‘The Brands Brothers’ | Twitter highlights, reactions to Big Ten Network documentary

Iowa men’s wrestling coaches Tom and Terry Brands were featured in BTN’s latest edition of “The B1G Story.”

Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa coaches Terry (left) and Tom Brands gesture toward the officials during a wrestling dual meet between Iowa and Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. The Hawkeyes defeated the Huskers, 26-6.

Austin Hanson, Sports Editor
January 30, 2022

Immediately following Friday night’s Iowa-Penn State men’s wrestling dual, “The Brands Brothers” made its television debut on the Big Ten Network. The documentary, directed by Kevin Ritchie, was originally supposed to air at 10 p.m. Because the Iowa-Penn State dual ran late, the hour-long film didn’t hit the airwaves until about 10:30 p.m.

The documentary follows Iowa men’s wrestling coaches Tom and Terry Brands from their upbringing in Sheldon, Iowa, to the University of Iowa wrestling room and beyond.

Among the people featured in the film are former Iowa men’s wrestling head coach Dan Gable and current Ohio State and Oklahoma State head men’s wrestling coaches Tom Ryan and John Smith.

Gable coached the twins at the University of Iowa from 1989-92.

Ryan was a college teammate of Tom and Terry’s.

Tom was a four-time All-American as a wrestler at Iowa. He won three Big Ten and three NCAA titles. Terry was a two-time NCAA champion and a three-time Big Ten title-winner. He was also named an All-American on three occasions.

Tom was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. Terry won bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Tom is a five-time Big Ten Conference and three-time NWCA Coach of the Year. He’s coached at Iowa since 2005, amassing six Big Ten and four NCAA titles. Tom has coached 13 individual NCAA champions, 24 Big Ten title-winners, and 89 All-Americans.

Terry has been on Iowa’s staff since 2008. He also coached at the UI from 1992-2000. Between his stints at Iowa, he was USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Resident Coach.

While the primary focus of the documentary is Tom and Terry’s wrestling career, it also gives fans a look at their personalities off the mat.

The film details some of the moments that shaped the twins like their parents’ divorce, their father’s alcoholism, and Terry’s mental and physical health after he didn’t qualify for the 1996 Olympics.

“The Brands Brothers” is set to air again on Feb. 4 at 12 p.m. Hulu + Live TV subscribers can watch documentary from now until Feb. 1.

Below are the reactions of those that watched “The Brands Brothers” over the weekend: