By Brian Jerzak
TheGuillotine.com
As a freshman in Connecticut, a young John Sullivan watched from the stands as his high school lost a dual meet to one of his school’s rivals. One of the matches Greenwich High School lost that night was at heavyweight. Sullivan felt if he went out for wrestling he could help his school beat that rival next time they faced off. Soon after filing out of the gym that night, the future Minnesota Vikings center joined the wrestling program. What he got out of just over three years of wrestling helped shape him into the athlete he has become. Competing in multiple sports is a path he encourages other kids who want to reach a high level in athletics or life to experience.

“We were wrestling a high school called Danbury High School that had been the dominant team there for a long time,” Sullivan recalled. “I watched their heavyweight beat ours, and I thought ‘I think I can beat that kid.’ I ended up going out for the wrestling team that year.”

While watching his high school team lose might have been the spark to get him interested, the future Notre Dame football star’s competitiveness added fuel to the fire.

Former high school wrestler John Sullivan ranks fourth all-time among centers in Vikings’ history with 93 regular season starts.

“The competitive nature of wrestling is what drew me to it,” Sullivan – who was recently a training camp cut by the Vikings – said. “It is a dual meet, so it is a team sport, but what it comes down to is it is just two guys on the mat. You are either going to win, or you are going to lose. When I was out on the mat, I wanted to win for me, for my school, and for my team.”

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