Rose Beef

Who says wrestlers are just muscle heads?
Not me

Jim Rose

As far as I can tell, there's a certain stereotype when it comes to wrestlers. There's a definite feeling out there, I perceive, that the average wrestler tends to be less than the average scholar - and the current popularity of such spotlight-seekers as Vince McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation does little to combat that feeling.

The term "wrestler," while often legitimately synonymous with the term "muscle bound," is also, unfortunately, quite frequently interpreted to mean "muscle head."

This, of course, is pretty unfair. Lots of athletes are muscle heads - not just wrestlers.

Just kidding, of course. The stereotype is more widespread in wrestling though because of the grueling nature of the sport. Divers, for example, don't necessarily suffer from the same stereotype. But again, at the risk of infuriating all wrestlers and/or muscle heads on campus, the point is this: It's just a stereotype.

The truth is that this year's group of Michigan wrestlers has been through more in the past year or so than many people go through in a lifetime. And yet the team is replete with its share of characters.

There's junior Otto Olson, who as an enthusiastic freshman earned a reputation in West Quad as the best DJ around. His room, filled with electronic equipment all year long, was more often than not thumping with his latest mixes. He's since developed something of a following on campus, as the guy who puts the "Otto" in "Otto-matic Mobile Music" (that's the official business card slogan). And, oh yeah - he was also 27-3 going into this weekend's match.

There's also Chris Viola. He's a fifth-year senior on the team and has been an NCAA qualifier twice in his Michigan career. But last year, after wrestling season was over, Viola decided he needed to take some time off. So, he got in a car and drove away - to "find himself," so to speak - to the western states. And apparently, he found himself - or at least someone who looks a lot like him, and, coincidentally, can also wrestle - because he's back this year, and is ranked in the top 10 nationally in his weight class.

There's Frank Lodeserto, too - he missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, then had surgery to correct the problem in March. Not only is he back on the mat this season, he's also the captain.

Now, truth be told, none of this is exceptionally new territory for your average college student. Who hasn't had the urge, after all, to get in a car and just drive off? And what's college life without a little adversity? And don't most of these guys go to school for free, anyway? Why defend them, of all people?

Lest you think I'm getting carried away extolling the virtues of the wrestling team, consider this, too: Last year, there was a wild card.

Jeff Reese.

On Dec. 9, 1997, Reese, then a junior on Michigan's wrestling squad, died while training for an upcoming meet. His death has since spawned, in large part, major changes to the ways in which college wrestlers can prepare for matches. But the immediate impact, for Reese's family and friends, was devastating.

And suddenly, all of those other things seemed trivial.

It didn't seem to matter much, anymore, whether class was at 9 or 10 in the morning, and it didn't really matter whether a match produced a win or a loss, and it certainly didn't seem to matter whether there was a wrestling stereotype in one direction or another. None of that seemed very important.

But as you might expect, one of the results of all this was that the wrestlers - a generally close group to begin with - became even tighter in the face of the tragedy. The team, left with no other choice, bound together and stuck it out.

In the wake of Reese's death, college wrestling changed dramatically. Training methods were examined and weigh-in rules were modified. Many teams have struggled with the new guidelines, and Michigan's is no exception. Still, the team has done well, and despite some potentially huge graduation losses, is ranked No. 9 in the nation at 9-4 (4-2 in the Big Ten).

The circle of teammates changed a little bit with the start of the new season, as it tends to do with college teams. But the Wolverines have remained awfully tight, and with yesterday's win, they inched a bit closer to the much-anticipated Big Ten Championships of March.

Are there any future Stone Cold Steve Austins on this year's squad? Probably not. But then again, we wouldn't want to group these guys with the muscle heads anyway.

- Jim Rose can be reached via

e-mail at jwrose@umich.edu.

02-15-99