OSHKOSH, Wis. – You can hear Mike Fumagalli’s voice begin to catch, and feel the tears that begin to well in his eyes.
“Obviously, it brings out a lot of emotion in me because I’m so proud of them,’’ says Mike.
He’s referring to the twin boys. They’re not his, but they are a part of him; part of his family.
Wesam and Husam Alabed, along with their parents, left Damascus, Syria some eight years ago when a civil war was already underway between the Syrian government and its people.
“We understood that there was some dangers for us,’’ said Husam, who was just beginning his teenage years. “The plan was to move sometime… but the current conditions just made it the right time to move back then.”
Removed from everything they had ever known, they moved to the Chicago area and had to figure out how to start all over again. A new language, a new culture, a new way of life, new friends; all of it.
This spring they will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wesam with a degree in information systems and Husam with a degree in marketing.
They figured it out.
“These are tears of joy,’’ said Mike, “tears of pride for them. They’re special young men. They’re special to me and it’s a special story to tell.’’
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So you think it’s easy to be king?
Well, if you had to face another person, one twice your size, and had to overpower them and take them down to the ground to win a made-up game with a fictitious crown, would you do it?
Yes?
If this match had to be held on a slab of concrete -- yes, concrete -- would you still?
That was the game Wesam and Husam played all the time as kids. Round up the neighborhood gang and embark on their own Tough-As-Nails competition. Despite being some of the smallest competitors, they were some of the best, expertly playing the role of David versus an array of Goliaths.
And that didn’t always go over well.
“Sure, it would be, ‘Let’s go again. Let’s go again. You got lucky,’’’ said Wesam, who gladly went another round to reveal the truth.
To be clear, there was a grass option available. But there were flowers planted in that grass. And the flowers were not to be touched.
“We just loved it so much we didn’t want to stop, so might as well keep wrestling on concrete,’’ said Husam.
The brothers were already strong, a byproduct of work in the gym.
“I guess we learned it from our older brothers,’’ said Wesam. “Both of them were gym addicts; in the gym all the time. They’d watch like the “Rocky” movies, all these motivational movies, and then as soon as they were done watching they’d want to work out. I think we inherited that from them.”
It was a good life. But then the fighting started. And before they even realized it, their king of the concrete crowns was stripped away.
“There really isn’t a point in time when you’re younger when you realize that this is the last day you’re going to hang out with your friends; it just kind of happens,’’ said Husam. “So that’s something I always think about when I miss my friends and family.
“But I was also excited to come here.”
****
Mike Fumagalli, a science teacher and the head wrestling coach at East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Ill., was perusing his e-mail when one caught his eye.
“One of the (physical education) teachers e-mailed me one day and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a couple of kids you might want to come take a look at,’’’ Mike said. “So I did, and they were just mashing everybody in the room.”
Mike called Wesam and Husam over, told them they had some abilities that could potentially blossom on the wrestling mat, explained that it could lead to opportunities down the road, including the possibility to attend college.
“We had never done this sport and then to have someone come up and actually tell us to come out for the team, which is actually an official sport, we were actually surprised and really excited,’’ said Wesam. “And we were like, ‘Hell, yes. Let’s do this.’’’
It was a decision that began paying immediate dividends.
“We really didn’t fit in that much with kids,’’ said Husam. “I think we were kind of quiet, shy and reserved, so we really didn’t fit in too much. Some people were nice and talked to us, but fitting in, we really didn’t until we started wrestling. That was just something I looked forward to every day.”
But there was work to do if the dream of college could become a reality. So much work. First, the twins’ main language was Arabic. They needed to take numerous ESL (English as a Second Language) classes to be able to have a chance to succeed in the academics that lay ahead. As for wrestling, they were years behind their competition.
“The sport has grown and evolved immensely where you’ve got kids that are 5 and 6 years old wrestling 50 matches a year,’’ said Mike. “And they just didn’t have that experience, so it required an extraordinary amount of time.’’
Mike was used to this, helping others who needed it. He built his high school program around the idea of having a heart of service. It was not uncommon for him to drive one of his wrestlers home, and on the way, stop for needed groceries for the wrestler’s family. Another time, a wrestler’s family that was homeless was invited over to his home for Thanksgiving dinner.
The twins’ father drove a cab in Chicago, literally working night and day. So Mike took it upon himself to take Wesam and Husam around the country to all kinds of tournaments and clinics to help them play catchup with their skills and improve their chances to succeed.
“It required an extraordinary amount of time,’’ he said, “and them putting in that time resulted in us spending a lot of time around each other and being able to develop a relationship. … You become close with someone.”
Husam and Wesam thrived in the work it took to achieve academically and athletically. By the time their senior year rolled around, Wesam qualified for the Illinois state tournament and Husam represented Illinois at the Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D.
“When they became a part of the wrestling team they found an identity that they didn’t have before,’’ said Mike of the twins. “And I think that’s important for young people, important for kids in high school especially. … I think the one thing you see is they often struggle with finding their identity at that particular point in their lives, and not only did Husam and Wesam find their identity, but they grew and grew in that identity to the point where it not only affected them positively with the opportunities that they had in front of them, but it impacted others around them positively, too.’’
The dream of attending college was about to become a reality.
****
Per usual, UW-Oshkosh wrestling coach Efrain Ayala was attending the Illinois State Wrestling Tournament, mining for diamonds in the rough.
He saw Wesam wrestle and was immediately smitten. He called Mike, who then told him about Husam, told them about their background, their relative inexperience in the sport and immediately Efrain brought them to campus for a visit.
“That’s kind of what you’re looking for when you’re first starting a program,’’ said Efrain. “Those kids who haven’t reached their potential yet and their ceiling is sky high.”
More important for Mike, Husam and Wesam, they found a school, coach and program that matched their values.
“These guys were like my own kids,’’ said Mike. “Where they went (to college) was really, really important, and it was largely because I had to have complete confidence in that wherever they went they were going to take care of them and they were going to love them, like I did. And I knew that (Efrain) was the one that was able to do that.”
The time, as it always does, has gone fast. Wesam and Husam have each experienced their share of success and disappointment, the latter coming mainly in the form of COVID-19, which has curtailed their wrestling schedule the past two seasons and is the reason the NCAA Division III national tournament was canceled for the second year in a row.
But, in the end, that doesn’t matter to the twins.
“I have no regrets at all,’’ said Wesam, who plans to relocate to Texas after graduation to be by his older brothers and hopes to one day have his own IT business. “The most important part is the process and growing in the sport, and in the end, the result is the prize.
“The sport of wrestling really opened up a big opportunity for us in terms of friendships created with teammates and bonds created with coaches, and just the opportunity to go to college and get a degree. “I’m thankful for that. … It just shows that really hard work (in the U.S.) can get you anywhere.’’
Husam will join his brothers in Texas and plans to start his own wrestling brand where he hopes he can pay it forward. He would like to develop apparel, a wrestling shoe specifically, and also make inroads into growing the sport.
“Once it gets bigger hopefully do something like if someone buys a shoe, give away a shoe,’’ he said, “because I’ve noticed with a lot of these kids (he’s connected with on Facebook) -- there are some less fortunate kids here (the U.S.) -- but a lot of these overseas kids who wrestle, whether it’s in Africa or I’ve seen some Syrian kids, a lot of them wrestle barefoot. They don’t even have shoes. So that would be a pretty cool goal to achieve as well.”
It’s only been eight years, but the progress Husam and Wesam have made has been rather astounding, even to Efrain.
“For someone to be able to pick up everything that they’ve picked up, not only just a language, a culture, a new style of wrestling, a new style of competition -- they were, doing stuff back in Syria but it wasn’t actually wrestling -- so for them to pick all of that up and translate it all to be successful as an all-around person just says everything about who they are,’’ said Efrain. “They’re just amazing people.’’
They were born in Syria, raised in Illinois, but Oshkosh has become a place that is special to their heart.
“It’s been great,’’ said Husam. “I wouldn’t change anything. It’s been a great time, a fun time. I’ve met some great people, networked with some great people; looking back I’ve grown so much, not just in wrestling but personality-wise and everything as a man. Ten, 20 years from now I will always know that I have a home here in Oshkosh.
“That’s pretty unique to say.”
Story idea? Contact Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or at: michael.t.woods1@charter.com