Dr. Jack Alkon and Derek Dion of Hartford, Conn. arrived in Colorado Springs, Colo. for their Rulon Gardner/Greco-Roman Experience on November 11.  Dr. Alkon was the winning bidder for dinner with Rulon Gardner at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and a VIP experience with the Greco-Roman National Training Camp.  The auction was made possible through the usolympicteam.com/eBay program.      After winning the auction, Dr. Alkon asked if he could bring a friend along and cover the extra cost. Dr. Alkon wanted to give this to Dion as his early Christmas present.  Both men are wrestling coaches in Connecticut and watched Rulon's success over the past few years. When asked why he bid on this particular experience, Dr. Alkon said, "When I saw this on theMat.com, I knew it would be an unforgettable event."    USA Wrestling Manager of Marketing & Promotions Sara Levin was happy with the results of all the auctions.  "The eBay auction opportunities were a great promotional success for USA Wrestling and we are thrilled to have Dr. Alkon and Mr. Dion visit Colorado Springs for this fabulous experience," Levin said.  "We made sure they would never forget this trip."    Below is a journal entry from Dr. Jack Alkon, the wining bidder:    My Dinner With Rulon    When I was lucky enough to win the Ebay auction for dinner with Rulon Gardner, I knew right away that I wanted to share the experience with a friend who has done much for me over the years and whom I can never fully repay. Derek Dion coaches wrestling with me (I've been a volunteer assistant for over twenty five years) at Southington High School in Connecticut, and I've know him since he was a wrestler there. As soon as I received the okay from USA Wrestling, I invited Derek to join me as my early Christmas present to him.    Derek and I arrived at the Colorado Springs airport at noon on Monday, November 11th, and were met by Sara Levin, Manager of Marketing and Promotions at USA Wrestling. Sara put together the entire package and accompanied us every step of the way. She presented us each with a goody bag containing USA Wrestling shirts and shorts, Olympic Training Center t-shirts, an autographed Cael Sanderson Wheaties box, USA Wrestling stickers, etc. etc. She then drove us to our hotel where we could freshen up and enjoy a spectacular view of Pike's Peak from our sixth floor window, and munch on the snacks in the gift basket that was waiting for us. We really felt like VIP's.    About an hour later, it was time for freestyle wrestling practice at the Olympic Training Center (OTC). We were welcomed by head coach Lincoln McIlravy and introduced to the team. On this day, practice consisted of individual warm-ups, then two twenty-minute non-stop periods of live wrestling. In between the periods was a five-minute rest. Needless to say, wrestling was all out, full speed. Immediately after freestyle practice ended, Greco practice began. Even after a hard practice, some freestylers remained to work out some more. We were introduced to the Greco team and met Rulon Gardner for the first time. He was very friendly and posed for some pictures with us, but practice was about to begin, so casual conversation would have to wait. Similar to the freestyle practice, Greco practice consisted of live wrestling: standing, then par terre. Instruction was given on an individual basis as needed. We were introduced to Steve Fraser, the first American ever to win an Olympic gold medal in Greco Roman wrestling. He was very ingratiating and anxious to do anything he could to make our stay more enjoyable.    We met a young wrestler named Farouk. He is from Turkey and is hoping to gain U.S. citizenship. He told us that in Turkey, as in the United States, wrestling takes a back seat to the major sports like soccer. If a wrestler wins a world title, it will be a small paragraph in the newspaper; but if a soccer star stubs his toe, it's front page news. He was such a nice guy, and Derek and I sincerely wished him the best of luck.    The U.S. Air Force Greco Team (not the Academy, but the military team) works out with the U.S. team, and we met their coach, Richard Estrella. It turns out that he coached a fellow who is well known here in Connecticut high school wrestling circles as an active volunteer, but who few of us knew was an accomplished wrestler way back when.    After practice, we were off to the OTC dining room where the resident athletes eat. Food is served buffet style, and it is very good quality. Rulon met Sara, Derek and me, and we sat down to eat and talk. Shortly after, Steve Fraser joined us. Rulon talked about some of the challenges that he had growing up. As the youngest of nine children on a dairy farm, he had to take up the slack as the others grew up and left home. He often would go to school, go to practice, come home and do his chores, and not get to bed until after midnight. He said that the difficulties that he has endured got him ready for the success that he has finally achieved. Steve spoke about the match with Karelin, and Rulon's winning strategy. Unlike the European style of a slow, methodical attack, Rulon kept changing the pace of the match so that Karelin had to wrestle Rulon's match. Previously, Rulon was beaten by countering Karelin's reverse lift, which opened him up to be turned. This time, instead of countering the move in the conventional way, Rulon blocked it, but didn't give Karelin the same opening, and Karelin tired himself out as he continued the lift, but couldn't turn Rulon. As we all know, the strategy worked. Steve said that he felt that Rulon's victory at the World Championships was even a greater accomplishment than the Olympic gold medal because Rulon had a very difficult draw and had to beat five of the world's best heavyweights in order to prevail. All throughout the meal, the respect that Steve and Rulon have for each other was evident. Steve said that he doesn't like to wrestle Rulon in practice because Rulon never lets up: "The only speed that he knows is full speed." Rulon said that Steve has the most brutal headlock ever: "He'll tear your head off, then ask you if you want it back!" Rulon also spoke about his snowmobile accident and the ordeal that almost cost him his life. He said that he wants to go back and continue along the route that he followed in order to finish what he started. This time, though, he will have more advanced communication equipment and will not ride the same snowmobile (he's restoring it, but will not keep it for himself).     After dinner, we took some pictures and Rulon headed home. Sara drove Derek and me back to the hotel, and picked us up a little later for a visit to one of her favorite watering holes. It was a quaint Irish bar, and as it was Monday night, it was pretty quiet. We were joined by Phil Eatherton, a volleyball player, and Hank Gray, a running target shooter, and we talked sports and played Trivial Pursuit (and drank beer).    Tuesday morning, Sara picked us up after breakfast for a tour of the USA Wrestling offices. Throughout the building, the walls are adorned with trophies, plaques, posters and innumerable pictures of wrestlers down through the years. When we were introduced to Executive Director Rich Bender, he presented me with an Olympic singlet autographed by Rulon. I was surprised and thrilled by this gift and plan to frame it. Steve Fraser was in his office, and gave me a videotape of Olympic highlights, which features Rulon's victory over Karelin. Derek and I met just about every staff member, including Director of Special Projects and Communication Gary Abbott, and the individual responsible for the operation of TheMat.com, Meredith Wilson. When I told her that I'm "Spider," she said in an accusatory tone that she was very familiar with me. Oh, oh!    After the tour, we headed to the OTC dining room for lunch, where we were joined