Balkan
11-09-2007, 11:12 AM
Rod Marinelli is bad-ass.
Lions bear down
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
November 8, 2007
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It was a sure-fire way to draw a crowd because, really, who doesn't want to see some fool mauled by a bear?
It was the cheesiest of car dealership promotions – a wrestling bear named Victor – but it was good enough to get Rod Marinelli and his high school buddies to stop one summer night in 1966 in Pasadena, Calif.
The future head coach of the Detroit Lions was a strong, tough kid, 17 years old and an excellent football player and wrestler. He and his friends had been cruising around when they saw the "Wrestle Victor the Bear" sign and couldn't help but stop.
"That sucker was on Colorado Boulevard, a million teenagers were out there, gathered around," Marinelli said.
The deal was simple, for $10 you could get in the cage and wrestle an Alaskan black bear. Sure, Victor was muzzled and de-clawed, but he was still a damn bear, still strong as hell. He stood about 6-foot-6 on his hind legs and weighed around 400 pounds. Who knew what he could do to you?
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Marinelli had a lot of courage, but didn't have 10 bucks to his name. His friends, however, did, so they laid the money down and boldly proclaimed to the crowd that Marinelli could whip Victor.
"I got caught in peer pressure," Marinelli laughed. "My friends said, 'This guy can take him.' They put the dough down and called me out. There were some good-looking girls there. I couldn't back off."
This is what guys had to do to meet girls before Facebook.
All of a sudden, Marinelli was stepping into a cage in this Pasadena parking lot, a big crowd hooting and hollering. And there waiting for him, staring him down, was this giant bear.
"It was cold, the mat was all wet, and this bear was smelly, let me tell you," Marinelli's friend, Gary Schram told the Detroit Free Press. "So we put the money up there, and in goes Rod."
So how do you wrestle a bear? Marinelli had no jab-and-move strategy. He just flat-out attacked the thing.
"Rod did then what he does now, he went in to win," Schram told the paper. "And let me tell you he had that bear on his back in about 10 seconds."
Victor the Bear recovered and flipped Marinelli who then flipped him back and away they went, crashing around the cage. It was a pretty good fight, considering Victor's Russian trainer kept poking Marinelli with a stick when he got on top.
In the end, Victor was declared the winner, although Marinelli's friends cried that their guy was cheated.
Marinelli didn't complain though and, as the story is told over four decades later, post-match he tried to shake Victor the Bear's hand, er, paw in some bizarre show of man-beast sportsmanship.
Victor mistook the gesture and they were at it again, an unsanctioned rematch.
Marinelli shakes his head at the memory, but the story is sure to be retold over and over now that his 6-2 Lions have emerged as the surprise of the NFL.
"You've got to be kidding me," Marinelli said. "That was so long ago. So long ago."
Well, did it at least help you meet any of the good-looking girls?
"No. I stunk like a bear."
read the rest here,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Ak_VZhpVoJxApVY.vqJzISc5nYcB?slug=dw-marinelli110807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
He wrestled a bear and won, that means the Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year!
Lions bear down
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
November 8, 2007
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It was a sure-fire way to draw a crowd because, really, who doesn't want to see some fool mauled by a bear?
It was the cheesiest of car dealership promotions – a wrestling bear named Victor – but it was good enough to get Rod Marinelli and his high school buddies to stop one summer night in 1966 in Pasadena, Calif.
The future head coach of the Detroit Lions was a strong, tough kid, 17 years old and an excellent football player and wrestler. He and his friends had been cruising around when they saw the "Wrestle Victor the Bear" sign and couldn't help but stop.
"That sucker was on Colorado Boulevard, a million teenagers were out there, gathered around," Marinelli said.
The deal was simple, for $10 you could get in the cage and wrestle an Alaskan black bear. Sure, Victor was muzzled and de-clawed, but he was still a damn bear, still strong as hell. He stood about 6-foot-6 on his hind legs and weighed around 400 pounds. Who knew what he could do to you?
ADVERTISEMENT
Marinelli had a lot of courage, but didn't have 10 bucks to his name. His friends, however, did, so they laid the money down and boldly proclaimed to the crowd that Marinelli could whip Victor.
"I got caught in peer pressure," Marinelli laughed. "My friends said, 'This guy can take him.' They put the dough down and called me out. There were some good-looking girls there. I couldn't back off."
This is what guys had to do to meet girls before Facebook.
All of a sudden, Marinelli was stepping into a cage in this Pasadena parking lot, a big crowd hooting and hollering. And there waiting for him, staring him down, was this giant bear.
"It was cold, the mat was all wet, and this bear was smelly, let me tell you," Marinelli's friend, Gary Schram told the Detroit Free Press. "So we put the money up there, and in goes Rod."
So how do you wrestle a bear? Marinelli had no jab-and-move strategy. He just flat-out attacked the thing.
"Rod did then what he does now, he went in to win," Schram told the paper. "And let me tell you he had that bear on his back in about 10 seconds."
Victor the Bear recovered and flipped Marinelli who then flipped him back and away they went, crashing around the cage. It was a pretty good fight, considering Victor's Russian trainer kept poking Marinelli with a stick when he got on top.
In the end, Victor was declared the winner, although Marinelli's friends cried that their guy was cheated.
Marinelli didn't complain though and, as the story is told over four decades later, post-match he tried to shake Victor the Bear's hand, er, paw in some bizarre show of man-beast sportsmanship.
Victor mistook the gesture and they were at it again, an unsanctioned rematch.
Marinelli shakes his head at the memory, but the story is sure to be retold over and over now that his 6-2 Lions have emerged as the surprise of the NFL.
"You've got to be kidding me," Marinelli said. "That was so long ago. So long ago."
Well, did it at least help you meet any of the good-looking girls?
"No. I stunk like a bear."
read the rest here,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Ak_VZhpVoJxApVY.vqJzISc5nYcB?slug=dw-marinelli110807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
He wrestled a bear and won, that means the Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year!