The Greatest Footsweep in History--My Favorite ILLINI Takedown

THE BEST ILLINI TAKEDOWN

The greatest foot sweep in history wasn’t by the Cobra Kai’s Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid. That wasn’t real. It was written down on paper by a screenwriter and then dramatized by actors. What’s seen in the video below by Matt Lackey was organic, it was real, and that’s why--among other reasons-- Lackey’s was the Greatest Footsweep in history, as well as my favorite ILLINI takedown.




Matt Lackey was a wrestling phenomenon.

The ILLINI hero and Moline product won Junior National Freestyle, NCAA and multiple Big Ten titles. He went undefeated his Senior year at ILLINOIS and attempted to make the US Olympic team in 2004. He is listed numerous times in the ILLINI record books, and was the #7 pick for ILLINI athlete of the decade.

His opponent in the match, Troy Letters, was another wrestling phenomenon.

THE BACKSTORY:  Matt Lackey was in the NCAA finals the year before and lost a nail-biter to Joe Heskett of Iowa State. With the score tied 2-2 and only :38 remaining in the match, Lackey swung the Cyclone around and shot a beautiful head-inside single, only to lose his grip. With :20 to go, the ILLINI hit an ankle pick that he moved up to a single, only to again lose his grip. Heskett would get the winning takedown with only :04 to go on the clock. Thus, the finals against Troy Letters would become Lackey’s redemption song.

THE BEAUTY:  There is nothing as abruptly beautiful as a well-executed footsweep. Suplex and headlock throws are also beautiful, but you can find 10-minute videos showing all of those throws from last year or the year before. Footsweeps are rare. When they do occur, many of them can be more aptly categorized as foot trips. Unlike a trip, the footsweep goes completely through the pendulum motion, and the good practitioners like Lackey will keep the leg extended to ensure that a sweep (or at least a trip) occurs.

THE BÊTE NOIRE:  His opponent was fearsome. After finishing second this year, Troy Letters would win an NCAA Championship the very next season. Injuries hampered him after that, but he still placed third another time. Letters has been enshrined in the EIWA and the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Halls of Fame.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:  Thus, because of the drama of the match--an NCAA Finals--in the waning seconds of a close one, because the opponent was fearsome, because of the abruptness of the takedown and the change in circumstances, because of the aesthetics of the movement, and because it involved one of the greatest ILLINI athletes of all time, this is the Best ILLINI Takedown and the Best Footsweep in History. 

This video is not to be monetized


__________________________

Audio credit to Audio Beats and ESPN. Video credits to ESPN, the NCAA, frontheadlock, Libertyville Wrestling and Columbia Pictures. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ILLINI Wrestle-off Results, Seth Mendoza and Baby Wrestlers!

Image
THE REASON FOR THE WRESTLE-OFFS The ILLINI had their first wrestle-off in years yesterday at Huff Hall. The likely reasons for this are discussed in a preceding post here . The long and short of it is that the Brawlnagels are likely going to use the Olympic Redshirts that they earned over the Summer. Additionally, 2xAA Lucas Byrd is still injured.  In fact, Byrd is the Wyrd was at Super 32.  What a great ambassador for the ILLINI! He's instantly recognizable and relatable and fun and you can bet the kids love him. Since the image below was on IMAR's instagram account, can we assume that he led this expedition?  RESULTS OF THE WRESTLE-OFFS We don't have the full results for the wrestle-offs but were told that the ultimate winners included the following: Justin Cardani at 125; it was reported that Anthony Madrigal looked great, and that Kole Brower looked tough, but it was Madrigal who came out on top for the 133 spot.  Danny Pucino won; while Kannon Webster beat Jake Harrier
Read more

The ILLINI Midlands Preview

Image
That's right. The ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond Plus will be a Corporate Sponsor of the 59th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Tournament WHAT :  The 59th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Tournament WHERE :  NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, ILLINOIS WHEN :  Friday, December 29 at 9:30 am (Central) WHEN2 :  Saturday, December 30 at 11:00 am (Central) WHO :  48 Teams including ILLINOIS, 8 B1G Teams; Women's Tourney TV/STREAMING :  BTN+ (subscription streaming service) BOUT BOARD :  Trackwrestling TICKETS :  Ticketmaster ($102.00 for both sessions) TEAMS ENTERED There are 48 teams heading to the Midlands Tournament this year including these full squads (with their current Wrestlestat.com rankings): THE ILLINI, #13 Rutgers, #19 West Virginia, #22 Penn, #28 Arizona State, #30 Virginia, #33 Princeton, #36 Wisconsin, #39 Michigan State, #43 Cal Poly, #46 Ohio, #49 Cleveland State, #51 Harvard, #52 George Mason, #53 Northwestern, #63 Franklin & Marshall, #64 SIUE, and #65 Buffalo. A
Read more

Clues to the 2023-2024 Fighting ILLINI Lineup? And Wrestle-Offs!

Image
We found a clue to this season's Fighting ILLINI lineup at Trackwrestling. That organization keeps records on who on the various NCAA teams has certified at the various weights. Because this is the first cert of the year, most of the guys are above their likely weights that they will end up wrestling.  Most significantly, though, there were some omissions from the certification process. Will these omissions mean that the individuals won't wrestle during the season? Hmmmm. We will be interviewing Coach Poeta before the season starts so we'll have a better idea about what's going on.  In the meantime, who is missing from this Trackwrestling list : If you said Zac and Danny Braunagel, you win! Additionally, Lucas Byrd is not listed as "eligible," whatever that means. I had thought that the Braunagels would think about an Olympic redshirt, as they qualified through the USA Wrestling national tournament process.  As for Lucas Byrd, the last picture I saw of him sho
Read more