

The excitement filled the room, but I know the people watching, and even the contestants, didn't quite know what they were in for.

The theatrics were in place. Jessie "Mr. Pectacular" Godderz (formerly of Big Brother) was the host of the show, and it promised to be a fun night. The "wrestlers" were anxiously seated on the stage on bleachers: opponents facing their opposition. It was man against man and female against female.  As the show started  I think the "wrestlers" on stage were doing the same thing the audience was- sizing up the competition.

But looks don't mean everything as we were soon to find out. The muscle men did not over always overpower their svelter counterparts. And noticeable triceps on the females did not always work on their tinier pony-tailed opponents. There is skill involved in this, people, technique and skill.

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http://www.suzeebehindthescenes.com/2014/05/lets-grip-it-and-rip-it-cawl-to-arms.html