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Arm wrestlers ‘pull down’ at Hot Rod Nellie’s; ‘Mega Practice’ fundraiser for local woman with breast cancer
By George Howe
GEORGE HOWE PHOTO The Gazette
Goble’s brother, Kyle Nelson (left), is the team captain of the Stateline Arm Wrestling Club and of course took part in the benefit. Here, he’s arm-to-arm with Cale Brooks (right), a member of the Midwest Arm Fighters Club. Nelson won three straight against them.
If you happened to walk into Hot Rod Nellie’s on Jackson Road in Pecatonica on Feb. 18, you might have marveled at the guys gathered in support of one of their own.
Kyle Nelson, the team captain of the Stateline Arm Wrestling Club, in cooperation with Nellie’s owner Lisa O’Keefe, held what was billed as a “Mega Practice” event fundraiser for his sister, Allison Nelson Goble, who has been battling breast cancer since November 2022.
Goble, 37, along with younger brothers Kyle and Collin, were born and raised in Pec and still reside there. She moved away to Florida where she started to fulfill an ambition to become a pre-school teacher, got married, and eventually moved back and finished her education at Rasmussen University. According to her aunt Denise Doty, she loved what she did. “Her first teaching job was at Trinity Lutheran, then on to the Harlem School District at the Hand and Hand Childcare Center, teaching 3- and 4-year-olds, which she thoroughly enjoyed,” explained Doty. “She doesn’t have children of her own but certainly considered her students as her kids.”
Over 200 people were in attendance with 104 competitors from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, splitting up into weight classes and experience levels in round robin, ranked, and super matches. Just about all of the wrestlers showed off large biceps, some wearing their team logo shirts, sleeves cut off, ready to “pull down” – which is the official lingo when arm wrestling.
Just to give you a better understanding of the sport, the rules and regulations have been designed to create an even playing field and to prevent injury. First, the shoulder of both players must be in a square position in order to begin. Competitors must start with at least one foot on the ground. The cadence starts with “Ready… Go!” After the “go,” players can have both feet off the ground, which usually happens as they try to gain leverage on the table. The opposite hand must remain on the pegs on top of the table at all times. To make a winning pin, a player must take any part of the opponent’s wrist or hand below the plane of the touch pad. Nelson shared that there is more to it than overall strength. “You can learn the technique in about 30 minutes,” he said. “But your muscle memory has to get used to it by practicing over and again. It takes a couple of years to get decent at it.”
“Thunder” Nelson, as he’s known all 6’5” and 240 lbs., started out the event with a best of three super match against a very large individual, going at least 6’8” and 250 lbs., in Cale Brooks from the Midwest Arm Fighters Club. Both menacing men put on a good match, with Nelson winning three straight while the combatants looked drained afterwards. “We talked a bit about the strength part but mentally you have to try and stay even keeled and that takes a lot out of you too.”
As the day went on, everyone present didn’t lose sight of the fact that the biggest battle wasn’t being fought at Nellies. “Allison’s family nickname is ‘Boo,’ which were the first words that she said around Halloween time staring at a big ghost statue,” said Doty with a laugh. “She has a lot of strength and is a stubborn fighter that she inherited from our grandmother and her mom.”
Nellie’s owner O’Keefe made this event possible by donating the majority of the establishment space. “I designed Nellie’s to provide plenty of room to host these kinds of events,” she said. “If I have an opportunity to help someone out during an unfortunate time in their lives, it warms my heart knowing that I tried to make life a little easier for them.”
“The family is touched and appreciate Lisa’s kind gesture,” added Nelson.
Although Allison wasn’t able to attend the event as she continues her treatments, she wanted everyone to know how much it means to her. “I love and appreciate all of the support that I’m getting,” she said. “Thanks goes out to everyone who made this possible. It actually makes me a little emotional just thinking about it.”
All told, the event raised about $2,100 dollars to help offset Goble’s medical expenses.
If you’d like to make a donation as well, you can go through Venmo at: Allison Goble-@AllisonNGoblebenefit.
