Video: The Last Ride Band to play at Kennedy vs. Jefferson dual

CEDAR RAPIDS - A tribute to the blue-collar attitude and the sport it is closely related to will be on display Thursday night.

The Last Ride Band, fronted by 1993 Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduate Tony Winkler, produced the song “Take You Down” which has become an anthem of sorts for amateur wrestling. Winkler and the Band will play between the junior varsity and varsity duals Thursday when the J-Hawks host Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Competition will begin at 5:30.

“It's neat to have him back. He's excited to be back,” Jefferson Coach Dick Briggs said. “It's going to be a real special night.”

The country music band, from Minneapolis, Minn., also will play at Bushwood Sports Bar at 9 p.m. It gained the attention of the wrestling world this fall with the “Take You Down” video, featuring former University of Iowa two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American wrestler Mark Ironside, who was a two-time state champion at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, legendary wrestler and coach Dan Gable and current Hawkeye wrestling coach Tom Brands.

When the video hit the Internet, Jefferson assistant coach Matt Orton contacted Winkler via Facebook and inquired about the possibility of TLR band performing at a J-Hawk meet. Winkler was all for it, according to Orton.

“He's a big wrestling fan,” Orton said. “I think he has a lot of respect for the sport.”

"I'm very excited to come back home and play at Jefferson tomorrow night," Winkler said in a Facebook post. "Huge kudos to Matt Orton for thinking outside the box and mixing sports with music. The two go hand (in) hand!"

The song can also be considered a tribute to the many industrial workers, who have been a key part of Cedar Rapids tradition. Both Winkler's and Ironside's fathers were factory workers. The song honors hard work and toughness two attributes associated with J-Hawk wrestling in the past.

“It's kind of what the West side used to be about and we'd like to get it back to those grass roots,” said Briggs, who grew up in southwest Cedar Rapids and wrestled at Jefferson. “That toughness of those blue-collar workers. They may not be flashy, but they're going to be coming at you sort of attitude.”

You can see a

story I posted when the video was first gaining popularity in August.