When David Taylor took on coaching duties at Oklahoma State University, he had no idea of the passion Cowboys fans have for their team. While wrestling for Penn State during his college career taught him a lot about having a passionate fan base, what the 34-year-old saw in OSU impressed him. In fact, it led the former Olympic champion to make a bold statement about them.

“It’s loud, it’s exciting, the crowd’s educated. Home mat advantage is awesome. The fans are the most important thing,” the wrestler said after watching thousands cheer for the Cowboys during their clash with Virginia Tech. However, it seems that this praise didn’t go unnoticed, as wrestling fans in Oklahoma helped the Cowboys set a new season record.

David Taylor thanks the fans and sets a new goal

“Thank you Cowboy Wrestling fans!” the former 86 kg world champion posted on X. Taylor thanked the fans after OSU’s massive 34-3 victory against NC State on Monday, Jan 13. “Our dual attendance on Monday–8,221 was the highest attended on campus event in Oklahoma this year. We have 2 duals remaining to continue to push forward. Let’s break 10,000,” added Taylor.

The rookie coach immediately rectified those numbers, realizing he had made a mistake. However, the new goal rained the same. “8,212**, but let’s still break 10,000,” David Taylor added to his post in the quotes section on X. Besides urging the fans, he also reiterated the dates when the Cowboys fans could hope to hit that target.

“Jan 19th – West Virginia February 2nd – Missouri,” he wrote, as the still undefeated Cowboys will battle to defend their home turf on these dates. Judging by their latest performance against #5 NC State, it’s difficult to imagine the Cowboys losing at home. That’s because Taylor’s boys handed NC State a historic defeat on Monday. A Cowboy Wrestling report revealed just how impressive the victory was.

“OSU’s largest margin of victory over a top-five opponent since it beat No. 3 Michigan State, 39-0, on December 14, 1996,” read the official report. However, despite OSU wrestling achieving such stellar performances repeatedly, coach David Taylor is already attracting criticism.

The rookie coach remains unfazed under criticism

Oklahoma State’s incredible success under the first-time coach has naturally drawn a lot of eyeballs. Unfortunately, not everyone commenting on Taylor and the Cowboys’ success is rooting for the coach. #1 Penn State’s Carter Starocci dismissed the surging OSU team’s growth under the three-time world champion outright. “Everyone’s talking about, like, um, Oklahoma State and their new head coach and his big deal… like those guys are going to catch up; just wait a couple of years and things like that. I’m like, ‘Dude, those guys are not catching up. Like, those guys are not catching up; forget about it.” Starroci said during a recent podcast.

However, such criticisms haven’t phased the coach. After all, David Taylor also faced a wave of criticism when he competed in the 2024 World Championships shortly after taking up his coaching duties at Oklahoma. Yet, the Olympian silenced the critics by not just winning bronze at the worlds but also with the success that followed. Speaking about their recent success on Monday, Taylor explained the Cowboys are putting in the work.

“It’s a reflection of the work that we are putting in and the standard that we’re trying to wrestle as a program,” said the former Olympic champion. So instead of listening to the negativity, Taylor is focused on helping Oklahoma State Wrestling and its fans rise to the top of the NCAA.