The Weinke Of Wrestling
1/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 20, 2001
My first encounter with him was quite unique. Based solely on looks alone, you might fancy me mad to talk to senior heavyweight Matt Lamb. Standing 6' 3" and weighing, well whatever a heavyweight wants to weigh, he stood with a broad stance and talked in a booming voice. "Hey I think the bus is here," he says as the group of MSU wrestlers and myself waited patiently for our ride back to the Midlands Championship. Little did we know what awaited us outside. We all headed to the "bus" but as soon as we stepped outside...ambushed! We took cover from the bombardment of snowballs, and who was it leading the charge... none other than a wildly grinning 27-year old Matt Lamb.
He arrived in East Lansing two year ago from parts unknown. Actually that's just his take on it, as Lamb had competed for the previous six years with the United States Naval Academy. While wrestling for the All-Navy team, Lamb had racked up several international accolades including Greco-Roman champion at the 1996 Southeast Olympic Trials, before going on to finish fifth at the final Olympic Trials. But if you ask Lamb, wrestling at the international level is a piece of cake compared to the strenuous schedule of the college ranks.
"It's more intense training in college. When you are training for Greco-Roman you have time to peek between the different tournaments, where you back off the training and then bring it back up," explained Lamb. "But here it's always go, go, go, with matches every weekend, it starts to wear on you. You know these guys are 21 and 22 years old, and I am 27 trying to keep up with it. I am getting a little old for this."
Well his success on the mat doesn't reflect, "getting too old" for anything. Lamb started this season ranked as high as fourth in the heavyweight weight class. While his season has had a few ups and downs, Lamb remains focused and positive on what he has the ability to do.
"I never try to set too many demands on myself. I just continue to work at getting back to were I was before and let it all pan out," explained Lamb.
Lamb's last name is more of a reflection of him than the outward appearance would indicate. Heavily decorated in tattoos, Lamb has the gentle trait of the animal that shares his last name. Children love him, probably seeing him as one big playmate. Lamb's aggressive tendencies towards opponents disappears after the matches, as kids flock to him to get their chance to wrestle. Truly a sight to see 20 pounds take down 250.
"One word to describe me," says a pondering Lamb. "Jovial. You know I am a prankster and I am still such a huge kid. I like playing video games and playing with the kids after the match. Just anything that brings a sense of enjoyment. I try to always be nice to everyone now, change my ways, because I can look back and remember times that I wasn't so nice."
Age is only but a number to Lamb and the number of tattoos on his body just quite possibly outnumber him in years. Assessing the situation and taking in mind that he just made a comment about being nice, I question his unusual body art.
"The tattoos are entertaining. The kids like them and the girls seem to too," said a smiling (thank goodness) Lamb. "All of them have a story behind them, but it would take hours to explain them all. My favorite is probably the one on my chest that is a Chinese symbol for conqueror. It can be applied in wrestling and in life, as you try to conquer whether you are trying to conquer a opponent or situation."
Wisdom, unlike a sense of age, is not something that has eluded Lamb in his 27 years. In fact, he acknowledges that while he is still young at heart, it's getting a little a harder to keep up with the younger guys on the team.
"It's funny, because these guys like a lot different things than I do," said Lamb, slowly shaking his head. "They are still into running around and hitting the bars, where I would prefer to stay at home and watch movies. You can really tell I am getting old.
Still being at college I am starting to feel that pull to get on with my life, but it's almost over and I just want to enjoy the last couple of months of being free of any major responsibilities."