FLYING TAKEDOWN: U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler Ellis Coleman, in blue, performs his “Flying Squirrel” move. (
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LONDON — It began as a goof — two brothers horsing around, dreaming up exotic wrestling moves straight out of the Vince McMahon WWE handbook and trying them out on each other.
The move has since gone viral as a YouTube sensation, become a nickname and, before the 2012 London Games are over, it might become part of U.S. Olympic lore — a highlight burned into our minds forever.
Ellis Coleman and his older brother, Lillashawn, used to wrestle with each other at their high school outside of Chicago when they would dial up crazy moves to use on each other.
The best of them was called the “Flying Squirrel.’’ Ellis never forgot it, and now has turned it into a cottage industry for himself.
Coleman, at age 21 the youngest member of the six-man U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, has used the move about a dozen times in competition.
Perhaps the highest profile time he used it was in last year’s Junior World Championships to come back and beat his opponent in the semifinals. ESPN ranked the move third on its “Best of the Best Highlights’’ for 2011.
“It’s been crazy,’’ Coleman said yesterday. “Every time someone sees it, kids are reaching out to me on Facebook and Twitter asking me to show them the move.’’
In the words of Coleman, one of a host of athletes at these Olympic Games representing the New York Athletic Club, here’s how the move is executed: “You snap the opponent’s head down, leap over him and, as you land on your feet, you grab his waist, pull him over, pick him up and throw him down.’’
In Greco-Roman wrestling, the competitors get points for their various moves. Five points is the most you can get for one move. Coleman said he has used the move about a dozen times and usually gets at least three points for it.
He first unveiled it out of desperation in a match he was losing, stunned his opponent with it and went on to win it.
Coleman said he likes to use the move as an element of surprise and isn’t sure if he will use it in the Olympics.
“If I’m losing, though, you’ll definitely see it,’’ he said. “It’s a risky move. It’s a spur-of-the-moment thing. It’s so sudden you can’t stop it. I always pictured myself, even in the Olympic setting and losing in the finals match, third period with 15 seconds left, hitting the ‘Flying Squirrel’ and everyone going crazy. I still picture it.”
Though Coleman’s teammates chide him for the move, they also embrace his guts for using it.
“They should probably put him on medication for even trying that,” teammate Justin Lester said jokingly. “He’s crazy for doing it, but that’s what’s going to make him good in the long run. You’ve got guys like him who are innovative and aren’t afraid to wrestle.’’
“It’s definitely a move of desperation,’’ said Dremiel Byers, the elder statesman and heavyweight of the Greco-Roman team at age 37.
“It’s his wild card. It lets the opponent know he’ll do anything to win.’’
U.S. Wrestling Greco-Roman coach Steve Fraser said Coleman’s flash has “brought a lot of attention to wrestling and Greco. He’s talented, hungry and young … and a pleasure to work with. He’s a very coachable kid. We love him.”
The “Flying Squirrel’’ craze reached such a pitch that Coleman recently bought himself a live flying squirrel pet and named him Rocky, who is about 45 days old and eats lot of apples and seeds.
“They bond with their owners,’’ Coleman said. “He sleeps during the day and is very nocturnal, so I’ll take him out of his cage and he’ll crawl on me and fly to the curtains. Eventually, when he bonds with me, I’ll be able to take him out in my pocket and he’ll stay there without flying away.’’
Coleman dreams of flying away from these Olympics with some hardware. Something gold, perhaps.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com