By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer

STILLWATER -- Traffic crawled along Hall of Fame Street and past Gallagher-Iba Arena. Long lines grew at the ticket windows. Seats filled. Parking lots overflowed. Fans came by the thousands.

For wrestling.

A record crowd of 10,802 watched Oklahoma State defeat Oklahoma 24-12 on Sunday. It broke not only the previous Bedlam best of 10,000 established in 1979 at OU but also the OSU record of 8,300.

"Oklahoma State wrestling," OSU coach John Smith said, "if you're breaking a record, it's pretty good."

Any record.

OSU has built that kind of program during the last seven decades. It has racked up more team national championships, more individual titles and more tradition than any other school. But the fans, especially during the last few years, haven't always been there.

"You don't see very many teams that have strong traditions without fans," Smith said. "The reason Oklahoma State wrestling has such a powerful tradition...is because of attendance and fans.

"You've got to be careful not to take that tradition for granted."

So the Cowboys took that tradition into their own hands this past week.

They went to dinner at the fraternities and sororities on campus. They gave away pizza at the Student Union. They appeared at halftime of Wednesday's basketball game.

The message was simple.

Come.

"I think if you ask people to come out," OSU 184-pounder Daniel Cormier said, "they will."

And they did.

So many came that they weren't all inside Gallagher-Iba at 2 p.m. when the match was scheduled to begin. OSU officials delayed the start for almost a half an hour. That's how important the fans are.

"You look up," said Cormier, the vision still clear in his mind, "and you see orange all over the place."

And not orange seats.

But orange sweatshirts, orange pompons, orange T-shirts, orange everywhere.

The crowd even made a positive impression on the Sooners.

"With 10,000 people out there...it was just a real good feeling," OU 141-pounder Michael Lightner said. "'Even though we lost the match, I will always have a good memory about this Bedlam match."

And that's saying something. That's saying this crowd wasn't just about one dual, one Bedlam battle, one Sunday in February. This crowd was also about what wrestling needs.

Fans.

Even though the NCAA championships are as popular as ever, attendance during regular-season tournaments and duals is generally sparse. The Cowboys, for example, have been ranked among the top three teams all season but hadn't drawn a crowd of more than 3,100.

"We don't have the luxury of basketball or football, of the sport being on TV every day," Smith said. "We've got to work a little bit harder."

And the Cowboys did. They promoted themselves, they promoted their match, but most importantly, they promoted their sport.